Kathryn Bigelow (L), director for The Hurt Locker, after winning best director award.

LOS ANGELES, March 8 – ‘The Hurt Locker’, a gritty Iraq war drama, swept the Oscars this year by winning six trophies with Kathryn Bigelow creating history by becoming the first woman director to win an Academy Award, reports PTI.

The USD 16 million film about the travails of a US bomb disposal squad trounced James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ to win the Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Editing, Sound Mixing and Sound Editing trophies. It was nominated in nine categories along with the sci-fi blockbuster.

‘Avatar’, which was in a neck-and-neck race with ‘The Hurt Locker’, won three golden statuettes – for Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction and Visual Effects.

“It is a moment of lifetime. I am so honoured to be sitting in this extraordinary company of powerful filmmakers, who have inspired me. I would not be standing here but for Boal (writer) and the extraordinary cast and the technicians. I would like to dedicate this award to the women and men in the military and pray that they come home safe,” said the 58-year-old Bigelow.

Only three women have ever been nominated in the Best Director category in 80-year-old history of the Academy.

The 82nd Academy Awards, which was held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, had no surprises in the acting categories with favourites Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart) and Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side) winning the trophies for the Best Actor and Best Actress respectively.

Unlike last year, when Mumbai-based potboiler ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ walked away with eight Oscars, including trophies for A R Rahman and Resul Pukutty, it was a blank for India this time. ‘Kavi’, a short Hindi film about modern day slavery in India, lost out to Danish film ‘The New Tenants’ in the Short Film (Live Action) category.

Bridges, 60, who won his first Oscar for his portrayal of alcoholic country singer Bad Blake in ‘Crazy Heart’, beat off competition from Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney (Up In The Air), Morgan Freeman (Invictus), Jeremy Renner ‘The Hurt Locker’ and Colin Firth (A Single Man).

Bullock, also a first timer, took home the trophy for the Best Actress for her role as Leigh Anne Touhy in ‘The Blind Side’, a film about a feisty Southern homemaker, who changes the life of a troubled African American teenager. – PTI