The 22nd February saw creatives in the film industry come together for the 79th British Academy Film awards. The BAFTAs celebrated the best of British film from the past year alongside Hollywood big names and international favourites. There were winners, there were losers and there was also Paddington Bear.
The winner of the night was One Battle After Another; Paul Thomas Anderson’s action thriller that is intertwined with the current state of the US took home six awards including Best Film and Best Director. Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein adaptation and critically acclaimed Sinners tied for second, taking home three awards respectively. The latter won Best Supporting Actress whose recipient was Manchester local Wunmi Mosaku, marking her first BAFTA film award.
The surprise of the night has to go to the Best Actor award, claimed by Robert Aramyao for his performance in I Swear, beating the likes of Timothée Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio. Also winning the Rising Star award, the English actor gave an emotional acceptance speech, noting that he beat a lot of famous faces in the audience.
Speaking of Chalamet, his film, the ping-pong drama Marty Supreme, was overlooked. It was nominated for eleven awards, but came home with zero, making it the biggest-joint loss in BAFTA film history. Though he technically didn’t go home empty handed; he and his girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, received a packet of Scampi fries from host Alan Cummings. Surely a much better constellation prize.
On the other side of the table, Hamnet took home two awards: Best British Film and Best Leading Actress. Chloé Zhao’s film, which was adapted from the book of the same name, tells the story of William Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, who died at a young age. It explores the parents’ grief and how the loss is almost certain to be the inspiration for one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, Hamlet.
Jessica Buckley became the first Irish Actress in BAFTA history to receive the Best Leading Actress accolade. Happily presented by fellow Irishman Cillian Murphy, Buckley praised all the fantastic women nominated alongside her, calling them “radical” and that they’re doing it for all the “naughty girls”.
Best international film was awarded to Sentimental Value. Jochaim Trier’s emotional family drama explores the broken relationship between a father and daughter, learning to heal and communicate again after the death of the wife/mother. The film was nominated in a few categories, most notably Stellan Skarsgård for Best Supporting Actor, and whilst not winning the others, it at least saw some deserved praise in this award.
There was no shortage of drama either. Controversy was sparked when John Davidson, the man who I Swear is based on, shouted a racial slur while Sinner actors Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were onstage. Davidson has Tourette Syndrome and he is prone to involuntary tics.
The BAFTAs have a two hour delay meaning changes can be made before it’s aired to TV viewers. Of course this has many pros and cons — a pro being they can edit out any inappropriate language which erroneously did not happen on this occasion. It’s an unfortunate situation that caused a storm of abuse on social media directed towards both parties, distracting from the fact the BBC should be the ones held accountable.
On a lighter note, Paddington Bear made an appearance – well, the stage version of him. The marmalade-loving bear presented the award for Best Children’s and Family Film which went to Boong – the first Indian film to win a BAFTA. This led to a heartwarming moment where director Lakshmipriya Devi gave the bear a big hug. Her film shed light on the prominent issues along the shared India-Myanmar border such as ethnic tensions and migration.
While slightly hampered, the night highlighted the best in film. Now onto the Oscars.
I sat down with director Elias Demetriou to talk about his film ‘Maricel’ which follows a Filipino domestic worker in Cyprus caring for an elderly couple who have a lot of unspoken family drama.
