Golden Globes 2015: triumphant Boyhood now Oscars frontrunner

The coming of age film Boyhood received the biggest honours at this year's Golden Globe awards, scooping the prizes for best film, best director and best supporting actress.

The awards, which honour both film and television, kicked off the Hollywood awards season and confirmed Boyhood as the frontrunner for next month's Oscars, The Guardian reports.

The groundbreaking film, which was shot intermittently over a period of 12 years, has been praised as an unassuming masterpiece. Director Richard Linklater's described it as the "biggest leap of faith in film history", one that has finally paid off.

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"Boyhood makes us feel euphoric about movies, about their mystery, their power, their ability to move us to laughter and tears," wrote critic Peter Travers in Rolling Stone's review of the film last year.

Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel, which leads the nominations for this year's Bafta Awards, won best comedy or musical film

British actor Eddie Redmayne won best actor for his role in the Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything, beating off competition from fellow countrymen Benedict Cumberbatch, for The Imitation Game, and David Oyelowo, for Selma.

"Oh my god. What an extraordinary thing," the actor said upon accepting his award. "This was a huge privilege. Getting to spend time with Stephen Hawking, who despite all of the obstacles put in his way, has lived passionately and fully and with great humour, was one of the great honours of my life."

Actress Julianne Moore, awarded the Golden Globe for best actress in Still Alice, applauded the diverse role women were now playing in film and TV despite being told that "no one wanted to see a movie about a middle-aged woman", by the author of the book the film was based on.

In television, the transgender-themed drama Transparent won the award in both of the categories it was nominated for, best TV series and best actor in a TV series, for Jeffrey Tambor.

Although dominated by jokes from hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, the night was also filled with sobering moments with "remarks about the protests in France to rapper Common's poignant recognition of civil rights activists in the Sixties," according to Rolling Stone.

List of winners:

Film:

Best Motion Picture – Drama: Boyhood

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best director: Richard Linklater (Boyhood)

Best Actress – Drama: Julianne Moore (Still Alice)

Best Actor – Drama: Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)

Best Actress – Musical or Comedy : Amy Adams (Big Eyes)

Best Actor – Musical or Comedy: Michael Keaton (Birdman)

Best supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)

Best supporting Actor: JK Simmons (Whiplash)

Television:

Best Drama Series: The Affair

Best Comedy Series: Transparent

Best Miniseries or TV Movie: Fargo

Best Actress in a Drama Series: Ruth Wilson (The Affair)

Best Actor in a Drama Series: Kevin Spacey (House of Cards)

Best Actress in a Comedy Series: Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin)

Best Actor in a Comedy Series: Jeffrey Tambor (Transparent)