“It is the moment of a lifetime.” So said Kathryn Bigelow, making history as the first woman ever to win an Oscar for Best Director. Her Iraq war drama ‘The Hurt Locker’ scooped six Academy Awards including Best Film. The low-budget production beat her ex-husband James Cameron’s blockbuster ‘Avatar’ hands down.

Another woman celebrating was all American sweetheart Sandra Bullock who took the Best Actress Prize. Having just won a Razzie award for Worst Actress, Bullock turned the tables at the Oscars. She was rewarded for her role as a suburban mum guiding a homeless teenager to a football career in ‘The Blind Side.’

The Best Actor Prize went to another first time winner, Jeff Bridges. The son of the late Hollywood star Lloyd Bridges triumphed with his portrayal of a drunken, world-weary country singer in “Crazy Heart.’

The surprise winner of the Best Foreign Film Oscar came from Argentina. ‘The Secret in Their Eyes’ tells the story of a retired prosecutor who sets out to write a book after he is haunted by a 25-year-old rape and murder case.

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