'12 Years a Slave' won three awards at the London Critics' Circle Film Awards on Sunday night (02.02.14).
The historical drama was named film of the year, while Chiwetel Ejiofor won actor of the year for his portrayal of Solomon Northup - a real-life figure who was kidnapped and sold into slavery - and his co-star Lupita Nyong'o took the prize for best supporting actress at the ceremony which was held at London's May Fair Hotel.
Director Steve McQueen - who was born and raised in London - was thrilled with the response the film has received and felt "humbled and heart-warmed" by the support.
McQueen - who lost out on best director category to Gravity's Alfonso Cuarón - said: "It got people to the cinema. What's so interesting about the response from critics and audiences is that they want to see films which have some difficulties.
"They are interested in films where they have to work. They are interested the films where they see themselves reflected in the cinema screens.
"I have people in the street - builders, bus drivers - being so supportive to the movie. I've felt so much love for this film in this country and I'm so humbled and heart-warmed that it's from my own country."
The ceremony began with film critic Jason Solomons paying tribute to the late American actor and director Philip Seymour Hoffman as news of his death in New York City emerged.
Cate Blanchett was named actress of the year for her performance in Woody Allen's 'Blue Jasmine' and Dame Judi Dench won British actress of the year commended for her work in 'Philomena'.
Meanwhile, James McAvoy won best British actor for his work in 'Filth' and 'Trance'.
Gary Oldman, 55, was honoured with the Dilys Powell award for excellence in film and he was delighted about the recognition he'd been given.
He told the BBC News: "I think, I think it's quite a big deal, I think it's a big deal tonight."

Full List of Winners:

Film of the year - 12 Years a Slave

British film of the year - The Selfish Giant

Foreign-language film of the year - Blue Is the Warmest Colour

Documentary of the year - The Act of Killing

Actor of the year - Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years a Slave

Actress of the year - Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine

Supporting actor of the year - Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips

Supporting actress of the year - Lupita Nyong'o - 12 Years a Slave

British actor of the year - James McAvoy - Filth, Trance, Welcome to the Punch

British actress of the year - Judi Dench - Philomena

Director of the year - Alfonso Cuarón - Gravity

Screenwriter of the year - Ethan Coen & Joel Coen - Inside Llewyn Davis

Young British performer of the year - Conner Chapman - The Selfish Giant

Breakthrough British film-maker - Jon S Baird - Filth

Technical achievement award - Gravity - Tim Webber, special effects

Dilys Powell award for excellence in film - Gary Oldman

Julianne Hough kept comfortable on a shopping trip in West Hollywood yesterday. The actress teamed her denim dungarees with retro glasses as she splashed out at fashion retailer Intermix.

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Lindsay Lohan was "shaken up" after being refused entry to a number of nightclubs on Friday (31.01.14).
The troubled actress has reportedly been banned from several New York nightspots following a series of incidents, including claiming her fur coat had been stolen, but still tried to gain admission to two - and was stunned to be turned away.
A source at nightspot 1Oak said: "She stared the doorman down and was surprised that they wouldn't let her in. She was definitely shaken up."
Lindsay also tried to get into new venue Up & Down - where revellers at the weekend included Ryan Phillippe, Bar Refaeli and Paris Hilton - but was again turned away.
A source told the New York Post newspaper: "She turned away to her friends and looked really embarrassed."
The 'Mean Girls' star had claimed one half of her two-piece fur coat went missing from inside 1Oak last Wednesday (29.01.14), but the club insisted she hadn't lost anything.
However, the 27-year-old actress got the $75,000 garment back after Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Sidney Rice,who was at Lindsay's table, found the fur and took it home for safe keeping, before Lindsay's representatives picked it up the following day.

