The year is 1962, and racial segregation is still firmly in place in the US. Effortlessly and with dignity, the film "Hidden Figures" tells the true story of three black female mathematicians who played a key role in NASA's Apollo and Mercury programs - despite being forced to use the restroom "for blacks" 45 minutes away. Octavia Spencer (right) was nominated for her performance.

The movie "Moonlight" is based on the play "In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue," a story about a gay African-American man growing up in Miami with his drug addicted mother. The film is intense, authentic and poetic as three actors take the audience through different the phases of the man's life. "Moonlight" was nominated for eight Oscars, including best picture.

Like the protagonist in "Moonlight," 37-year-old filmmaker Barry Jenkins grew up Miami - and he is the first African-American director to achieve a double nomination, for best director and best adapted screenplay. At last month's Golden Globe awards, "Moonlight" won best motion picture (drama) alongside competitor "La La Land," which took home the award for best motion picture (musical or comedy).

Life as a garbage collector and father of three is tough, and the dreams of Troy Maxson (Denzel Washington) have never come true. The role of the disenchanted Maxson in "Fences" could net the 62-year-old actor his third Oscar. Washington is also the film's producer, and shares the nomination for best film.

Viola Davis, 51, has been nominated for her third Oscar - and might even take the statuette home this year for her supporting actress role in "Fences." Critics have been full of praise for her performance as Troy Maxson's wife, Rose, singling her out even above Washington's performance. Earlier this month, she won the BAFTA for her role.

Mildred and Richard Loving fell in love in the 1950s in Virginia. But it was a love story with a hitch: under Virginia law, a white man and a black woman could not marry. They ended up marrying in Washington, and were expelled upon their return to Virginia. Their case went to the Supreme Court, which made the landmark decision to invalidate laws banning interracial marriage in 1967.

For her role as Mildred in "Loving," Ruth Negga has been nominated for best actress, a huge success for the 35-year-old who spent most of her childhood in Ireland. The biopic is a film about America, she said: "Our film is not about black America, it's about America. White and black America. You know, we're all in this together."

Another true story: Saroo Brierley, 5, was living in poverty in India when he boarded a train and fell asleep, ending up far from home. An Australian family adopted the young boy, who had no idea where he used to live. Twenty-five years later, he returned to India to find his family of origin, with the help of Google Maps. "Lion" has six nominations, including best picture.

The documentary "I Am Not Your Negro" is based on an unfinished manuscript by 20th century American author James Baldwin, dedicated to key members of the civil rights movement: Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Medgar Evers. "What white people have to do is try and find out in their hearts why it was necessary to have a nigger in the first place," Baldwin said. "I'm not a nigger, I'm a man."

"I Am Not Your Negro" is nominated for best documentary feature. Filmmaker Raoul Peck was born in Haiti, grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and has long experimented with explosive topics, from feature films about the genocide in Rwanda to a drama about the young Karl Marx and documentaries about the assassination of Patrice Lumumba.