"12 Years a Slave", a real life story of a man's fight for survival and freedom, Sunday won the best film honour at the 86th Academy Awards.
The story is about Solomon Northup, esayed by Chiwetel Ejiofor, a free black man from upstate New York, who is abducted and sold into slavery. He goes through cruelty in the hands of a slave owner, portrayed by Michael Fassbender. But in the twelfth year of his odyssey, Solomon's chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist, played by Brad Pitt, forever alters his life.
Based on an 1853 memoir of the real Solomon Northup, the film was nominated for the best film category with "American Hustle", "Captain Phillips", "Dallas Buyers Club", "Gravity", "Her", "Nebraska", "Philomena" and "The Wolf of Wall Street".
Pitt thanked everyone for the "incredible honour" and credited the success to director Steve McQueen.
McQueen had a huge team and his family to thank, but he dedicated the award "to the people who have suffered slavery and to those who continue to suffer slavery today".
The movie also won the best adapted screenplay and the best supporting actress for Lupita Nyong'o at the Oscars ceremony.
'Gravity' wins seven Oscars
Space drama "Gravity" bagged awards in seven of the 10 categories it was nominated for at the 86th Academy Awards. It won the best director award for Alfonso Cuaron but best film title was clinched by real-life inspired "12 Years a Slave" here Sunday.
"Gravity" was also honoured with the golden statuette for categories like film editing, music (original score), sound editing, sound mixing and visual effects.
"12 Years a Slave" and "Dallas Buyers Club" won three awards each.
Based on the memoirs of Solomon Northup, a free black man from New York, who is abducted and sold into slavery, "12 Years a Slave" won best picture, best actress in a supporting role for Lupita Nyong'o, and best writing for adapted screenplay.
"Dallas Buyers Club" helped Mathew McConaughey win his first Oscar for his performance as an AIDS patient in the biopic. His co-star Jared Leto was honoured with an Oscar for best actor in a supporting role, while the film's make-up and hairstyling team Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews won an award too.
Cate Blanchett was thrilled to get the award for best actress in a leading role for "Blue Jasmine", in which she essays a rich socialite whose life crumbles because of a broken marriage.
"The Great Gatsby" was awarded for magnificent costumes and production design. Animated film "Frozen" too bagged two awards - best animation feature film and original song.
Surprisingly, crime-comedy drama "American Hustle", which had got 10 nominations, failed to get a single award at the glittering event, which was hosted by comedian and chat show host Ellen DeGeneres and was held at the Dolby Theatre.
DeGeneres infused life into the show with her funny antics, but a standout moment was when she gathered stars like Meryl Streep, Channing Tatum, Bradley Cooper, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and a few more for a rare group selfie.
The star-studded event saw celebrities like John Travolta, Goldie Hawn, Sidney Poitier, Whoopi Goldberg, Anne Hathaway, Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron as presenters on stage.
The annual extravaganza, which recognises the best in Hollywood, also saw some entertaining performances by rock band U2, Pharrell Williams, and Pink, who paid a tribute to the 1939 musical fantasy film "The Wizard Of Oz" for its 75th anniversary.
The full list of winners for the 86th Academy Awards are below:
Best Picture
12 Years a Slave
Directing
Gravity, Alfonso Cuarón
Actor in a Leading Role
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Actor in a Supporting Role
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
Actress in a Leading Role
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Actress in a Supporting Role
Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
Animated Feature Film
Frozen
Cinematography
Gravity, Emmanuel Lubezki
Costume Design
The Great Gatsby, Catherine Martin
Documentary Feature
20 Feet from Stardom
Documentary Short Subject
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life
Film Editing
Gravity, Alfonso Cuarón and Mark Sanger
Foreign Language Film
The Great Beauty, Italy
Makeup and Hairstyling
Dallas Buyers Club, Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews
Music (Original Score)
Gravity, Steven Price
Music (Original Song)
"Let It Go" from Frozen
Production Design
The Great Gatsby, Production Design: Catherine Martin; Set Decoration: Beverley Dunn
Short Film (Animated)
Mr. Hublot
Short Film (Live Action)
Helium
Sound Editing
Gravity, Glenn Freemantle
Sound Mixing
Gravity, Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead and Chris Munro
Visual Effects
Gravity, Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk and Neil Corbould
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
12 Years a Slave, Screenplay by John Ridley
Writing (Original Screenplay)
Her, Written by Spike Jonze