South Korean thriller "Parasite" made history by taking home four statuettes, including the best picture, and "American Factory", a film about a U.S.-based Chinese-run factory, won Best Documentary during the 92nd Academy Awards at Los Angeles' Dolby Theater on Sunday.

Asian elements highlighted

In a history-making triumph for Asian films, the South Korean black comedy thriller "Parasite" won the Academy Award for Best Picture becoming the first non-English language film to score the coveted award in its 92 year history.

Earlier, it won the prizes for Best Director for Bong Joon-ho, Best International Feature and Best Original Screenplay to become the big winner on Hollywood's biggest night. The awards come after the 100th anniversary of Korean cinema in 2019.

"We never write to represent our countries," said writer-director Bong, when scooping the first ever Asian win for best original screenplay with co-writer Han Jin-won. "But this is (the) very first Oscar to South Korea. Thank you." 

"American Factory," distributed by Netflix and backed by former U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle, depicts how a Chinese entrepreneur turning an abandoned car plant into a profitable glass factory in the State of Ohio.

It reveals the issues of cultural clash and globalization as American workers employed at the foreign-funded enterprise.

"Our film is from Ohio and China," director Julia Reichert said while accepting her golden statuette. "But it really could be from anywhere that people put on a uniform, punch a clock, trying to make their families have a better life."

"Working people have it harder and harder these days, and we believe that things will get better when workers of the world unite," she said.

Many winners make their firsts

For other winners, Joaquin Phoenix capped his awards season sweep with his first Oscar for "Joker," besting a packed field of nominees that included Antonio Banderas, Leonardo DiCaprio, Adam Driver and Jonathan Pryce.

Renee Zellweger scored the Oscar for Best Actress for her performance as the American icon Judy Garland in "Judy" – the second Academy Award of her career.

Brad Pitt won his first-ever acting Oscar for his supporting role as a laid-back stuntman Cliff Booth in Quentin Tarantino's ode to 1960s Tinseltown, "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood," while Laura Dern, 52, was named Best Supporting Actress for playing a formidable divorce lawyer in "Marriage Story." It was also her first win in her long Hollywood career and comes after two nominations.

"Toy Story 4" took home the Oscar for best animated film – the third golden statuette for the innovative Disney-Pixar franchise about a collection of living toys, the value of friendship and accepting change.

(With input from AFP)

Cover image and infographic designer: Fan Chenxiao