By PTI
LONDON: Acclaimed Western film “The Power of the Dog” scooped the top prizes for best film and best director for Jane Campion at the British Academy of Film and Television Awards (BAFTA) 2022. Hosted by actor-comic Rebel Wils on, the award ceremony took place on Sunday at the Royal Albert Hall and was live-streamed in India on the streamer SonyLIV.
“The Batman” star Andy Serkis announced the winner for best film but not before he called out the government for its discriminatory treatment of refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine, saying “all refugees are welcome but some are more than welcome”.
While announcing actor Emilia Jones singing act with the song “Both Sides Now” from “CODA”, Wilson said the performance takes the help of two interpreters — American Sign Language and British Sign Language.
“Luckily, though, in all sign languages, this is the gesture for Putin,” the host said as she raised her middle finger to Russian President Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine invasion.
“The Power of the Dog” star Benedict Cumberbatch accepted the award on the director’s behalf. The psychological drama set in Campion’s native New Zealand also won her the best film BAFTA which was collected by film’s producer Tanya Seghatachian.
Another big winner for the night was the coming-of-age comedy-drama “CODA”, which won director Sian Heder the gong for adapted screenplay. Heder, whose film follows the life of a child of deaf adults (CODA), thanked the deaf community for letting her in and extending their support to an outsider like her. The movie also won Troy Kotsur the BAFTA for best-supporting actor.
Kotsur, who became the first deaf actor in the SAG Awards history to win an individual prize, made a BAFTA record in the same category. Kotsur spoke through a sign language interpreter and thanked the British Academy for recognising his work and for providing the services of interpreters at such events.
Sci-fi spectacle “Dune”, directed by Denis Villenueve, bagged five BAFTAs in the technical categories, namely production design, special visual effects, cinematography, original score and sound. “King Richard” star Will Smith bagged best leading actor BAFTA for his role of Richard Williams, father and coach of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams.
It is the first BAFTA for the Hollywood A-lister who was recently named the best actor by SAG-AFTRA and Golden Globes. Since Smith was not in attendance, the movie’s director Reinaldo Marcus Green accepted the award on his behalf.
“This is such a personal film for Will. He would thank the Williams family. There is no film without them,” Marcus Green said.
In the best leading actress category, the BAFTA went to Joanna Scanlan for “After Love”, in which she played the role of a woman who discovers her husband’s secret family after his sudden death. Scanlan thanked BAFTA for the honour, saying “some stories have surprising endings”.
She also thanked writer-director debutant Aleem Khan and said the film was made with “extreme love, blood, sweat, and tears”. Like Smith, Ariana DeBose also continued her award run as she won the best supporting actress BAFTA for “West Side Story”.
An openly queer Afro-Latina DeBose plays Anita, a San Juan Hill seamstress and the older sister to female lead Maria (Rachel Zegler) in the modern adaptation of the musical by Steven Spielberg. “Belfast”, a black-and-white film by Kenneth Branagh, picked up the BAFTA for outstanding British film.
As he accepted the award with his team for his semi-biographical drama, Branagh made a case for theatrical releases, saying “All hail the streaming revolution, but all hail the big screen too. It’s alive! And long may they live together.
” Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Japanese drama “Drive My Car” was named the best film not in the English language. “Licorice Pizza”, a romance about a teenager wooing an older woman, won its writer-director, Paul Thomas Anderson, the best original screenplay BAFTA.
Disney’s musical fantasy comedy “Encanto” earned the award for the best-animated film. The team accepted the gong, adding that the film wanted to show “beautiful brown children that they are seen and that they are important”.
The studio also registered a win for the live-action adaptation of “Cruella” in the best costume department for veteran designer Jenny Beaven. “Summer of Soul” was judged the best documentary, directed by Questlove.
