All Quiet On The Western Front followed through on its BAFTAs promise, leading the night’s wins with seven awards – including top prizes for Best Film and Best Director.
Netflix’s anti-war epic had driven her BAFTA nominations with 14, tying the record set by 2001’s Crouching Tiger for the most nods for a non-English language film.
Eduard Berger’s reworking of Erich Maria Remarque’s 1928 novel of the same name also won a non-English language film. custom script? movie theater; original score and sound.
The film’s director Edward Berger told Sky News: “Best director is the one I never thought would work. It’s a German film, for Christ’s sake!”
Martin McDonagh’s Irish tragicomedy The Banshees Of Inisherin – which tells the story of a male friendship turned sour – took four gongs, as did Baz Luhrmann’s biopic Elvis about the king of rock and roll.
Austin Butler won best actor for his portrayal of Elvis, who died prematurely aged 42 in 1977. The emotional star paid tribute to the Presley family as he accepted his award.
Elvis’ only daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, he died last month aged just 54.
Cate Blanchett took home the award for best actress, calling her role as monstrous conductor Lydia Tarr “dangerous and potentially career-ending.”
Becoming emotional towards the end of her speech, she paid tribute to her family – citing her mother and four children – who she said had to put up with her absence for long periods of time while she worked on the film.
The Banshees of Inisherin scored a double win in the supporting actor and actress categories, with Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan taking the awards.
Condon’s win followed a brief mix-up when a miscommunication between the sign language interpreter and deaf Oscar-winning actor Troy Kotsur saw Carey Mulligan initially announced as the winner.
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With the translator quickly fixed, the ceremony was soon back on track, with Condon thanking her cast, horses and dogs for the win.
Sci-fi multiverse Everything Everywhere All At Once, indie hit Aftersun, James Cameron blockbuster Avatar: The Way of Water and 1920s Hollywood love letter Babylon all once took the gong.
For the first time, this year’s awards were held at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on London’s Southbank.
The host of the evening was the actor Richard E Grantwho hosted the show from the auditorium, and This Morning presenter Alison Hammond who spoke to the stars in a new BAFTA studio, giving viewers at home an all-access experience of one of the biggest nights in cinema.
For the first time in BAFTA history, four of the night’s 25 categories were broadcast live – meaning those in the auditorium heard the biggest winners at the same time as the audience, likely prompted by show bosses trying to stay relevant. a landscape of ever-shrinking awards show audiences.
There were live performances from American actress Ariana DeBose, London-born rapper Little Simz and musician Dylan.
The Prince and Princess of Wales attended and Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren led a tribute to the late Queen.
In the best director category, Gina Prince-Bythewood, who directed The Woman King, was the only female representative but missed out on the award which went to Edward Berger for All Quiet on the Western Front.
While men dominated the BAFTA film shortlist and no female-directed films entered the best films category, the outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer category was an all-female shortlist of talent. Aftersun writer and director Charlotte Wells took this award.
Ahead of the ceremony, BAFTA Chief Executive Jane Millichip said there was “no timetable” for a decision on the gender categories as they wanted to get it right and were currently consulting with organizations such as GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation).