The hostage drama Argo won the Oscar for Best Picture, the top award at the ceremony of the most prestigious film awards in the world, leaving its main competitor Lincoln behind.
The thriller, based on true events, tells the story of the CIA’s operation to rescue five American hostages from Iran after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, under the guise of filming a fake Hollywood movie.
In addition to Best Picture, Argo also won golden statuettes in several other categories, although director Ben Affleck missed out on Best Director. That Oscar was awarded to Taiwanese-born director Ang Lee for the film Life of Pi, an adaptation of Yann Martel’s fantastical adventure about an Indian boy who survives a shipwreck and is left in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger.
The winner in the Best Actor category, Daniel Day-Lewis, made history by becoming the first actor to win an Oscar in that category three times. He earned this prestigious award from the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for his exceptional role as American President Abraham Lincoln in the film of the same name by Steven Spielberg.
The Best Actress award went to Jennifer Lawrence for her role in the film Silver Linings Playbook, defeating fierce competition from Jessica Chastain and 86-year-old French actress Emmanuelle Riva in one of the most uncertain categories of this year’s awards.
