Slumdog cleans up with UK critics

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Slumdog Millionaire has been given top honours by UK film critics, winning three of their annual awards including best British film.

Danny Boyle was named British director of the year at the London Film Critics' Circle Awards for his story of a poor Indian boy competing in a TV game show.

Simon Beaufoy collected the prize for screenwriter of the year.

The film has already picked up a string of awards around the world and is nominated for 10 Academy Awards.

The critics named David Fincher director of the year for his work on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Fincher will go head to head with Danny Boyle for the best director award at the Oscars.

Kate Winslet was awarded actress of the year for her roles in The Reader and Revolutionary Road.

Mickey Rourke took the best actor honours for playing the washed up anti hero of The Wrestler which also took the film of the year title.

Awards chairman Jason Solomons said: "I'm thrilled that we can add our chorus of approval to those receiving rightful acclaim elsewhere."

New talent

Eddie Marsan picked up the best British supporting actor award for playing the curmudgeonly driving instructor in Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky.

Steve McQueen was named as breakthrough British film maker for Hunger, his film about IRA prisoner Bobby Sands. The film's star Michael Fassbender was named British actor of the year.

A new award for young acting talent was given to Thomas Turgoose. Organisers of the awards, which are voted for by more than 100 newspaper and magazine film critics, said the inaugural NSPCC award for young British performance of the year was closely fought.

Last year Turgoose demonstrated his versatility by playing a ferocious yob in horror movie Eden Lake and as a troubled teen from a broken home in Shane Meadow's black and white film Somers Town.

Dame Judi Dench was given The Dilys Powell Award for outstanding contribution to cinema.