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Slumdog Millionaire has won the top prize at the Academy Awards, winning eight Oscars including best director and best picture. (BBC News)
The film, set in the slums of Mumbai (Bombay), won eight awards in total, including gongs for best adapted screenplay, cinematography, sound mixing, film editing, best original score and best song.
"There are certain places in the universe you never imagine standing. For me, it's the moon, the South Pole, the Miss World podium and here," joked British screenwriter Simon Beaufoy, previously best known for writing The Full Monty.
Indian composer AR Rahman, who received two Oscars - for best song and best score - praised the city which inspired the book, and subsequently the film.
He hailed "all the people from Mumbai and the essence of the film, which is about optimism and the power of hope and our lives".
In a great night for Britain, Kate Winslet won the best actress Oscar for The Reader, finally clinching the award on her sixth nomination.
The big surprise of the night was Sean Penn, winning best actor for his role as gay rights activist Harvey Milk.
Heath Ledger won a posthumous Oscar for supporting actor for The Dark Knight.
The actor's family received the award on behalf of Ledger, who died in January 2008.
"We have been truly overwhelmed by the honour and respect being bestowed upon him with this award," his mother said.
Ledger becomes only the second performer to win a posthumous Oscar, following Peter Finch's win for Network in 1977.
But the night belonged to Slumdog Millionaire, the rags-to-riches tale that has enchanted audiences around the world.
Director Danny Boyle, 52, bounced up and down in delight as he received his award, telling the audience: "I swore [to my children] if this miracle ever happened I would receive it in the spirit of Tigger."
The film, set in the slums of Mumbai (Bombay), won eight awards in total, including gongs for best adapted screenplay, cinematography, sound mixing, film editing, best original score and best song.
"There are certain places in the universe you never imagine standing. For me, it's the moon, the South Pole, the Miss World podium and here," joked British screenwriter Simon Beaufoy, previously best known for writing The Full Monty.
Indian composer AR Rahman, who received two Oscars - for best song and best score - praised the city which inspired the book, and subsequently the film.
He hailed "all the people from Mumbai and the essence of the film, which is about optimism and the power of hope and our lives".
In a great night for Britain, Kate Winslet won the best actress Oscar for The Reader, finally clinching the award on her sixth nomination.
The big surprise of the night was Sean Penn, winning best actor for his role as gay rights activist Harvey Milk.
Heath Ledger won a posthumous Oscar for supporting actor for The Dark Knight.
The actor's family received the award on behalf of Ledger, who died in January 2008.
"We have been truly overwhelmed by the honour and respect being bestowed upon him with this award," his mother said.
Ledger becomes only the second performer to win a posthumous Oscar, following Peter Finch's win for Network in 1977.
But the night belonged to Slumdog Millionaire, the rags-to-riches tale that has enchanted audiences around the world.
Director Danny Boyle, 52, bounced up and down in delight as he received his award, telling the audience: "I swore [to my children] if this miracle ever happened I would receive it in the spirit of Tigger."
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