Return of glamour for Bafta’s big night
THE Bafta awards brought back the red carpet last night – albeit tentatively – and with it all the trappings of glamour.
A handful of actors arrived in their finery at the Royal Albert Hall in central London to present awards – as did a select few in Los Angeles who did the honours via Zoom.
Meanwhile, the nominees dialled in to the ceremony from as far away as New Zealand with the pandemic still making travel difficult.
Among the London attendees were Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor, 25, in Louis Vuitton, and Indian actress Priyanka Chopra, 38, who wore Spanish label Pertegaz, Bulgari jewels – and an extravagant bubble ponytail in her hair.
In LA, Renee Zellweger, who won best actress last year for playing Judy Garland, arrived in a striking Amarni Prive dress with razorsharp detailing at the bust.
The evening began with a tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh, who became Bafta’s first president in 1959 and held the role until 1966.
Krish Majumdar, the chairman of Bafta, paid tribute to the ‘incredibly supportive’ royal.
Though the mood was said to be sombre behind the scenes and Prince William, now Bafta president, pulled out of his commitment to deliver a speech celebrating the resilience of the film industry over the past year, sources said there was an eagerness to keep the ceremony uplifting.
Indeed, there were reasons to celebrate: the awards were dominated by female winners following William’s insistence that this year’s honours should be more diverse.
Emerald Fennell, 35, scored a double, winning outstanding British film and best original screenplay for her directorial debut, Promising Young Woman.
She praised Carey Mulligan’s performance as her film’s protagonist and members of the crew who worked ‘pretty much for a packet of crisps because they believed in it’. She added: ‘It was the greatest thing I’ve done in my life and I love everyone that made it.’
Before the ceremony, Miss Fennell, who played Camilla Parker Bowles in The Crown, posed in a diaphanous Roland Mouret gown in the hotel ballroom where she accepted her awards.
Asked if her next roles would likely be in front or behind the camera, Miss Fennell told a winners’ press conference: ‘I will do whatever is asked of me, I just love making things. For the foreseeable it will most likely be behind cameras for time reasons.’ The big winner of the night was Chloe Zhao, 39, whose film Nomadland took prizes for best film, best director and best actress for Frances McDormand.
Cornwall-born Joshua James Richards also won for his cinematography on the film.
Korean Youn Yuh-jung, 73, won best supporting actress, while Bukky Bakray, 19, was voted rising star by the public for her role in Rocks, about a Nigerian teen left to care for her young brother in Hackney, east London – where Miss Bakray herself grew up – when their mother falls ill.
There was further British success for north London-born Daniel Kaluuya, 32, who won best supporting actor for his portrayal of Black Panther founder Fred Hampton in Judas And The Black Messiah.
Sir Anthony Hopkins, 83, who was unable to attend virtually, won leading actor for The Father.
Other attendees in London included British actress Cynthia Erivo, 34, who dazzled in a bejewelled Louis Vuitton gown.
And a dapper Hugh Grant, 60, brought along his TV producer wife Anna Eberstein, 41.
In LA, American actress Anna Kendrick, 35, presented an award in a red and silver pleated gown.