The Oscar race is starting to reach its thrilling conclusion following the outcome of last night’s EE BAFTA Film Awards.

In a closely-fought contest, Conclave took centre stage with a quartet of accolades, including the prestigious Best Film prize ahead of the likes of Anora and The Brutalist.

The papal thriller, which centres on a cardinal tasked with searching for the next Pope, also secured the Outstanding British Film accolade as well as further wins for Adapted Screenplay and Editing.

Having come into last night’s ceremony with a mighty twelve nominations, Conclave’s triumph came at a crucial time for the film ahead of the upcoming Oscars that are due to take place in less than two weeks time.

Despite missing out on the top prize, the postwar epic The Brutalist scored its own haul of four awards, with Adrien Brody landing Leading Actor for his towering performance as Hungarian architect László Tóth.

Additionally, actor-turned-filmmaker Brady Corbet bagged another Director gong for his work on the drama, which also prevailed in the Cinematography and Original Score categories.

Elsewhere, the romantic comedy Anora was one of several films to walk away from the ceremony with two prizes, as rising starlet Mikey Madison took home Leading Actress for her breakthrough turn as feisty sex worker Ani.

Having overcome stern competition from fellow Oscar candidate Demi Moore, Madison told the audience that she wasn’t expecting to win upon collecting the award.

In her speech, she added:

I want to take a moment to recognise the sex worker community. I see you, you deserve respect and human decency. I will always be an ally and a friend.”

In addition to Madison’s victory, Anora auteur Sean Baker and his wife Samantha Quan were awarded the Casting prize for their work behind the scenes.

Meanwhile, the indie comedy A Real Pain scored two wins, including another Supporting Actor triumph for an absent Kieran Culkin who was recognised for his turn as troubled loner Benji.

Having collected Culkin’s award, co-star and filmmaker Jesse Eisenberg enjoyed his own BAFTA success after picking up Original Screenplay.

Despite recent controversies, the daring crime musical Emilia Pérez scooped two wins from its strong nominations haul of eleven as cast member Zoe Saldaña clinched another Supporting Actress gong for her performance as high-powered lawyer Rita Mora Castro.

During her acceptance speech, a tearful Saldaña thanked her co-stars and crew before dedicating the award to her trans nephew Eli.

Director Jacques Audiard also paid tribute to those involved in the making of the critically-diverse Spanish-language film, which also landed the Film Not in the English Language accolade.

Elsewhere, BAFTA went crackers for Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, as the latest instalment of the Aardman series secured double wins for Animated Film and the newly-formed Children’s and Family Film prize.

Meanwhile, the fantasy musical Wicked enjoyed success in the Production Design and Costume Design categories, while the sci-fi sequel Dune: Part Two was awarded twice for its sound and visual effects.

The other notable winners on the night were The Substance (Makeup & Hair), Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (Documentary), Rock, Paper, Scissors (British Short Film), Wander to Wonder (British Short Animation), and Kneecap (Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer).

In its twentieth year, the EE Rising Award was presented to David Jonsson for his breakthrough film career in the likes of Rye Lane and Alien: Romulus, with victory coming at the expense of former Industry co-stars Marisa Abela and Nabhaan Rizwan.

Finally, an emotional Warwick Davis was honoured with this year’s BAFTA Fellowship for his work in the industry over the past forty years with notable roles including Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983), Willow (1988) and the Harry Potter series (2001-11).

After collecting the award, Davis thanked his mother before paying a tearful tribute to his late wife Sammy, who died last year.

An entertaining BAFTA event saw returning host David Tennant open the ceremony by belting out the Proclaimers classic “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” while British pop group Take That performed their hit single “Greatest Day” which was used in Anora.

However, it was an evening to forget for a number of films as the likes of The Apprentice, A Complete Unknown, Gladiator II, Nosferatu and The Wild Robot all came away empty-handed despite multiple nods.

In the meantime, the full list of EE BAFTA winners are…

BEST FILM
CONCLAVE

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
CONCLAVE

BEST DIRECTOR
Brady Corbet, THE BRUTALIST

BEST LEADING ACTRESS
Mikey Madison, ANORA

BEST LEADING ACTOR
Adrien Brody, THE BRUTALIST

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Zoe Saldaña, EMILIA PÉREZ

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kieran Culkin, A REAL PAIN

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
CONCLAVE (Peter Straughan)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
A REAL PAIN (Jesse Eisenberg)

BEST CASTING
ANORA (Sean Baker & Samantha Quan)

BEST EDITING
CONCLAVE

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
THE BRUTALIST

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
WICKED

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
WICKED

BEST MAKEUP & HAIR
THE SUBSTANCE

BEST SOUND
DUNE: PART TWO

BEST SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
DUNE: PART TWO

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
THE BRUTALIST (Daniel Blumberg)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
WALLACE AND GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL

BEST CHILDREN’S AND FAMILY FILM
WALLACE AND GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL

BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
EMILIA PÉREZ

BEST DOCUMENTARY
SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY

BEST BRITISH SHORT FILM
ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS

BEST BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
WANDER TO WONDER

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
KNEECAP (Rich Peppiatt)

EE RISING STAR AWARD
David Jonsson