A NIGHT OF TRIBUTES AND WORTHY WINS AT THE BAFTAS
▶ Prince Philip and ‘Nomadland’ were the talk of the British awards, writes Farah Andrews
The 74th British Academy Film Awards wrapped up on Sunday, and proved that an awards ceremony that straddles two continents – with presenters, performers, nominees and winners on both sides of the Atlantic – can make for a compelling watch.
Like many things, this year’s awards season is like none that have come before it. With online ceremonies, acceptance speeches over Zoom and several venues, film academies around the world have had to adapt to a pandemic-safe approach.
The Bafta Awards was no different. The show was divided across two nights, with an opening night on Saturday and the main show on Sunday.
On the second night, the live ceremony took place at London’s Royal Albert Hall, but only hosts Dermot O’Leary and Edith Bowman, and a selection of presenters and performers, attended in person.
All of the nominees dialled in remotely. There were no major video call mishaps, save for a little bit of echo on one or two of the calls.
The evening belonged to Nomadland. The film went into the ceremony with seven nominations, and took home four of them for Best Film, Best Cinematography, Best Leading Actress for Frances McDormand and Best Director for Chloe Zhao.
In the winners’ ranking, there was no real second place, as Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Promising Young Woman and Sound of Metal won two awards a piece, as did Rocks, Soul and The Father.
British actress Bukky Bakray won the EE Rising Star Award for Rocks, and reacted with glee when her name was announced. The overjoyed actress was given hugs from a few family members, before she went on to thank God, her parents and her cast mates, “the Rocks family”.
Kidulthood, Bulletproof and Doctor Who star Noel Clarke was recognised for his Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema; and the Bafta Academy Fellowship was awarded to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon director Ang Lee.
A moment of light relief came from Korean actress Youn Yuh-jung, who won the Best Supporting Actress award for her role in Minari. The actress paid tribute to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in her speech, before joking that she was honoured that “snobbish” British people had recognised her acting.
Fan favourite Daniel Kaluuya won Best Supporting Actor for his role in Judas and the Black Messiah. The actor accepted the award from Los Angeles, where he said he was “just here chilling”, but he also paid tribute to “everyone back home” in the UK.
The Best Leading Actor award went to Sir Anthony Hopkins for The Father.
The actor didn’t dial into the ceremony to collect the prize, nor did McDormand for Nomadland. Both of Promising Young Woman’s awards were picked up by Emerald Fennell, who wrote and directed the film. It was named Outstanding British Film and recognised for having the Best Original Screenplay.
“I am so grateful to every person who made this film, it was a labour of love, certainly,” Fennell said in her acceptance speech, before thanking her cast and crew, including Carey Mulligan and Bo Burnham.
“It was the greatest thing in my life making this film. I love everyone who made it, and I am so grateful to them and to everyone who has watched it and has been so articulate and insightful and amazing about it,” she said.
In other categories, Danish film Another Round by Thomas Vinterberg won Best Film Not in the English Language; and My Octopus Teacher, by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed, won Best Documentary.
To start the show, O’Leary and Bowman paid tribute to Prince Philip, who was the first president of the British Film Academy more than 60 years ago. “The Duke of Edinburgh holds a special place in Bafta history,” said Bowman.
Prince Philip was president of the Society of Film and Television Arts, formed with the merger of the British Film Academy and the Guild of Television Producers and Directors, from 1959 until 1965. His grandson, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, is current president and has held the role since February 2010. After the Duke of Edinburgh’s death, it was announced that Prince William would not attend this year’s awards show.
The tributes section led with Prince Philip, too. The touching montage, remembering the industry stars who have lost their lives in the past year, also paid tribute to Sir Sean Connery, Ennio Morricone, Irrfan Khan, Ben Cross, David Prowse, Chadwick Boseman, Barbara Windsor, Rishi Kapoor, Kirk Douglas and Christopher Plummer.
A smaller Bafta ceremony on Saturday evening largely honoured behind-the-scenes work and the craft of filmmaking. In this crop of awards The Present by Palestinian-British filmmaker Farah Nabulsi, took home the Bafta for Best British Short Film.
The film, which is Nabulsi’s directorial debut, tells the story of Yousef, played by Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri, who decides to go with his daughter to buy a gift for his wife on their wedding anniversary. However, the task is made almost impossible because of the challenges of life under occupation.
“Wow, wow, amazing,” Nabulsi said as she accepted the award. “For anyone who has seen The Present, which is now streaming on a worldwide platform … you would know why I dedicate this award to the people of Palestine for whom freedom and equality is long, long overdue.”
The film, co-written by Palestinian filmmaker and poet Hind Shoufani, was shot over six days in the Palestinian territories. The Present is also nominated for Best Live Action Short at the Oscars, which will take place next Sunday.
The ceremony was divided across two nights, with an opening event on Saturday and main show on Sunday