The 81st Academy Awards winners

The 81st Academy Awards ceremony was held by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to honor its selection of the best films of 2008 on Sunday, February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Australian performer Hugh Jackman hosted the ceremony for the first time.

Slumdog ended up with eight Oscars in all, including Best Picture and Best Director for Danny Boyle. In the acting categories, Kate Winslet won Best Actress for The Reader, her first win after six nominations, while Sean Penn's performance in Milk netted him his second Best Actor statue. As expected, Heath Ledger was honored posthumously as Best Supporting Actor for his iconic role as the Joker in The Dark Knight; Penelope Cruz won her first Oscar as Best Supporting Actress for Vicky Cristina Barcelona, her second nomination.

Here are the 2009 Academy Award Winners:

BEST PICTURE
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ACTOR
Sean Penn, Milk

BEST ACTRESS
Kate Winslet, The Reader

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Milk, Dustin Lance Black

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Slumdog Millionaire, Simon Beaufoy

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
WALL-E

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
La Maison en Petits Cubes

BEST ART DIRECTION
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
The Duchess

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Man on Wire

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Smile Pinki

BEST EDITING
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Departures (Japan)

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
Spielzeugland (Toyland)

BEST MAKEUP
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Slumdog Millionaire, A.R. Rahman

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
''Jai Ho,'' Slumdog Millionaire

BEST SOUND EDITING
The Dark Knight

BEST SOUND MIXING
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button