12 YEARS A SLAVE CROWNED AT ACADEMY AWARDS

Last Updated: April 11, 2014By Tags: , , , ,

What a triumphant win for Steve McQueen, last night, for his “12 Years a Slave.” Let us hope that more black filmmakers will advance in their craft and career and reach their place in the sun some day, too (Lee Daniels and Ryan Coogler of “Fruitvale Station” have been leading the charge). The international film industry is rather too homogeneous, color-wise, so last night’s mega-win for the adaptation of Solomon Northup’s account of his years spent as a slave will hopefully be a precursor of things to come.

According to the New York Times, McQueen is quoted as saying this about his win:  “everyone deserves not just to survive, but to live.” He dedicated the film to those who had endured slavery, both in the past and in the present (indeed, Northup’s spirit was dancing on our souls last night).

SEE ALSO Our review of “12 Years a Slave”

Here’s the full list of the winners from last night’s Academy Awards:

Best Picture: 12 Years a Slave
Best Actor in a Leading RoleMatthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)
Best Actress in a Leading RoleCate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
Best Actor in a Supporting RoleJared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)
Best Actress in a Supporting RoleLupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave)
Best Animated FeatureFrozen (Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Peter Del Vecho)
Best CinematographyGravity (Emmanuel Lubezki)
Best Costume Design: The Great Gatsby (Catherine Martin)
Best Directing: Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón)
Best Documentary Feature: 20 Feet from Stardom (Morgan Neville, Gil Friesen, Caitrin Rogers)
Best Documentary Short: The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life (Malcolm Clarke, Nicholas Reed)
Best Film Editing: Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger)
Best Foreign Language Film: The Great Beauty (Italy)
Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Dallas Buyers Club (Adruitha Lee, Robin Mathews)
Best Original Score: Gravity (Steven Price)
Best Original Song: Let It Go – Frozen
Best Production Design: The Great Gatsby (Catherine Martin, Beverley Dunn)
Best Animated Short Film: Mr. Hublot (Laurent Witz, Alexandre Espigares)
Best Live Action Short Film: Helium (Anders Walter, Kim Magnusson)
Best Sound Editing: Gravity (Glenn Freemantle)
Best Sound Mixing: Gravity (Skip Lievsay, Niv Adiri, Christopher Benstead, Chris Munro)
Best Visual Effects: Gravity (Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, Dave Shirk, Neil Corbould)
Best Adapted Screenplay: 12 Years a Slave (John Ridley)
Best Original Screenplay: Her (Spike Jonze)

"ALI: FEAR EATS THE SOUL" (1974)