No single film dominated the winner’s circle.
The winners are in for the BAFTAs, the British film industry’s biggest night. Political thriller Conclave and post-WWII historical drama The Brutalist emerged as the most awarded films, taking home four awards each.
It was the papal thriller, however, which snagged the coveted best picture award, as well as the trophies for best British film, editing, and adapted screenplay. It beat comedy-drama Anora, The Brutalist, musical Emilia Pérez, and the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown to the top prize.
The 3.35-hour-long epic period drama The Brutalist, meanwhile, received the trophies for best director for Brady Corbet, lead actor Adrien Brody, cinematography, and original score. Director Corbet prevailed over Sean Baker of Anora, Edward Berger of Conclave, Denis Villeneuve of Dune: Part Two, Jacques Audiard of Emilia Pérez, and Coralie Fargeat of The Substance.
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Brody also won against tough competition with the likes of Ralph Fiennes as the upright yet conflicted dean of cardinals in Conclave and Timothée Chalamet as the young Dylan in A Complete Unknown. There’s also the delightfully sinister Hugh Grant for the horror film Heretic, Colman Domingo for the prison drama Sing Sing, and Sebastian Stan as a young Donald Trump in The Apprentice.
Brody, who plays a Hungarian-Jewish architect in postwar United States, said The Brutalist‘s key message is about the need to treat others humanely. “There’s no place any more for antisemitism. There’s no place for racism,” he said. The Oscar-winner also expressed his gratitude to the British public for “embracing me and my creative endeavors,” saying “England has felt quite a lot like home lately.”
No single film dominated the winner’s circle, with the awards spread out quite evenly across a stellar pool of nominations—Wicked, Emilia Pérez, Anora, Dune, A Real Pain, and Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl won two each.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night is Mikey Madison winning the prize for best actress for her performance as an exotic dancer entangled with a Russian oligarch’s son in Anora. The newcomer beat a talented roster of veterans for the top acting plum, including Gascón, Demi Moore for the body-horror film The Substance, Saoirse Ronan for The Outrun, Cynthia Erivo for Wicked, and Marianne Jean-Baptiste Hard Truths.
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The breakthrough star gave a shoutout to the sex worker community in her acceptance speech, saying: “You deserve respect and human decency. I will always be a friend and an ally and I implore others to do the same,” she said.
Musical Emilia Pérez proved that it’s still an awards contender despite being embroiled in a controversy that saw its lead star Karla Sofía Gascón scrapped from the remaining legs of its awards season campaign. (The POST has here a nifty guide to the scandal.) The Spanish-language French crime film brought home the award for best film not in the English language, and Zoe Saldaña claimed the supporting actress prize. In her acceptance speech Saldaña dedicated the award to her trans-nephew, saying “He is the reason — they are the reason — I signed up to do this film in the first place.”
The supporting actor trophy, meanwhile, went to Kieran Culkin for A Real Pain. Culkin missed the awards night to be with a family member “who’s quite sick.” Accepting the award on his behalf was Jesse Eisenberg, who directed, wrote, and co-starred in the movie.
Animated film Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl won awards for best animated feature and best family and children’s film. The sci-fi epic blockbuster Dune: Part Two bagged prizes for sound and visual effects. Hit musical Wicked secured the costume and production design trophies.
The prize for best British debut went to Rich Peppiatt, director of Irish-language hip-hop drama Kneecap. Despite winning the trophy for best actress, Madison saw the “Rising Star Award”— the only one selected by public vote from a shortlist of nominee—went to David Jonsson, star of the TV drama series Industry” and rom-com movie Rye Lane.
Actor Warwick Davis of Harry Potter, Willow, and Return of the Jedi fame received the academy’s top honor, the BAFTA Fellowship, for a career spanning almost five decades and efforts to create a more inclusive film industry. “This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me — and I’ve been in ‘Star Wars,’” Davis said as he accepted his award and tearfully dedicated the honor to his late wife.
Most BAFTA winners are chosen by 8,000 members of the UK academy of industry professionals. Now in its 78th year, this year’s ceremony was held Sunday, Feb. 16, at London’s Royal Festival Hall and hosted by Scottish actor David Tennant. The BAFTAs has long been considered a bellwether for Hollywood’s Academy Awards which will be on March 2 this year.
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BAFTA chairwoman Sara Putt also sent a message to everyone hit by last month’s Los Angeles wildfires. “We stand alongside you in admiration at your resilience and strength as you begin to rebuild,” she said, adding, “I also want to express our deep gratitude to those from the California community who have joined us in London tonight.”
And because we’re in British territory, no event is complete without a dash of royalty. Prince William, who is honorary president of the British film academy, and wife Kate were absent from the ceremony, but the future king of the UK sent a video message, recorded during a visit to meet students at the London Screen Academy.
Click on this link for the complete list of winners.
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