Producer Brad Pitt talks as he and Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kliner, director Steve McQueen and Anthony Katagas accept the Oscar for best picture for "12 Years A Slave" at the 86th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California March 2, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

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In accepting the first award of the night for "12 Years a Slave," Nyong'o, 31, paid homage to her character, who picked more cotton than anyone else but suffered at the hands of her besotted yet evil master.

"It doesn't escape me for one moment that so much joy in my life is thanks to so much pain in someone else's, and so I want to salute the spirit of Patsey, for her guidance," a tearful Nyong'o told the audience.

Sunday capped an unusually long awards season, extended by the Winter Olympics, and for "12 Years a Slave" it spells the end of six months of both high acclaim and uncertainty over awards stemming from the perception that it was a hard film to watch.

The film from studio Fox Searchlight compelled Oscar voters to go see the film with the ad 'It's Time," fearing that they might skip it and throw their weight behind "Gravity." It has earned nearly $140 at the worldwide box office, a fraction of the $700 million for "Gravity."

Right to the end, McQueen and his fellow producers, including Pitt, stuck to his line that slavery was a theme that is not only historical but also current.

"We just hope this film remains a gentle reminder that we are all equal," said Pitt backstage.