Silent movie The Artist wins best film at BAFTAs

SILENT movie The Artist has had a night to shout about, winning seven prizes including best picture at the British Academy Film Awards.

Meryl Streep

SILENT movie The Artist has had a night to shout about, winning seven prizes including best picture at the British Academy Film Awards.

Britain's equivalent of the Oscars rewarded the French homage to old Hollywood over a homegrown favourite, spy thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

The Artist, a black-and-white picture that has charmed audiences around the world since its Cannes debut in May, was named best picture, and its rubber-limbed star Jean Dujardin took the male acting prize. Its filmmaker, Michel Hazanavicius, won prizes for directing and his original screenplay.

Hazanavicius thanked presenter Brad Pitt for pronouncing his name correctly - and academy voters for recognizing that his silent film even had a screenplay.

“So many people thought there was no script because there was no dialogue,” he said.

Another homage to early cinema, Martin Scorsese's Parisian fantasy Hugo, took prizes for sound and production design.

John le Carre adaptation Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy went into the ceremony with 11 nominations compared to 12 for The Artist, but won just two prizes, for British film and for adapted screenplay.

The British prizes, known as BAFTAs, are considered a strong indicator of likely success at Hollywood's Academy Awards, to be held on February 26.

They give more momentum to The Artist, which has already won three Golden Globes, and has 10 Oscar nominations.

Dujardin, who plays a silent screen icon eclipsed by the talkies, said the appeal of The Artist lay in its accessibility.

“It's a simple story,” he said. “It's a love story. It's universal. And there's a cute dog” - Jack Russell terrier Uggie, who almost steals the film from his two-legged co-stars.

The Artist also won prizes for cinematography, costume design and for Ludovic Bource's sprightly musical score.

As predicted, Meryl Streep was named best actress for her depiction of Margaret Thatcher, Britain's first female prime minister, in The Iron Lady. The film also won a well-deserved prize for hair and makeup.

“The ambition of this film was to look at the life of the Iron Lady from the inside out, and to locate something real - maybe hidden but truthful - in the life of someone we've all decided we know everything about already,” Streep said.

The supporting actor prize went to Christopher Plummer, as an academic who makes a new start late in life in Beginners. Octavia Spencer was named best supporting actress for her turn as a fiery maid in Deep South drama The Help.

George Clooney, Pitt, Jessica Chastain, Penelope Cruz, Colin Firth and Judi Dench were among the stars who braved the London cold and bouts of sleet to walk the red carpet before a televised ceremony, hosted by comedian, writer and actor Stephen Fry, at the Royal Opera House.

Many of the frocks were in muted or pastel tones, though The Help star Viola Davis, a best-actress nominee, arrived in a pink Valentino “eco gown” made from recycled plastic bottles.

Presenting the award for special effects, Cuba Gooding Jr. paid tribute to singer Whitney Houston, who was found dead in a Beverly Hills hotel.

“Whitney, I will always love you,” he said - a reference to one of her best-known songs.

The effects prize went to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, the final film in the magical franchise and the top-grossing British movie of the year.

Actor-turned-director Paddy Considine and producer Diarmid Scrimshaw took the best British debut prize for the wrenching domestic drama Tyrannosaur.

Kidulthood actor Adam Deacon won the rising star prize, the only category selected by public vote.

Senna, a portrait of the short, sensational life of race car driver Ayrton Senna, was named best documentary and also won the editing prize.

Scorsese received the BAFTA Fellowship, a lifetime achievement prize, for his “outstanding and exceptional” contribution to cinema in films including Taxi Driver and Raging Bull.

Winners of the 2012 British Academy Film Awards:
Film - The Artist
British Film - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Director - Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Actor - Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Actress - Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Supporting Actor - Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Supporting Actress - Octavia Spencer, The Help
Rising Star - Adam Deacon
British Debut - Paddy Considine and Diarmid Scrimshaw, Tyrannosaur
Original Screenplay - Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Adapted Screenplay - Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Film Not in the English Language - The Skin I Live In
Music - Ludovic Bource, The Artist
Cinematography - Guillaume Schiffman, The Artist
Editing - Senna
Production Design - Hugo
Costume Design - The Artist
Sound - Hugo
Visual Effects - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2
Makeup and Hair - The Iron Lady
Animated Feature - Rango
Short Film - Pitch Black Heist
Short Animation - A Morning Stroll
Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema - John Hurt
Academy Fellowship - Martin Scorsese