Director, author and producer Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, born in 1963, is one of the main names of the current renaissance in Mexican cinema. In 2015 and 2016, his films "Birdman" and "The Revenant" won several Oscars and various other awards.

Inarritu's star actually rose much earlier. Constructed as a triptych, "Amores Perros" intertwines three distinct tales from the lives of people in the mega metropolis Mexico City. With its innovative storytelling and visual style, the work starring Gael Garcia Bernal won several awards, including the Prize of the Critic's Week at the Cannes Film Festival where it premiered in 2000.

Filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron, just two years older than Inarritu, won this year's Golden Lion for "Roma" at the Venice Film Festival. Cuaron has also directed several Hollywood films, and his space thriller "Gravity" won seven Oscars in 2014. He celebrated his artistic breakthrough with "Y tu mama tambien" in 2001.

Along with Inarritu and Cuaron, Guillermo del Toro, who won several Oscars for his 2017 romantic drama "The Shape of Water," makes up what is known as "The Three Amigos of Cinema." Del Toro has become firmly established in Hollywood, without forgetting his Mexican roots: "The Shape of Water" is magical and mysterious, with many references to Mexican culture.

Carlos Reygadas is a bit younger and perhaps not yet as famous as his three compatriots. His film "Nuestro Tiempo" was presented in Venice this year. Previously, Reygadas repeatedly did well at the Cannes Film Festival, winning the Golden Camera for "Japon" in 2002, the jury prize for "Silent Light" in 2007 and the directing prize for "Post Tenebras Lux" in 2012.

Salma Hayek was first choice in 2002 for the role of Mexican art icon Frida Kahlo. The actress is in fact a figurehead for the Mexican film renaissance — even if she went to high school in Louisiana and has stronger ties to Hollywood than the cinema of her native country.

Gael Garcia Bernal, born in Guadalajara in 1978, is the handsome male face of today's Mexican cinema. He has stood in front of TV cameras since he was 14 years old. A top star in Mexico, he is also sought after by international directors such as Jim Jarmusch and Pedro Almodovar. He is known to a wider audience in the role of Rodrigo, a crazy star conductor in the US series "Mozart in the Jungle."

There are, of course, a number of filmmakers who are not as well known, but who nevertheless helped Mexico flourish as a filmmaking nation. Amat Escalante won the best director prize at the Cannes Festival in 2013 for the crime thriller "Heli" and its equivalent at the 2016 Venice Film Festival with his drama "The Untamed."

Michel Franco, born in 1979, is one of the young filmmakers most likely to make sure that Mexican cinema remains in the spotlight. Franco's films have already picked up three awards at Cannes: "After Lucia" (2012) and "April's Daughter" (2017) both garnered prizes in the Un Certain Regard section; his 2015 work, "Chronic," was selected in the main competition and won the best screenplay award.

Mexico's booming film industry is not only based on the achievements of directors and actors, but also on its excellent writers. Manuel Alcala and Alonso Ruizpalacios, masters of their craft, were delighted to receive the Silver Bear for best screenplay at the 2018 Berlinale. Their film "Museum" is about a daring theft by two students who rob the National Museum.

Screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga wrote the scripts for director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's early films, including "Amores Perros" (2000), "21 Grams" (2003) and "Babel" (2006), starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett (photo). His screenplay for "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada" (2005) also won a Cannes award. Later Arriaga made his debut as a director.

Director Guillermo del Toro and his movie, "The Shape of Water," was the evening's big winner. The film had already taken home the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival last year before being voted best picture by the Academy. Del Toro also won the Oscar for best director.

Nominated in 13 categories, "The Shape of Water" took home four awards. Along with best picture and best director, composer Alexandre Desplat's original score and the film's spectacular production design was also honored with an Academy Award. Sally Hawkins and Octavia Spencer (picture) were both nominated as best lead and supporting actresses, but didn't make the final cut.

"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" had the second largest number of Oscar nods and was seen as a favorite ahead of the awards ceremony. At the end of the night, the film took home just two awards, including best actress, which went to Frances McDormand.

Sam Rockwell, who played a racist policeman in a small American city opposite Frances McDormand in "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" took home best supporting actor. The drama follows a mother confronting the death of her daughter.

Gary Oldman was awarded best actor for his performance portraying Winston Churchill in "The Darkest Hour." In the film, the British actor is almost unrecognizable as an overweight and aging Churchill.

For her work portraying the mother of the controversial figure skater Tonya Harding in "I, Tonya," Allison Janney received the Oscar for best supporting actress. Janney is best known for her supporting roles and is a seven-time Primetime Emmy Award winner for her television work.

It was impossible to get around the ongoing debate around sexual harassment in the industry on Oscars night. Host Jimmy Kimmel addressed the #MeToo and Time's Up movements as well gender inequality in Hollywood, and also included a word on disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein.

There was one winner from Germany at the evening's event. Gerd Nefzer (right), together with his colleagues John Nelson, Paul Lambert and Richard R. Hoover (from left to right), took home the golden statue for best visual effects for their work on the science-fiction film "Blade Runner 2049."

Jordan Peele made history as the first Black American in Oscar history to win for best original screenplay. Peele, who's also an actor and comedian, received the award for his directorial debut, the horror-comedy "Get Out."

The other Oscar in the screenplay category went to 90-year-old James Ivory for his work on the drama "Call Me By Your Name." The story of a young man discovering his homosexuality was adapted by Ivory from André Aciman's novel of the same name.

The Chilean film "A Fantastic Woman" was awarded an Oscar for the best foreign language film. Director Sebastián Lelio and transgender actress and singer Danila Vega received the award for the film which was also a hit at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear for best screenplay.

This year's Oscar in the category for documentaries also took up a trendy topic: the doping scandal in Russia. Director Bryan Fogel (right) and producer Dan Cogan grabbed the Academy Award for their film "Icarus."