It was a case of wúnderbar for one particular film last night as the Oscar race continues to build towards its thrilling climax.
After landing a formidable total of fourteen nominations last month, the German war epic All Quiet on the Western Front took centre stage at this year’s EE BAFTA Film Awards ceremony with a magnificent seven wins.
The latest adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s 1929 novel pulled off a stunning victory in the Best Film category ahead of Oscar frontrunners The Banshees of Inisherin and Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Additionally, filmmaker Edward Berger took home Best Director for his work behind the camera while the film also triumphed in the categories for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Original Score and Best Film Not in the English Language.
Despite losing out on Best Film, the Irish dramedy The Banshees of Inisherin nabbed four prizes including Outstanding British Film while Martin McDonagh clinched Best Original Screenplay for his writing.
More significantly, stars Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan gave their Oscar hopes a boost with key wins in the Best Supporting Actress and Supporting Actor categories for their respective turns as island residents Siobhán Súilleabháin and Dominic Kearney.
However, leading man Colin Farrell was unable to add to the haul, as he lost out on Best Leading Actor to Austin Butler for his portrayal of music icon Elvis Presley in Elvis.
The music-based biopic also performed well with three additional wins for Best Casting, Best Costume Design and Best Makeup & Hair.
Meanwhile, Cate Blanchett scored a FOURTH BAFTA win for her performance as disgraced music conductor Lydia Tár in the drama Tár.
Despite being seen as the Oscar frontrunner, the Australian star was taken aback by her victory as she paid tribute to her fellow nominees, including Ana de Armas (Blonde) and Oscar rival Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once).
Despite a strong nominations haul, the sci-fi adventure Everything Everywhere All at Once finished up with just one success in Best Editing, while Guillermo Del Toro’s stop-motion adaptation of Pinocchio won Best Animated Film ahead of the likes of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and Turning Red.
The other key winners on the night included Babylon (Best Production Design), Avatar: The Way of Water (Best Special Visual Effects), Aftersun (Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer), Navalny (Best Documentary), An Irish Goodbye (Best British Short Film) and The Boy, the Mole, The Fox and the Hole (Best British Short Animation).
Finally, the EE Rising Star Award was presented to Emily actress Emma Mackey as she prevailed over the likes of Naomi Ackie, Daryl McCormack and Sex Education co-star Aimee Lou Wood.
Once again, it was a night to forget for a number of multi-nominated films as The Batman, Empire of Light, The Fabelmans, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, Living and Top Gun: Maverick all went home empty-handed.
Meanwhile, British actor Richard E. Grant gained plaudits for his role as host of the BAFTA ceremony, while Good Morning Britain’s Alison Hammond received mixed reviews for her co-presenting.
The 2023 Oscar race is set to intensify even more when the Producers Guild Awards AND Screen Actors Guild Awards both take place next weekend.
In the meantime, the full list of EE BAFTA winners are…
BEST FILM
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
BEST DIRECTOR
Edward Berger, ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
BEST LEADING ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, TÁR
BEST LEADING ACTOR
Austin Butler, ELVIS
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kerry Condon, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Barry Keoghan, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (Edward Berger)
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN (Martin McDonagh)
BEST CASTING
ELVIS (Nikki Barrett & Denise Chamian)
BEST EDITING
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
BABYLON
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
ELVIS
BEST MAKEUP & HAIR
ELVIS
BEST SOUND
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
BEST SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER
BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (Volker Bertelmann)
BEST ANIMATED FILM
GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO
BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
BEST DOCUMENTARY
NAVALNY
BEST BRITISH SHORT FILM
AN IRISH GOODBYE
BEST BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
THE BOY, THE MOLE, THE FOX AND THE HORSE
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
AFTERSUN, Charlotte Wells (Writer/Director)
EE RISING STAR AWARD
Emma Mackey
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