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+++ 88th Academy Awards - live updates +++

Martin Kuebler (AFP, AP, Reuters)February 29, 2016

Amid the #OscarsSoWhite controversy over all-white acting nominees, journalism drama "Spotlight" has won the 2016 Oscar for best picture. First-time winners Leonardo DiCaprio and Brie Larson took home top acting honors.

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88. Oscarverleihung Oscars Bester Schauspieler Leonardo DiCaprio
Image: Reuters/M. Anzuoni

All updates in Universal Coordinated Time (UTC)

05:04 And that's it for the 2016 Oscars! One last shout out for Girl Guide cookies and we're done. Check back later for DW's wrap of the evening.

05:00 Best Picture: "Spotlight"

04:59 And now, best picture. The Oscar goes to...

04:57 "Climate change is real, it is happening right now!" DiCaprio recalls how "The Revenant" had to travel to South America to find snow.

04:55 Best Actor: No surprise here - it's Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Revenant." Another standing ovation, and a big smile from DiCaprio.

04:48 Best Actress: Brie Larson, "Room"

04:41 Inarritu has run out of time for his thank yous, but ignored the music playing him off and managed to finish his thoughts. Shouldn't the best director get a bit more time to finish his acceptance speech?

04:38 Alejandro G. Inarritu wins Oscar for best director for "The Revenant."

04:36 Coming up to the big awards now: best director up next!

04:28 After an underwhelming performance earlier in the night, Sam Smith wins the Oscar for best song for "Writing's On The Wall" from the latest Bond film, "Spectre." Smith dedicates his win to the LGBT community.

04:22 Italian composer Ennio Morricone wins his first Oscar for his score for "The Hateful Eight," and is welcomed to the stage with a standing ovation.

04:15 A moving performance by an energetic Lady Gaga, introduced by "good friend" and US Vice President Joe Biden. Lady Gaga was performing the nominated "Till It Happens to You" - her song about sexual abuse on college campuses from the documentary "The Hunting Ground."

04:08 Hungary's "Son of Saul," (or as Sofia Vergara put it: "Son of Sa-ool") wins best foreign film.

04:05 Best Live Action Short Film: "Stutterer," beating out Germany's "Alles wird gut" ("Everything Will Be Okay")

03:59 Now it's time for the 'In Memoriam' package, with recently deceased actor Alan Rickman and rock star David Bowie making the cut. Though with the applause muted this year, how will we know who was the most popular?

03:55 President Cheryl Boone Isaacs now doing some damage control, speaking about the Academy's efforts to be more inclusive.

03:44 And here come the representatives from Pricewaterhouse Coopers...a bunch of kids. Not Rock's strongest joke of the night, but for once not just a parade of accountants.

03:43 Best Documentary Feature: "Amy"

03:41 Best Documentary Short Subject: "A Girl in the River"

Strangers on a Bridge - Spielberg's Bridge of Spies

03:32 ...Mark Rylance in "Bridge of Spies," beating out sentimental favorite Sylvester Stallone in one of tonight's first surprises!

03:29 After a break that saw host Chris Rock talk to the average moviegoer about apparently unknown films like this year's best picture nominees, Patricia Arquette is now on stage to present the award for best supporting actor to…

03:12 Pixar takes home another (well-deserved) Oscar for best animated feature, this time for "Inside Out."

03:08 Best Short Film, Animated: "Bear Story," Chile's first Oscar.

03:06 Chris Rock now shilling his daughter's Girl Guide cookies.

03:02 C-3PO, R2-D2 and BB-8 make an appearance, to the delight of 9-year-old "Room" star Jacob Tremblay.

02:57 Best Visual Effects: "Ex Machina" (for a change)

88. Oscarverleihung Oscars Best Cinematography
Emmanuel Lubezki's win for best cinematography in "The Revenant" was his third in a rowImage: Reuters/M. Anzuoni

02:53 Lots of love for Namibia tonight from the "Mad Max" crew.

02:51 Best Sound Mixing: Going to go out on a limb here and say…"Mad Max: Fury Road"

02:50 Best Sound Editing: "Mad Max: Fury Road." That makes it five, if our tally is correct. (And one expletive that appeared to make it past the censors.)

02:41 Best Film Editing: "Mad Max: Fury Road," running away with the technical awards.

02:37 Best Cinematography: "The Revenant." Emmanuel Lubezki wins his third cinematography Oscar in a row.

02:35 Rock introduces "should've been nominee" Michael B. Jordan, overlooked for "Creed."

02:27 Best Makeup and Hairstyling: once again, "Mad Max: Fury Road"

02:24 Best Production Design: "Mad Max: Fury Road," starting to pick up steam. And the winner's scroll makes its first appearance.

02:20 Best Costume Design: "Mad Max: Fury Road"

Sweden’s new film star Alicia Vikander

02:13 Best Supporting Actress: Alicia Vikander, "The Danish Girl"

02:09 Here's last year's best supporting actor, JK Simmons, to hand out the award for best supporting actress.

01:57 Black actors Whoopi Goldberg, Leslie Jones and Tracy Morgan join Rock to add some diversity to last year's movies in a great bit. "Don't worry, black astronaut!"

01:55 Politics makes the first appearance of the night: Don't vote for the "weirdo billionaire," says one of the winners of best adapted screenplay.

01:52 Best Adapted Screenplay: "The Big Short"

01:48 Best Original Screenplay: "Spotlight"

01:46 Another change this year: we're starting with the writing awards.

01:45 New this year: In an effort to avoid the never-ending, yawn-inducing list of people thanked by excited Oscar winners, the Academy has said that winners will be able to hand over a list of names that will be scrolled at the bottom of the screen. It remains to be seen whether this new tactic will work.

01:35 Right off the top, host Chris Rock introduces the "white People's Choice awards."

01:32 And here we go…with a best-of-2015 montage prominently featuring Will Smith, "Straight Outta Compton" and "Creed."

01:10 Who will win the coveted golden statuette? DW looks at some top contenders.

00:55 Protesters have gathered near the Oscars venue in Los Angeles to urge a boycott of Sunday night's ceremony over an all-white roster in the acting categories.

00:36 DW's new show #FollowTheHashtag traced the origins of the #OscarsSoWhite campaign.

The woman behind #OscarsSoWhite