LONDON — “The Power of the Dog,” Jane Campion’s tense Western about two clashing brothers on a Montana ranch, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Jesse Plemons, was the huge winner at the EE British Academy Film Awards in London on Sunday evening.
It was named finest image at the awards, generally generally known as the BAFTAs, beating the likes of Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic “Dune,” Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast,” the black-and-white film primarily based on his childhood in Northern Ireland, and Adam McKay’s “Don’t Look Up,” the divisive local weather change satire starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence and Meryl Streep.
Campion additionally gained finest director — the third lady to take the prize in the award’s historical past — rising her momentum forward of this yr’s Academy Awards.
She was not current to select up her award in London. On Saturday she had been in Los Angeles at the Directors Guild of America Awards, the place she additionally gained the highest prize. At that award ceremony, Campion garnered consideration when requested by Variety about disparaging feedback that the actor Sam Elliott made about her film, together with questioning the “allusions to homosexuality” in the movie.
“He’s not a cowboy, he’s an actor,” Campion instructed Variety, including, “The West is a mythic space and there’s a lot of room on the range. And I think it’s a little bit sexist.”
The BAFTAs have been most notable this yr for his or her vary of winners, with nobody film sweeping the board, even with “The Power of the Dog” taking the two fundamental prizes. Will Smith gained finest actor for his function as Richard Williams, the father of the tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, in “King Richard,” whereas finest actress went to the British actress Joanna Scanlan for her function in “After Love,” a low-budget film a couple of white Muslim convert who uncovers her husband’s secret previous.
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That film has been little seen in Britain, not to mention elsewhere, however Scanlan beat stars together with Lady Gaga (“House of Gucci”) and Alana Haim (“Licorice Pizza”), each of whom have been in the viewers. “Come on!” Scanlan stated, accepting her prize, including “Some stories have surprise endings.”
Hosted by Rebel Wilson, this yr’s BAFTAs — Britain’s equal of the Academy Awards — marked a return to a glamorous in-person ceremony at London’s Royal Albert Hall, after a principally digital occasion final yr.
“How good is it that award shows are back in person?” Wilson stated in a gap monologue including, “Actors, you can stop doing those wellness podcasts.” .
Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic “Dune” had secured a number one 11 nominations in February, however solely ended up with 5 awards, primarily in technical classes together with particular visible results, cinematography and sound.
Other winners included Ariana DeBose, who gained finest supporting actress for her function as Anita in “West Side Story,” surpassing the likes of Aunjanue Ellis (“King Richard”), Jessie Buckley (“The Lost Daughter”), Ruth Negga (“Passing”), Ann Dowd (“Mass”) and Caitriona Balfe (“Belfast”). Troy Kotsur gained finest supporting actor for his function in “CODA,” the heartwarming film a couple of boisterous largely deaf household in Massachusetts.
Kotsur, who beat actors together with Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”), used signal language to simply accept his prize, and made a pitch to the producers of the James Bond franchise, asking, “Have you considered a deaf James Bond?”
“Drive My Car,” the acclaimed Japanese drama a couple of theater director struggling to deal with the loss of life of his spouse, was named finest movie not in the English language. Ryusuke Hamaguchi, the film’s director, appeared overwhelmed throughout his acceptance speech. “Well, that got rid of my jet lag,” he stated via a translator.
His win was an indication that motion pictures “go beyond language, they go beyond borders,” he added.
The BAFTAs are usually seen as a bellwether for the Oscars, given the overlap between the voting our bodies of the two occasions. The Oscars are scheduled for March 27,
The look of a lesser-known winner in the finest actress class at this yr’s occasion could have one thing to do with sweeping adjustments to the awards voting course of that BAFTA launched over the previous two years to enhance the variety of nominees. Those included requiring voters to look at a wide array of motion pictures earlier than they may vote.
Some BAFTA voters concern these adjustments may put the award present’s future at danger. Scott Feinberg, writing in The Hollywood Reporter in February, known as the adjustments “an overcorrection, however well-intended,” and went on to say that “the organization is signaling to the world that it doesn’t trust its own members to make wise and fair decisions.”
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