Anthea Turner and Ritchie Neville have been eliminated from 'The Jump'.
The pair narrowly missed out on a spot in the final of the celebrity winter sports competition on Sunday night (02.02.14), after losing out to Donal McIntyre in the ski jump challenge, following their poor scores in the slalom, which along with speed-skiing, was one of the key events.
Upon exiting the contest, Ritchie told show host Davina McCall: "I've had an amazing time. I said I'm going to come here and give it 100%, and that's exactly what I did."
The event saw winners Joe McElderry, Sir Steve Redgrave and Marcus Brigstocke take a place in the final with the fourth place up for grabs.
Donal and Ritchie jumped an impressive 15.5 metres and 16 metres respectively, but Anthea only managed 14 metres, putting her out of the contest.
That left the 5ive singer and the investigative journalist to battle it out for a place in the final.
The pair then jumped again, with Donal gaining the longest jump of the series so far at 17.5 metres, however, Ritchie was disqualified after an awkward take off left him crashing to the ground.
The four remaining celebrities will compete to win 'The Jump' when the final screens tonight (03.02.14) on Channel 4.

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Carol Jackson will discover she has a faulty BRCA gene in 'EastEnders'.
The Walford matriarch's ongoing breast cancer storyline will take a tragic turn when she discovers she has the BRCA2 gene, which means her daughters Bianca (Patsy Palmer) and Sonia (Natalie Cassidy) could be at risk of developing breast cancer too.
The storyline will run throughout the year and one of Carol's daughters will discover she has the BRCA2 gene, increasing her chances of a breast cancer diagnosis like her mum.
'EastEnders' producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins told the Daily Telegraph newspaper: "She reacts very differently to her mother. We don't want to scaremonger, we want to show every little moment of a woman going through this and the way it affects her children, brothers, sisters and parents."
Lindsey Coulson - who plays Carol in the BBC One soap - says she wants to give viewers a "warts-and-all" portrayal of breast cancer and even thought she had developed cancer after immersing herself in the storyline.
She said: "I talked to a chemotherapy nurse and what you go through is not pretty. The viewers will see it warts-and-all. Chemo is a toxic poison and you are not going to look great. People need to see that Carol is losing her hair. I'm for as much authenticity as possible.
"I suggested Carol drinking mint tea and green tea because I'm quite fired up about the nutritional side. For a while, I was so immersed in it, I almost believed I had cancer myself. It is a big fear for all of us. I'm following an alkaline diet, having read about the links between sugar and cancerous tumours. I'm interested in whether someone like Carol would have that knowledge too."

Bobbi Kristina Brown is planning a "fairytale" second wedding.
Whitney Houston's daughter secretly married her fiancé Nick Gordon earlier this month, despite controversy over their unconventional relationship since Nick was raised as her brother when the late superstar took him into her home 12 years ago.
The couple now hope to prove the sceptics wrong when they celebrate their commitment to one another for a second time with a big wedding later this year.
Bobbi told The Sun newspaper: "The criticism of our relationship only made us stronger. It lit a fire under our ass. We are officially married now but our wedding was just very low-key. But I can say that we're planning a big wedding later this year.
"It's going to be very royal, classic and beautiful - just a phenomenal ceremony. We're going for the full fairytale."
The 20-year-old aspiring singer says Whitney's death from an overdose in February 2012 brought her and Nick together and she thinks the 'I Will Always Love You' hitmaker would have been excited about the big day.
She added: "Losing mum brought us together. Nick has been there for me - he's my backbone. If my mother could see me now she would just be so incredibly happy. I can just see her - she'd be running around fussing about the wedding."
Meanwhile, Nick, 24, silenced critics by insisting he will never break his vow to Whitney to protect her daughter.
He gushed: "I looked at Krissi like a little sister, she looked at me like an older brother. Whitney taught me how to be a man, how to respect women. I owe everything to her.
"She made me promise several times to look after Krissi. And I will never break that promise."

'The Voice' hopeful Jai McConnell refused to pick will.i.am as his mentor because he is too "cocky".
The single mum - who wowed the coaches, including Kylie Minogue, Sir Tom Jones and Ricky Wilson, with her rendition of The Noisettes' 'Never Forget You' on Saturday (01.02.14) - picked pop princess Kylie as her mentor over the Black Eyed Peas star after deeming him too arrogant.
She told The Sun newspaper: "I was tempted to go with will but he came on very strong. He's very sure of himself and cocky. He was so sure he was in there. But I knew in my head that I wanted Kylie from the beginning - she's amazing."
Jai is looking forward to working with the 'Can't Get You Out of My Head' hitmaker and hopes to make her three-year-old son, Kingston, proud.
She added: "I can't wait to learn more from Kylie. I think she's massively inspirational. I just look at her and I'm like, 'I want to be you!'
"I've done open mic nights and karaoke and I was in a punk band at college, but this was the biggest deal for me so far. I've not auditioned for other talent shows because I think they can be exploitative. But on 'The Voice' they nurture and support people."

