Actors, directors and film industry insiders turned the Golden Globes into an evening of solidarity with the victims of the recent attack on French satire magazine "Charlie Hebdo." Many of the guests held signs reading "Je suis Charlie," including French film composer Alexandre Desplat (pictured). An appeal for freedom of speech was met with roaring applause.

The coming-of-age drama "Boyhood" by director Richard Linklater was the big winner of the evening, taking home three Golden Globe awards. The entire crew, pictured here, was there to celebrate. The Golden Globes were presented for the 72nd time Sunday in Los Angeles. Hollywood's second most significant prize, they are viewed as a barometer for the Oscars, which will be awarded in February.

"Boyhood" received the award for Best Drama. Director Richard Linklater won Best Director, and Patricia Arquette took home the Best Supporting Actress award. The fictional film traces the childhood of a boy, played by Ellar Coltrane, over the course of 12 years. Linklater worked with the same cast over that 12-year period. The audience literally watches the protagonist grow up on screen.

Unlike the Oscars, each Golden Globe award is divided into genres. While "Boyhood" took Best Drama, the historical comedy "Grand Budapest Hotel" was crowned with Best Musical or Comedy. Both films premiered in February 2014 at the Berlin International Film Festival.

This year's Best Actress in the drama category went to Julianne Moore for her performance in "Still Alice." She plays a woman suffering from a rare, hereditary form of Alzheimer's and the film explores the influence of the illness on the patient's family members. "Still Alice" premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September and opens in Germany in March.

While Juliane Moore is already an established Hollywood star, the Best Actor winner in the drama category is just starting out. Young British actor Eddie Redmayne was celebrated for his leading role in the film "The Theory of Everything," on the life of world-famous physicist Stephen Hawking.

After "Boyhood," "Birdman" was the second big winner of the evening. Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (second from left) accepted the prize for Best Screenplay, which he wrote together with three colleagues. Michael Keaton also claimed the Best Actor award for comedy for his lead performance.

Italian-born American actress Amy Adams was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a comedy. In "Big Eyes" she stars as an unsuccessful artist in the 1950s. It's not until her husband, played by Christoph Waltz, claims to have painted her artworks that they begin to sell.

Like the Oscars, the Golden Globes also include a category for foreign language films. This year, the prize went to the Russian film "Leviathan" by director Andrei Zvyagintsev (right). The picture, which was already celebrated at the Cannes Festival last year, tells the story of a man that lives in isolation in Siberia and feels threatened by unscrupulous politicians.

There are two big differences between the Oscars and the Golden Globes. While the Oscar winners are selected by a huge academy, made up of thousands of members, the Globes are determined by a handful of journalists from abroad. And secondly, TV shows are included in the lineup. This year, the makers of "The Affair" received the prize for Best Drama Series.

George Clooney was recognized this year for his lifetime achievement and used the opportunity to express solidarity with the victims of the "Charlie Hebdo" attack in Paris. He concluded his acceptance speech with the words that have passed through countless streets and social media feeds this week: "Je suis Charlie."