“The Favourite,” “Roma” honored in London
LONDON» Tragicomic royal drama “The Favourite” and Mexican family memoir “Roma” split the honors with multiple wins each at Sunday’s British Academy Film Awards — victories that suggest a wind of change may be blowing through the movie industry.
“The Favourite” won seven trophies including best British film and best actress for OIivia Colman, who plays Britain’s 18th century Queen Anne in the femalecentric drama.
Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma,” which centers on the nanny to a middle-class Mexico City family, took prizes for best picture, director, cinematography and foreign-language film.
Winners relished the symbolism of their victories.
“Thank you for celebrating our female-dominated movie about women in power,” said “The Favourite” writer Deborah Davis, who won the original screenplay award alongside co-writer Tony McNamara.
Cuaron thanked the film’s backer, Netflix, for having the courage to support “a black and white film about a domestic worker” that is not in English.
He said the extent to which the film has been embraced “in an age where fear and anger are proposed to divide us means the world to me.”
Director Yorgos Lanthimos’ “The Favourite” snapped up the outstanding British film and screenplay awards as well as prizes for its opulent production design, its extravagant costumes, larger-than-life hair and makeup and the performances of Colman and supporting actress Rachel Weisz.
“This is for all three of us,” Colman said, speaking of Weisz and the film’s other star, Emma Stone. “It’s got my name on it but we can scratch on some other ones.”
The best-actor trophy went to Rami Malek for his electric turn as Queen front man Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Mahershala Ali was named best supporting actor as a concert pianist touring the 1960s Deep South in “Green Book.”
Other winners included Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman” for best adapted screenplay and the Bradley Cooper-directed “A Star is Born” for music.
“BlacKkKlansman” is inspired by the true story of Colorado Springs’ first black police detective, Ron Stallworth, and his improbable infiltration of the Ku Klux Klan in the late 1970s.
The awards, known as BAFTAs, will be scoured for clues on who might triumph at Hollywood’s Academy Awards on Feb. 24. “Roma” and “The Favourite” each have 10 Oscar nominations.