Britain’s highest film award, the BAFTA, took place on Sunday at the Royal Festival Hall in London, England. It was a notable night for film, particularly the German film “All Quiet on the Western Front.” The film had fourteen nominations going into the awards night. And it won a record-breaking seven awards, including best film and best film not in English. and best director.
This achievement makes “All Quiet on the Western Front” the record holder for the most wins by a film not in the English language. Thus, overthrowing the 1988 film “Cinema Paradiso” which won five BAFTAs.
Malte Grunert, the film’s producer, expressed his shock and gratitude on stage while receiving the award. Stating that:”We’ve been blessed with so many nominations, and winning this is just incredible.”
Another big winner at the event was Colin Farrell’s “The Banshees of Inisherin,” which won several awards, including best supporting actor (Barry Keoghan) and supporting actress (Kerry Condon), as well as best original screenplay, among others.
While receiving his award for best original screenplay, writer and director Martin McDonagh took a swipe at the film’s producer, Searchlight, where he joked that he had landed an award for the script without any notes from the studio. This seemingly did not land well with the audience, with some perceiving the comment as arrogant. McDonagh quickly doused tensions by clarifying that he was just kidding.
Further, despite its nine nominations, the BAFTA largely snubbed “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once,” a film that has been a major contender this award season and is a favorite for best picture at the Oscars next month. As the film only clinched an award for best editing.
What’s more, Elvis star Austin Butler clinched the coveted Best Actor award, and his Tár counterpart, Cate Blanchett, won the Best Actress award. Other notable winners at the BAFTAs include”Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” for best animated film, “Navalny” for best documentary, “An Irish Goodbye” for best British short film, and “Avatar: The Way Of Water” for best special visual effects.