Awards

UK/USA

The Creative Team of 12 Years a Slave.

As Edwin Epps

Tied with Her (2013) in 3rd place.

Tied with Oscar Isaac for Inside Llewyn Davis (2013).

Tied with James Franco for Spring Breakers (2012).

"Director Steve McQueen captivates his audiences by challenging them with often unorthodox and unrelenting subject matter and technique. McQueen is a master of utilizing the senses to create the essence of his works. In his latest effort, 12 Years a Slave, audiences become integrally involved in the unbearably violent nightmare of a free black man, who is kidnapped and sold into slavery, eventually to return home to freedom. To Steve McQueen, a soaring talent who ranks among the greats with each directorial effort, the Palm Springs International Film Festival is proud to present him the 2014 Director of the Year Award."

Lupita Nyong'o is outstanding as the exploited slave whose beauty attracts the attention of Michael Fassbender's vicious slave master. She delivers a raw and deeply moving performance that serves as the fulcrum for the film's message of the inhumanity of slavery.

Tied with Gravity (2013).

Motivation of the jury: "This award goes to a director who is in complete control of his chosen mode of expression. The film succeeds at being at the same time both epic and personal. All too often a director can overshadow their own film, but here is someone whose presence doesn't force itself onto the film, but which still shines through in each editorial choice he has made. Quite apart from the beautiful craftsmanship, this film is uniquely courageous. The unexpected duration of certain close-ups never feels self-serving, as each shot contributes to the film as a whole creating the unique feeling and aura of 12 Years a Slave."

Motivation of the jury: "Hans Zimmer has mastered the style of classic musical storytelling. He combines the almost frighteningly epic with the sensitively delicate: from hand claps to symphony. He is daring, and it pays off!"

12 YEARS A SLAVE is a story amazing - and in no good way. Director Steve McQueen shines a bright light on the horrors of the past - a time when caged and tortured humans were fuel to the machine that is America. Ultimately, this true tale is one of survival, a screenplay written by John Ridley and resting firmly upon the shoulders of Chiwetel Ejiofor, who delivers a strong and soulful performance as Solomon Northup - a free man kidnapped and sold into slavery. His injustice is set against the breathtaking beauty of Southern landscapes, which only serve to enhance atrocities disgracefully forgotten - and never before depicted with such raw intensity.

For the TV commercial entitled "Fight Back".

For the TV commercial entitled "Fight Back".

For the theatrical release poster.

For the official theatrical trailer.

2nd place

5th place

7th place

Tied with Tom Hardy for Locke (2013), Joaquin Phoenix for Her (2013) and Bill Hader for The Skeleton Twins (2014) in 10th place

3rd place

3rd place.

2nd place.