The Departed wins best film Oscar

ess Trust of India / Los Angeles February 26, 2007

The mob saga, The Departed, won the best-picture Academy Award - a triumph for a homegrown American film - in an evening that featured the most internationally diverse field of nominees in the history of Hollywood's highest honours.

Martin Scorsese finally won the best director award - an accolade that has eluded him throughout his illustrious career - for The Departed after five previous losses.

Forest Whitaker won the best actor Oscar for his performance in The Last King of Scotland in which the soft-spoken actor played an uncharacteristically flamboyant role as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.

Helen Mirren won the best actress for her portrayal in The Queen.

The following is a list of winners in the major categories at the 79th annual Academy Awards:

Best Picture: The Departed

Best Actor in a Leading Role: Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland

Best Actress in a Leading Role: Helen Mirren for The Queen

Best Director: Martin Scorsese for The Departed

Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Alan Arkin for Little Miss Sunshine

Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls

Best Foreign-Language Film: The Lives of Others (Germany)

Best Animated Feature Film: Happy Feet

Best Adapted Screenplay: The Departed (William Monahan)

Best Original Screenplay: Little Miss Sunshine (Michael Arndt)

Best Documentary: An Inconvenient Truth