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Slumdog Millionaire has won the top prize at the 11th British Independent Film Awards.
The film about an Indian street kid who ends up winning Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, also won awards for director Danny Boyle and star Dev Patel, who was named best newcomer.
Steve McQueen's Hunger - about the last days of hunger striker Bobby Sands - also won three gongs - best debut director, best actor (Michael Fassbinder) and best cinematography (Sean Bobbitt).
The awards, presented in London, are given to British films that are made independently for less than £10 million.
Johanna von Fischer and Tessa Collinson, BIFA co-directors said: "It's been another stellar year for independent film in Britain. The diverse range of films nominated showcases an astounding lineup of talent both new and established that demands to be celebrated."
It was a night for newcomers, with big names Keira Knightly and Ralph Fiennes, failing to win awards. Vera Farmiga won the best actress award for her role in The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, while her co-star in the film David Thewlis - who plays a Nazi camp commandant - was given a prize for his outstanding contribution to British cinema.
Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky - about an eternally optimistic schoolteacher - scooped both best supporting actor gongs, for Eddie Marsan and Alexis Zegerman.
Best foreign film award went to recent UK release Waltz With Bashir - an animation about the 1982 Lebanon War.
In the equally hotly contested short film category Simon Ellis's Soft continued to cut a swathe through the competition that has seen it win a host of awards this year.
John Woodward, Chief Executive Officer of the UK Film Council, the major funding partner of the BIFAs says: "This year's BIFA nominations and award winners really highlight the range of talent working in the UK with powerful, ground-breaking and imaginative films coming from filmmakers with diverse voices.
"Over the years these awards have developed a great knack for discovering exciting new talent and promoting them to a wider film world, consequently championing British independent film excellence and originality."
The nominees and winners are below:
Best British Independent Film
Hunger
In Bruges
Man On Wire
WINNER: Slumdog Millionaire
Somers Town
Best Director
Mark Herman – The Boy In The
Striped Pyjamas
Steve McQueen – Hunger
WINNER: Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire
Shane Meadows – Somers
Town
Garth Jennings – Son Of
Rambow
The Douglas Hickox Award [Best Debut Director]
James Watkins – Eden
Lake
Rupert Wyatt – The
Escapist
WINNER: Steve McQueen – Hunger
Martin McDonagh – In
Bruges
Eran Creevy – Shifty
Best Screenplay
Enda Walsh, Steve McQueen – Hunger
WINNER: Martin McDonagh – In
Bruges
Simon Beaufoy – Slumdog Millionaire
Paul Fraser – Somers
Town
Garth Jennings – Son Of
Rambow
Best Actress
WINNER: Vera Farmiga – The Boy In
The Striped Pyjamas
Samantha Morton – The Daisy Chain
Keira Knightley – The
Duchess
Kelly Reilly – Eden
Lake
Sally Hawkins – Happy-Go-Lucky
Best Actor
WINNER: Michael Fassbender – Hunger
Colin Farrell – In
Bruges
Brendan Gleeson – In
Bruges
Riz Ahmed – Shifty
Thomas Turgoose – Somers
Town
Best Supporting Actress
Emma Thompson – Brideshead
Revisited
Hayley Atwell – The
Duchess
Kristin Scott Thomas – Easy Virtue
Sienna Miller – The Edge Of
Love
WINNER: Alexis Zegerman – Happy-Go-Lucky
Best Supporting Actor
Ralph Fiennes – The
Duchess
WINNER: Eddie Marsan – Happy-Go-Lucky
Liam Cunningham – Hunger
Ralph Fiennes – In
Bruges
Daniel Mays – Shifty
Most Promising Newcomer
Asa Butterfield – The Boy In
The Striped Pyjamas
WINNER: Dev Patel – Slumdog Millionaire
Ayush Mahesh Khedekar – Slumdog Millionaire
Bill Milne – Son Of
Rambow
Will Poulter – Son Of
Rambow
Best Achievement In Production
The Daisy Chain
WINNER: The Escapist
Hush
Shifty
Telstar
Raindance Award
Clubbed
Flick
One Day Removals
WINNER: Zebra Crossings
Best Technical Achievement
Wardrobe – Michael O'Connor – The Duchess
WINNER: Cinematography – Sean Bobbitt – Hunger
Editing – Jon Gregory – In
Bruges
Music – Harry Escott, Molly Nyman – Shifty
Cinematography – Anthony Dod Mantle – Slumdog Millionaire
Best Documentary
A Complete History of My
Sexual Failures
Derek
WINNER: Man On Wire
Of Time And The City
Three Miles North of
Molkom
Best British Short
Alex And Her Arse Tuck
Gone Fishing
Love Does Grow On Trees
Red Sands
WINNER: Soft
Best Foreign Film
The Diving Bell & The
Butterfly
Gomorrah
I've Loved You So Long
Persepolis
WINNER: Waltz With Bashir
The Richard Harris Award (for outstanding contribution to British Film)
David
Thewlis
The Variety Award
Michael
Sheen
The Special Jury Prize
Joe Dunton