Jay Z, Beyoncé and DJ Tiesto were paid more than $2 million to perform at the most expensive Super Bowl party of all-time on Saturday night (01.02.14).
The couple performed for 6,000 guests at Pier 40 on Manhattan's West Side, while DJ Tiesto took to the decks, and the trio banked huge pay cheques for their night's work, according to the New York Post newspaper.
Hollywood stars including Leonardo DiCaprio and Jamie Foxx were joined by music legend Sir Paul McCartney to watch Beyoncé and her husband perform her single 'Drunk in Love' at the DirecTV Super Saturday party.
The show took place in a specially-constructed 88,000 sq ft stadium - while guests drank in a heated stadium tent which took weeks to build.
Macklemore, Spike Lee, Hayden Panettiere and Kate Upton were amongst the other guests.
Jay, 44, headlined and performed a greatest hits set including his ode to New York City 'Empire State of Mind', before being joined by his wife Beyoncé, 32, to perform their latest collaboration.
The notoriously private pair, who also put on a steamy performance at the Grammy Awards last month, kissed on stage and Jay Z urged the crowd to "all hail Queen B."
The event was sponsored by Mark Cuban's Axs TV and Bank of America.
Later on in the evening the couple attended the Roc Nation Sports and Airbnb party at Jay Z's own 40/40 Club.

'Coronation Street's Steve McDonald and Lloyd Mullaney will star in a new online spin-off.
ITV will release four hilarious mini-episodes focusing on the cab drivers' late night antics inside the Streetcars' office.
The first episode of 'Streetcar Stories', titled 'The Stripper' - which is available on the 'Coronation Street' website today (03.02.14) - sees Steve (Simon Gregson) and Lloyd (Craig Charles) re-enact the classic Morecombe and Wise 'Breakfast' sketch.
The second episode will be released on Wednesday (05.02.14), followed by the third episode next Monday (10.02.14), which will introduce Streetcars' switchboard operator Fat Brenda's stunning young daughter.
The final instalment of 'Streetcar Stories' will then be released on Wednesday, February 12.
All four short episodes have been scripted by 'Coronation Street' writer Chris Fewtrell.
'Coronation Street' is riding high in the ratings at the moment and recently won Best Soap for the third year in a row at the National Television Awards.
Rumours recently circulated that 'Corrie' producers are secretly plotting a Canadian version of the soap.
A source said: "This is a secret project a group of our top writers have been working on for more than a year. They have already created the core cast of characters and have already written the early episodes."

Robert De Niro is "so saddened" by Philip Seymour Hoffman's death.
The legendary actor has paid tribute to his 'Flawless' co-star - who was found dead aged 46 of an apparent drugs overdose yesterday (02.02.14) - describing him as "gifted" and a "wonderful" actor.
He said: "I'm very, very saddened by the passing of Phil. He was a wonderful actor. This is one of those times where you say 'this just shouldn't be. He was so young and gifted and had so much going, so much to live for'. My family and I send our deepest condolences to his family."
De Niro was one of many of the actor's co-stars to express their sadness at his passing.
Jeff Bridges, who appeared alongside him in cult bowling movie 'The Big Lebowski', said: "I'm so shocked, and so sad hearing of Philip Seymour Hoffman's death. I enjoyed playing with him on 'The Big Lebowski'. He was such a wonderful guy, and so damn talented, a real treasure. My thoughts and prayers are with his family."
And 'Ides of March' actor George Clooney said: "There are no words. It's just terrible."
Tom Hanks, who appeared with Philip in 'Charlie Wilson's War' praised the Oscar-winning actor's "giant talent".
He said in a statement: "This is a horrible day for those who worked ‎with Philip. He was a giant talent. Our hearts are open for his family."
Gwyneth Paltrow shared a picture of herself, Philip, Jude Law and a female friend in Italy after working on 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' on her Instagram account.
She wrote alongside it: "Ischia 1998, post dinner, post shooting...Philip was a true genius. #philipseymourhoffman."