Best Director: Alfonso Cuaron

Alfonso Cuaron accepts the Oscar for best director for "Gravity" at the 86th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California March 2, 2014.[Photo/Agencies]

Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron won the Oscar for best director on Sunday for the space thriller, "Gravity," in which an astronaut fights for her survival after being cut loose from her space shuttle.

It was the first Academy Award for Cuaron, 52, and the first best director Oscar for a Mexican. His 3-D film starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney mixes dazzling special effects, suspense and human drama.

Accepting the Oscar, Cuaron paid special tribute to Bullock: "Sandy, you are 'Gravity', you are the soul and heart of the film. You are an amazing collaborator and one of the best people I have ever met."

Cuaron had been hotly tipped to win the best director category, having swept the prize in other awards ceremonies before Sunday's Oscars, including from the Directors Guild of America.