On Sunday 19 February 2023, the 76th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) took place in London, at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, celebrating the very best in film over the past year.
Exactly one month ago, on 19 January, the full list of nominees was announced, with the Germany-US-UK co-production war drama All Quiet on the Western Front leading the way with fourteen nominations, both the Ireland-US-UK co-production drama The Banshees of Inisherin and the US drama Everything Everywhere All At Once with ten, and the US-Australia co-production biopic Elvis with nine nominations. The other films to receive more than one nomination included Aftersun (4), The Batman (4), Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (4), Top Gun: Maverick (4), The Whale (4), Babylon (3), Empire of Light (3), Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (3), Living (3), Triangle of Sadness (3), Avatar: The Way of Water (2), Decision to Leave (2), The Quiet Girl (2), Matilda The Musical (2), She Said (2) and The Woman King (2). No less than 14 of the 24 nominees in the performance categories received their first BAFTA Film nominations this year.
In total, 25 awards were announced and presented. The only award voted for by the British public was the EE Rising Star Award: this year, Emma Mackey carried off that award; BAFTA members vote for all the other awards.
The biggest winner on the evening was the German-language war drama All Quiet on the Western Front by Edward Berger, which won a total of seven awards, plus Best Film. It is a screen adaptation of the 1928 novel by Erich Maria Remarque. The Banshees of Inisherin by Martin McDonagh and Elvis by Baz Luhrmann both picked up 4 awards.
Arguably the biggest surprise of the evening was that Brendan Fraser did not take home the Best Actor award for his role in Whale; however, this should not take away from Austin Butler's win for his portrayl of/in Elvis.
Award-winning actor, presenter and author, Richard E. Grant hosted the ceremony, with guests announcing the various category winners.
AWARD WINNERS
BEST FILM: All Quiet on the Western Front
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM: The Banshees of Inisherin
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER: Aftersun
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE: All Quiet on the Western Front
DOCUMENTARY: Navalny
ANIMATED FILM: Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
DIRECTOR: Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front)
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Martin McDonagh (The Banshees of Inisherin)
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson, Ian Stokell (All Quiet on the Western Front)
LEADING ACTRESS: Cate Blanchett (Tar)
LEADING ACTOR: Austin Butler (Elvis)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin)
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Inisherin)
ORIGINAL SCORE: All Quiet on the Western Front
CASTING: Elvis
CINEMATOGRAPHY: All Quiet on the Western Front
EDITING: Everything Everywhere All at Once
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Babylon
COSTUME DESIGN: Elvis
MAKE UP & HAIR: Elvis
SOUND: All Quiet on the Western Front
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS: Avatar: The Way of Water
BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION: The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse
BRITISH SHORT FILM: An Irish Goodbye
EE RISING STAR AWARD: Emma Mackey (Emily, Death on the Nile)
The BAFTA Awards, along with the Golden Globe Awards - voted by Hollywood Foreign Press Association - are normally a good indicator of the Oscars (Academy Awards) which will be held in three weeks' time, on 12 March 2023.
