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March 3, 2014

"12 Years a Slave" Wins Best Picture Oscar in 1st for Black Director 
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The 86th Annual Academy Awards were presented Sunday night in Los
Angeles. The feature film, "12 Years a Slave," about a free black man
kidnapped and sold into slavery, won for Best Picture, marking the first
time the top honor has gone to a film by a black director, Steve Mc
Queen. Lupita Nyong'o, who plays the enslaved woman Patsy in the film,
won Best Supporting Actress, becoming the first Kenyan to win an Oscar.

Lupita Nyong'o: "It doesn't escape me for one moment that so much joy in
my life is thanks to so much pain in someone else's, and so I want to
salute the spirit of Patsy for her guidance, and for Solomon, thank you
for telling her story and your own. When I look down at this golden
statue, may it remind me and every little child that no matter where
you're from, your dreams are valid. Thank you."

Matthew Mc Conaughey won Best Actor and Jared Leto won Best Supporting
Actor for their roles in Dallas Buyers Club, a film about the difficulty
of obtaining medication in the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. "20
Feet from Stardom," about backup singers, won Best Feature Documentary.

 

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