Cast members of the "Green Book" pose for photos after winning the Best Picture award in the press room during the 91st Academy Awards ceremony, or the Oscars, held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, the United States, on Feb. 24, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Ying)

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- "Green Book," a comedy drama film directed by Peter Farrelly, won Best Picture at the 91st Academy Awards (Oscars) ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood in the western U.S. city of Los Angeles on Sunday night.

The film beat strong competition from "Black Panther," "BlacKkKlansman," "Bohemian Rhapsody," "The Favorite," "Roma," "A Star Is Born" and "Vice."

Directed by Farrelly and set in the 1960s, "Green Book" follows African-American classical and jazz pianist Don Shirley and Tony Vallelonga, an Italian-American bouncer who serves as Shirley's driver and bodyguard, on a tour through the racially divided South.

"The whole story is about love. It's about loving each other despite our differences. And finding the truth about who we are, we're the same people," Farrelly said.

The film also won another two Oscars awards on Sunday for Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Screenplay.

Mahershala Ali, who played the jazz pianist in the movie, was named Best Supporting Actor.

China's Alibaba Pictures is a cofinancier of "Green Book" via its partnership with Amblin Partners, which coproduced the film with Participant Media.