Awards season is finally up and running with New York producing an early surprise with their main winner.

The upcoming crime-thriller American Hustle has clinched three awards at this year’s New York Film Critics Circle including the coveted Best Picture prize.

Writer/director David O. Russell and his colleague Eric Singer were also honoured with the Best Screenplay accolade while lady of the moment Jennifer Lawrence continued her incredible form in the past two years with a Best Supporting Actress win for her role as frustrated housewife Roselyn Rosenfeld.

Hustle’s win probably wasn’t a surprise given that it is set in New York but most pundits had predicted that Steve McQueen’s historical drama 12 Years a Slave would do well. Instead the film earned just the one award for McQueen in the Best Director category while actors Chiwitel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender and Lupita Nyong’o all failed to win in their acting groups.

The legendary Robert Redford secured Best Actor for his role as a veteran sailor in the survival drama All is Lost while Cate Blanchett won the first of many expected awards this season for her performance as socialite Jasmine in Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine. Actor/singer Jared Leto was named Best Supporting Actor for his role as a transsexual AIDs sufferer in the real-life drama Dallas Buyers Club.

The other success stories of this year’s event included key wins for The Wind Rises in Best Animated Film and lesbian drama Blue is the Warmest Colour in Best Foreign Language Film.

The list of winners are below.

BEST FILM
American Hustle

BEST DIRECTOR
Steve McQueen – 12 Years a Slave

BEST ACTOR
Robert Redford – All is Lost

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett – Blue Jasmine

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle

BEST SCREENPLAY
David O. Russell & Eric Singer – American Hustle

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Bruno Delbonnel – Inside Llewyn Davies

BEST ANIMATED FILM
The Wind Rises

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Blue is the Warmest Colour

BEST NON-FICTION FEATURE
Stories We Tell

BEST FIRST FEATURE
Fruitvale Station