There’s a lot of love in this room, and let’s use it to create and champion bold and diverse work. A WIN ON THE 21ST TRY STIRRING WORDS BLUE RIBBONS WHITE HELMETS WIN

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Best actress nominee Ruth Negga, Hami-lton White Helmets, Iranian film The Salesman Kevin O’Connell finally has a reason to celebrate at the Oscars. The sound re-recording engineer snapped an 0 for 20 skid, winning for sound mixing on Hacksaw Ridge with his 21st nomination. O’Connell owned the record for most nominations without a win. O’Connell, whose 21 nominations have come over a 33year period, appeared stunned as his name was read out. She said only two words — “thank you” — but it was a stirring moment. Former Nasa mathematician Katherine Johnson, 98, an inspiration for the film Hidden Figures, was wheeled onstage to a thunderous ovation. She was introduced by Taraji P. Henson, who played her, and the other two actresses who played female black mathematicians in the Oscar-nominated picture, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae. creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and supermodel Karlie Kloss stepped out wearing blue ribbon pins as a symbol of solidarity with the American Civil Liberties Union. They’re showing support for the ACLU, which says the ribbon is a way for stars to stand up “for the rights of everyone as guaranteed under the Constitution.” A film about Syria’s White Helmets — rescuers who risk their lives to help save civilians caught in the country’s devastating war — took home the Oscar for best documentary short. The film, called simply was directed by Orlando von Einsiedel, and bested another short about the Syrian conflict, The Watani: My Homeland. POLITICAL SPEECH DELIVERED IN ABSENTIA won the Oscar for best foreign language film, but director Asghar Farhadi skipped the Hollywood gala in protest at a travel ban by US President Donald Trump. In a statement read at the Oscars in his name, Farhadi said he was staying away in solidarity as people had been “disrespected” by Mr Trump’s policy, which is currently on hold after a decision by a federal appeals court. “Dividing the world into the US and ‘our enemies’ creates fear — a deceitful justification for aggression and war,” he said in the statement read at the Hollywood gala by the Iranian-born US engineer and astronaut Anousheh Ansari. “These wars prevent democracy and human rights in countries which have themselves been victims of aggression. “Filmmakers can turn their cameras to capture shared human qualities and break stereotypes of various nationalities and religions.” Asghar Farhadi