British cinema was among the winners at the Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday, with royal film "The King's Speech" coming away with four awards.

The film about the stuttering King George VI, who overcame his stammer with the help of an Australian speech therapist, came away with the prizes for best original screenplay, best actor for Colin Firth, best director for Tom Hooper and the coveted best picture.

Screenwriter David Seidler used his acceptance speech to jokingly thank Queen Elizabeth II, among others, as well as stutterers everywhere.

"I would like to thank Her Majesty the Queen for not putting me in the Tower of London" for putting swear words in George VI's mouth. "And I accept this on behalf of all the stutterers throughout the world."

'Inception,' 'The Social Network' also recognized

"Inception," starring Leonardo DiCaprio, also came away with four awards for best cinematography, visual effects, sound mixing and sound editing.

US film "The Social Network" took home three Oscars after having been nominated for eight awards. It won for best film editing, original score and adapted screenplay.

The best supporting actor award went to Englishman Christian Bale for his part in the boxing film "The Fighter." Costar Melissa Leo picked up the best supporting actress award.

American actress Natalie Portman, meanwhile, won best actress for her effort in the ballet thriller "Black Swan."

The German contingent at the awards ceremony came away empty-handed, with Hans Zimmer losing out to "The Social Network" for best original score, Jakob Schuh and Max Lang falling to "The Lost Thing" in the best animated short film category and Stephan Trojansky being beaten to the visual effects award by "Inception."

Author: Darren Mara (AFP, Reuters)
Editor: Martin Kuebler