The politically charged thriller “One Battle After Another” won six awards, including best picture, at the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday, gaining momentum ahead of the Academy Awards in Hollywood next month.
The blues-laden vampire epic “Sinners” and the gothic horror story “Frankenstein” won three awards each, while Shakespeare’s family tragedy “Hamnet” won two, including best British film.
“One Battle After Another,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s explosive film about a group of revolutionaries in a chaotic conflict with the state, won awards for directing, adapted screenplay, cinematography and editing, as well as for Sean Penn’s supporting performance as an obsessed military officer.
“This is very overwhelming and wonderful,” Anderson said in accepting the directing award. He paid tribute to his former assistant director, Adam Somner, who died of cancer in November 2024, just weeks after production began.
“We have a quote from Nina Simone that we used in our film: ‘I know what freedom is: it’s not fear,'” the director said. “Let’s continue doing things without fear. It’s a good idea.”
Bookmakers’ favorite Jessie Buckley won best actress for playing grieving mother Agnes Hathaway, wife of William Shakespeare, in “Hamnet.” She is the first Irish performer to win the award for best actress at the awards, known as BAFTAs.
In a big surprise, Robert Aramayo won best actor for his performance in “I Swear,” a British independent drama about an activist for people with Tourette syndrome.
The 33-year-old British actor was stunned, calling the victory over Ethan Hawke, Michael B. Jordan, Leonardo DiCaprio and Timothe Chalamet “absolutely crazy.”
“I can’t believe this at all,” he said. “Everyone in this category blows me away.”
“Sinners” took home trophies for director Ryan Coogler’s original screenplay, the film’s soundtrack and Wunmi Mosaku’s supporting actress performance as herbalist and healer Annie.
The British-Nigerian actress said that in the role she found “a part of my hopes, my ancestral power and my connection, parts that I thought I had lost or that I tried to tone down as an immigrant trying to fit in.”
STARS AND ROYALTY
Hollywood stars and British celebrities, from Paddington Bear to the Prince and Princess of Wales, gathered at London’s Royal Festival Hall for the awards ceremony. DiCaprio, Chalamet, Emma Stone, Cillian Murphy, Glenn Close and Ethan Hawke were among the stars who walked the red carpet before a gala ceremony hosted by Scottish actor Alan Cumming.
Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, also attended, three days after William’s uncle, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was arrested by police and held for 11 hours over allegations he sent sensitive government information to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The scandal has rocked the royal family led by King Charles III, although William and Kate remain popular standard-bearers for the monarchy. William is due to present an award in his role as president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
One of the biggest receptions from the assembled fans was that of Paddington, the puppet bear who stars in a musical adaptation of the beloved children’s classic.
OSCAR LEADER
The British awards, officially called the EE BAFTA Film Awards, often give clues about who will win at the Hollywood Academy Awards, held this year on March 15. “Sinners” has a record 16 Oscar nominations, followed by “One Battle After Another” with 13.
“One Battle” arrived at the BAFTA ceremony with 14 nominations. “Sinners” was right behind with 13, while “Hamnet” had 11.
The ping-pong odyssey “Marty Supreme” also earned 11 nominations, but went home empty-handed.
Guillermo del Toro’s reinvention of “Frankenstein” and the Norwegian family drama “Sentimental Value” each earned eight nominations.
“Frankenstein” took home awards for production design, costume design and for the hair and makeup artists who spent 10 hours a day transforming Jacob Elordi into the film’s monstrous creature.
“Sentimental Value” won best film not written in English.
Cumming told the audience that it had been a strong, if not joyful, year for film, with nominated films tackling issues such as child death, racism and political violence:
“Watching the movies this year was like participating in a collective nervous breakdown,” he said. “It’s almost as if events are happening in the real world that influence the filmmakers.”
However, the ceremony was more glitzy than somber, and included a performance by Ejae, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami, the voices of the animated band HUNTR/X in the KPop blockbuster “Demon Hunters,” singing from the hit movie “Golden.”
PUTIN CRITIC WINS BEST DOCUMENTARY
The award for best documentary went to “Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” about a Russian teacher who documented the propaganda imposed on Russian schools after the invasion of Ukraine.
The film’s American director, David Borenstein, stated that Professor Pavel Talankin had shown that “whether in Russia or on the streets of Minneapolis, we are always faced with a moral choice”, referring to protests against US immigration laws in Minnesota.
“We need more nobodies,” he said.
It beat out documentaries like Mstyslav Chernov’s harrowing portrait of the Ukraine war “2000 Meters to Andriivka,” co-produced by The Associated Press and Frontline PBS.
Most BAFTA winners are chosen by 8,500 members of the UK’s academy of industry professionals. The Rising Star award, which is decided by public voting, went to Aramayo.
Donna Langley, the British-born president of NBCUniversal Entertainment, has received the British Academy’s highest honor: the BAFTA fellowship.
The ceremony airs on E! in the US at 8 pm EST.
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