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Oscars 2014

12 Years A Slave has won Best Picture.

by Jennie Kermode

12 Years A Slave has won Best Film at this year's Oscars. Steve McQueen apologised for his nerves as he gave a speech thanking his mum, his partner and children. "Everyone deserves not just to survive but to live. This is the legacy of Solomon Northup. I dedicate this award to all those who have endured slavery," he said.

Alfonso Cuarón won Best Director for Gravity. Praised throughout by his team as they collected numerous other awards, he returned the favour, thanking them all and calling Sandra Bullock "one of the best people I ever met." Gravity also swept the technical awards and was the overall winner with seven statuettes, including Best Original Score.

As expected, Cate Blanchett won Best Actress for Blue Jasmine, in what she described as a great year for performances by women. She argued that this is proof that films centered on female characters can make money and people do want to see them, so there should be more support for getting them made.

Winning Best Actor for Dallas Buyers Club, Matthew McConaughey thanked God and his family and said that his inspiration has always been trying to become the person he might be in ten years' time.

The first award this year was won by Jared Leto, named Best Supporting Actor for his role as a troubled trans woman in Dallas Buyers Club. "To those of you who have ever felt injustice in the world because of who you are or who you love, I stand here tonight with you and for you," he said.

Dallas Buyers Club also won Best Hair and Make-up - impressive given that it had a lot of work to do in that department (not just dolling up Leto but also making all its extras look convincingly ill), and just $250 to do it with.

Lupita Nyong'o took the Best Supporting Actress Award for her work in 12 Years A Slave, describing it as "the joy of my life." Noting that her joy was rooted in somebody else's pain, she paid tribute to Patsey, the slave whose story she helped to tell and whose fate is unknown; and to Solomon Northup, the man who first documented what happened to her.

The ceremony was presented by Ellen DeGeneres, who ordered pizza for the audience, broke the internet with her selfies and spent part of the evening dressed as the Good Witch from The Wizard Of Oz, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. The real Captain Phillips and the real Philomena were there to root for the films about their lives. Sadly, the heroine of Best Short Film, Documentary award winner The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life missed the chance to do likewise, dying just one week before the ceremony at the age of 110.

Earlier, on the red carpet, the stars were out in style. Viola Davis looked stunning in a green dress but we could also see quite a few raincoats. The weather had been foul in Los Angeles over the previous two days and there was a clear plastic roof up but it didn't keep everybody dry. Also arriving early was Liza Minelli, making an impression with her newly streaked blue hair.

Lupita Nyong'o wowed fashion fans again with a shimmering pale blue princess gown and headband which she designed herself, with help from Prada, whilst Amy Adams went for a very different look with a navy blue Gucci number that looked like a cross between a gown and a suit. Jennifer Lawrence wore a vivid reddish orange dress with less skirt than last year but still managed to fall over before even entering the theatre.

Among the men, Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto teamed up with white jackets and bow ties. McConaughey was there with his family but took a lot of time to talk to people in the crowd. He was clearly a fan favourite.

Those awards in full:

Best Picture 12 Years A Slave

Best Director Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity

Best Actor Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

Best Actress Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine

Best Supporting Actress Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years A Slave

Best Supporting Actor Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

Best Documentary 20 Feet From Stardom

Best Animated Film Frozen

Best Foreign Language Film The Great Beauty

Best Original Screenplay Her

Best Adapted Screenplay 12 Years A Slave