'Hunger' wins Evening Standard gong

Rex Features

Hunger has beaten Slumdog Millionaire to the Best Picture gong at the Evening Standard British Film Awards.

The Steve McQueen-helmed account of the last days of the Irish hunger striker Bobby Sands was selected as this year's prize winner by a jury of film critics.

Kate Winslet, who received an Oscar nod for The Reader, lost out in the Best Actress category to Tilda Swinton for Julia.

The Best Director gong went to The Reader's Stephen Daldry, while the award for Best Actor was shared between Michael Sheen for Frost/Nixon and Pat Shortt for Garage.

Martin McDonagh was awarded the Best Screenplay prize for In Bruges and Sally Hawkins won the Peter Sellers Award For Comedy for Happy Go Lucky.