Roma wins top prizes at BAFTAs, sets sights on Oscars
The Favourite won seven awards, the most of the night.
BAFTA-winning Roma is a cinematic love letter to director Alfonso Cuaron's childhood in Mexico City in the 1970s. (Photo: AFP/Ben Stansall)
With four wins at the British Academy of Film and Television Awards (BAFTAs) earlier today (Feb 11), Roma further cemented its path to potential Oscar success.
Directed by Alfonso Cuaron, the semi-autobiographical film about a domestic worker in 1970s Mexico picked up the top awards of Best Film and Best Director.
“To see a film about an indigenous domestic worker embraced this way in an age when fear and anger propose to divide us means the world to me,” Cuaron said as he accepted the Best Film prize.
“Reverting back to a world of separation and isolation is not a solution to anything,” Cuaron added, at a time when US President Donald Trump is demanding a wall be built on the US border with Mexico.
Cuaron thanked Netflix for getting behind the film, which is in Spanish and has garnered 10 Oscar nominations, including for Best Picture, a major recognition for the streaming service.
“If they do good movies, they should be recognised ... I’m very happy that they’re embracing diversity ... in a time in which the theatrical experience had become so gentrified,” Cuaron said on the red carpet about Netflix.
“I just hope that this opens up the game. And what is very needed is a balance between the two economic models – the theatres and the (streaming) platforms, because that’s only going to be good for cinema.”
Roma also picked up awards for Best Cinematography and Film Not In The English Language.
For her role in Black Panther, Letitia Wright picked up the EE Rising Star award, as decided by public votes.
Black Panther won for Best Special Visual Effects, the only category it was nominated in. The film about the Marvel superhero is among the Best Picture nominees at the Academy Awards later this month.
Mahershala Ali took the Supporting Actor prize for his role in Green Book, set in the segregated USÂ South in the early 1960s. Ali is also up for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars, with the film itself nominated for Best Picture.
Best Adapted Screenplay went to Spike Lee’s genre-bending BlacKkKlansman.
The heavyweight of the night was undoubtedly period drama The Favourite, which won seven BAFTAs, including Outstanding British film, Original Screenplay, Production Design, Costume Design and Make Up and Hair.
Olivia Colman, who portrays the monarch as frail and tempestuous, won the Leading Actress category, a victory that had been expected by many. Her co-star Rachel Weisz scooped up the Supporting Actress prize, an award for which fellow The Favourite star Emma Stone was also nominated.
“We’re having an amazing night, aren’t we? We’re going to get so (drunk) later,” Colman told her fellow The Favourite nominees as she picked up the award to loud cheers.
“As far as I’m concerned, all three of us are the same and should be the lead ... This is for all three of us. It’s got my name on it, but we can scratch in some other names.”
Rami Malek took the Leading Actor prize for his portrayal of late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody, adding to his Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award wins for the role. He paid tribute to Mercury in his acceptance speech.
Actor and director Bradley Cooper of A Star Is Born picked up the award for Best Original Music, with Lady Gaga reacting to the news from Los Angeles in an emotional tweet.
The singer will be attending the Grammys later this morning, where Shallow, off the film soundtrack, is nominated for four awards, including Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year.
Shallow won for Best Song Written For Visual Media earlier this morning in a pre-show ceremony.
Held at London’s Royal Albert Hall, the BAFTAs were graced by Britain’s Prince William, who is president of BAFTA, and his wife Kate also attended.
