Ariana Debose holds her Supporting Actress award for her role in the film ‘West Side Story’
Sci-fi epic “Dune” won five prizes and brooding Western “The Power of the Dog” was named best picture as the British Academy Film Awards returned yesterday {Macau time] with a live, black-tie ceremony after a pandemic-curtailed event in 2021.
New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion was named best director for “The Power of the Dog,” becoming only the third woman to win the prize in the awards’ seven-decade history.
Lead acting trophies went to Hollywood star Will Smith and British performer Joanna Scanlan, as an event that has worked to overcome a historic lack of diversity recognized a wide range of talents — including its first deaf acting winner in Troy Kotsur for “CODA.”
Last year’s awards ceremony was largely conducted online, with only the hosts and presenters appearing in person. This year’s return to collective celebration at London’s Royal Albert Hall took place in the shadow of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.
British film academy chairman Krishnendu Majumdar opened the show, hosted by Australian actor-comedian Rebel Wilson, with a message of support for Ukraine.
“We stand in solidarity with those who are bravely fighting for their country and we share their hope for a return to peace,” he said.
After that came the glitz, with 85-year-old diva Shirley Bassey and a live orchestra performing “Diamonds Are Forever” to mark the 60th anniversary of the James Bond films, Britain’s most successful movie export.
“Bond is turning 60, and his girlfriends are turning 25,” joked host Wilson, who toned down her usual bawdy material for the ceremony’s early-evening TV broadcast on the BBC.
Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune,” a space epic set on a desert planet, took five trophies from its 11 nominations: visual effects, production design, sound, Greig Fraser’s cinematography and Hans Zimmer’s score.
“The Power of the Dog,” set in 1920s Montana and starring Benedict Cumberbatch as a ranch owner, was nominated in eight categories and won two big ones: best film and best director. Campion is only the third female winner in that category, but the second in two years after Chloe Zhao for “Nomadland” in 2021.
Cumberbatch lost to Smith, who was named best actor for his performance as the father of Serena and Venus Williams in “King Richard.”
Scanlan was a surprise best-actress winner, beating contenders including Lady Gaga to win for “After Love,” a first feature by Aleem Khan about a woman who makes a life-changing discovery after her husband’s death.
“Some stories have surprise endings don’t they?” said a disbelieving Scanlan.
Scanlan, best known as a star of satirical TV political comedy “The Thick of It,” said the prize would open doors.
“I hope I get a really exciting, chunky short film and also a Bond audition,” she said.
Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical “Belfast,” the story of a childhood overshadowed by Northern Ireland’s violent “Troubles,” was named best British film.
Ariana DeBose was named best supporting actress for her performance as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s lavish musical “West Side Story.” The supporting actor prize went to Kotsur for “CODA,” in which he plays the deaf father of a hearing daughter.
“Have you considered maybe a deaf James Bond?” he asked in his speech, delivered in sign language.
Lashana Lynch, who made a splash as a double-0 agent in Bond thriller “No Time To Die,” took the rising star award, the only category chosen by public vote. She thanked “the women of this country who taught me what it is to be in this industry as a dark-skinned woman. I thank you for laying the foundation for people like me.”
“No Time to Die” also won the prize for best editing. JILL LAWLESS, LONDON, MDT/AP
