Gravity wins six Visual Effects Society Awards ahead of expected Baftas and Oscars glory

Alfonso Cuaron's space epic took home trophies in six of its seven categories

Sandra Bullock trapped in space in Alfonso Cuaron's award-winning Gravity

Space blockbuster Gravity won six Visual Effects Society Awards on Wednesday night ahead of anticipated glory at the upcoming Baftas and Oscars.

The hit film, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as astronauts, dominated the film categories at the annual ceremony in Beverly Hills, with director Alfonso Cuaron taking home the prestigious Visionary Award.

The movie won awards in six of the seven categories it was eligible for: Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Film, Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Film, Outstanding Virtual Cinematography, Outstanding Models, Outstanding FX and Simulation Animation and Outstanding Compositing.

It was so obvious that the film would sweep the board that host Patto Oswalt welcomed guests to “the first annual Gravity awards”.

The winner of the Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Film category has gone on to win the Best Visual Effects accolade at the Oscars in eight of the past 11 years, making Gravity a likely victor.

Disney animation Frozen won in all of its four VES categories, but strong contender Pacific Rim left with nothing despite six nominations.

Popular fantasy series Game of Thrones triumphed on the TV side with three awards while other winners included The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and The Lone Ranger.

John Dykstra, who worked on Star Wars and the first two Spider-Man films, received the Lifetime Achievement Award.