Scandals and surprises: Conclave and The Brutalist top the BAFTAs
Edward Berger’s palpal thriller and Brady Corbet’s sweeping melodrama take the top honours, but the evening’s true drama lies in the off-screen controversies.
Conclave, Edward Berger’s slick Vatican thriller, led the BAFTA race with 12 nominations and walked away with four wins — Best Picture, Outstanding British Film, Adapted Screenplay, and Editing.
The sweep was no shock, given that Berger hoovered up seven trophies two years ago with his remake of All Quiet on the Western Front. The German director, whose film charts an ideological catfight between liberal and traditionalist cardinals that threatens to tear the Catholic Church apart, used his moment to deliver a sermon on democracy, faith, and cinema as salve — quoting Leonard Cohen: “There’s a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.”
Brady Corbet’s sweeping melodrama The Brutalist claimed Best Director, Leading Actor, Cinematography, and Score. Adrien Brody, still basking in his West End glow — he recently appeared in The Fear of 13 — thanked the British public for “embracing him” and gave a teary-eyed nod to his partner, “angel” Georgina Chapman (the ex-wife of Harvey Weinstein), saying, “If it wasn’t for you and for my wonderful parents, I wouldn’t be here.”
Anora, snubbed at the Golden Globes, found redemption in London. Mikey Madison edged out favourite Demi Moore (The Substance) and Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Hard Truths) to win Best Actress for her turn as a tough-as-nails stripper in Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or-winning film.
In Madison’s acceptance speech, which she admitted she did not prepare, the 25-year-old star took time to “recognise the sex worker community.”
“I just want to say I see you, 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.
Kieran Culkin, whose name might as well already be engraved on the Oscar, won Best Supporting Actor for his role as Jesse Eisenberg’s unstable cousin on a tour of Jewish history in Poland in A Real Pain.
Succession’s favourite fail-son skipped the ceremony to be with a relative who is “quite sick”; Eisenberg, accepting the award on his behalf, explained that Culkin almost dropped out of the film two weeks before the shoot dor the same reason.
“It’s real and it’s beautiful and it’s admirable,” he said. “Kieran is one of these lovely people who’s brilliantly talented but by some random luck of the cosmos has his priorities in order.”
Eisenberg, who also wrote and directed the film, claimed victory in the Best Original Screenplay category.
Emilia Pérez, Jacques Audiard’s audacious musical tale of a cartel boss seeking gender-affirming surgery, picked up two awards amid the ongoing drama surrounding its lead, Karla Sofía Gascón.
Gascón has been largely shunned by her colleagues since a series of old tweets surfaced, in which she made various incendiary remarks towards Muslims, George Floyd and diversity at the Oscars.
The Spanish actress is the first transgender woman to be nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars, however, Netflix has been distancing itself from her in weeks since — removing her image from their film posters and reportedly withholding funding for her to attend events.
Still, the film managed a win in the foreign language category, with Audiard using his speech to honor the “wonderful artists” from the film in the room, adding “also you, my dear Karla Sofía, whom I kiss.” The film’s star, Zoe Saldaña, kept her streak alive by winning Best Supporting Actress.
Aardman animation’s Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl was also a double trophy winner, picking up best animated movie award and the inaugural best children’s & family film.
BAFTA Winners List
Best Film
Anora
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave – Winner
Emilia Pérez
Outstanding British Film
Bird
Blitz
Conclave – Winner
Gladiator II
Hard Truths
Kneecap
Lee
Love Lies Bleeding
The Outrun
Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer
Hoard, Luna Carmoon (Director, Writer)
Kneecap, Rich Peppiatt (Director, Writer) – Winner
Monkey Man, Dev Patel (Director)
Santosh, Sandhya Suri (Director, Writer), James Bowsher (Producer), Balthazar De Ganay (Producer)
Sister Midnight, Karan Kandhari (Director, Writer)
Best Film Not in the English Language
All We Imagine As Light
Emilia Pérez – Winner
I’m Still Here
Kneecap
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Best Documentary
Black Box Diaries
Daughters
No Other Land
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story – Winner
Will & Harper
Best Animated Film
Flow
Inside Out 2
Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – Winner
The Wild Robot
Best Children’s & Family Film
Flow
Kensuke’s Kingdom
Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – Winner
The Wild Robot
Best Director
Anora, Sean Baker
The Brutalist, Brady Corbet – Winner
Conclave, Edward Berger
Dune: Part Two, Denis Villeneuve
Emilia Pérez, Jacques Audiard
The Substance, Coralie Fargeat
Best Original Screenplay
Anora
The Brutalist
Kneecap
A Real Pain – Winner
The Substance
Best Adapted Screenplay
A Complete Unknown
Conclave – Winner
Emilia Pérez
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing
Best Leading Actress
Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez
Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Hard Truths
Mikey Madison, Anora – Winner
Demi Moore, The Substance
Saoirse Ronan, The Outrun
Best Leading Actor
Adrien Brody, The Brutalist – Winner
Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes, Conclave
Hugh Grant, Heretic
Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice
Best Supporting Actress
Selena Gomez, Emilia Pérez
Ariana Grande, Wicked
Felicity Jones, The Brutalist
Jamie Lee Curtis, The Last Showgirl
Isabella Rossellini, Conclave
Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez – Winner
Best Supporting Actor
Yura Borisov, Anora
Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain – Winner
Clarence Maclin, Sing Sing
Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice
Best Casting
Anora – Winner
The Apprentice
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Kneecap
Best Cinematography
The Brutalist – Winner
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Nosferatu
Best Editing
Anora
Conclave – Winner
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Kneecap
Best Costume Design
Blitz
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Nosferatu
Wicked – Winner
Best Makeup and Hair
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Nosferatu
The Substance – Winner
Wicked
Best Original Score
The Brutalist – Winner
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Nosferatu
The Wild Robot
Best Production Design
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Nosferatu
Wicked – Winner
Best Sound
Blitz
Dune: Part Two – Winner
Gladiator II
The Substance
Wicked
Best Special Visual Effects
Better Man
Dune: Part Two – Winner
Gladiator II
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Wicked
Best British Short Animation
Adiós
Mog’s Christmas
Wander to Wonder – Winner
Best British Short Film
The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing
Marion
Milk
Rock, Paper, Scissors – Winner
Stomach Bug
Rising Star Award (Voted for by the Public)
Marisa Abela
Jharrel Jerome
David Jonsson – Winner
Mikey Madison
Nabhaan Rizwan
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