The Power of the Dog has continued its gallop towards Oscar success after scoring two key wins during last night’s EE BAFTA Film Awards ceremony.

The western drama, which centres on a ruthless rancher and his fractured relationship with his brother’s new wife and son, landed the coveted Best Film prize, while Kiwi auteur Jane Campion eased her way to another Best Director success for her work behind the camera.

However, the film failed to win anywhere else, as Dune finished up with the most prizes on the night.

The sci-fi epic scooped five technical awards for Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Sound, Best Special Visual Effects and a Best Original Music gong for composer Hans Zimmer.

Elsewhere, an absent Will Smith took a giant stride towards a maiden gold statuette by landing the Best Leading Actor prize for his portrayal of tennis coach Richard Williams in the sports biopic King Richard.

His win came at the expense of British trio Adeel Akhtar (Ali & Ava), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power of the Dog), and Stephen Graham (Boiling Point).

The supporting categories are also looking game, set and match after deaf actor Troy Kotsur and Broadway star Ariana DeBose continued their path towards Oscar glory with crucial recognition.

Kotsur secured the Best Supporting Actor prize for his role as fisherman Frank Rossi in the family drama CODA, and by doing so, becomes the first deaf actor to win a BAFTA.

Additionally, the film also pulled off a surprise win in the Best Adapted Screenplay category ahead of The Power of the Dog.

Meanwhile, DeBose took home Best Supporting Actress for her turn as Anita in the musical remake West Side Story, which also landed the Best Casting Prize.

In a bizarre predicament, none of this year’s Oscar contenders for Best Actress were nominated by BAFTA.

As a result, this enabled British star Joanna Scanlan to win the Best Leading Actress gong for her powerful performance as widowed Muslim Mary Hussain in the indie drama After Love.

Elsewhere, the autobiographical drama Belfast won the Outstanding British Film category ahead of the likes of After Love, Boiling Point and House of Gucci, while an absent Paul Thomas Anderson prevailed in the Best Original Screenplay field for his work on the period comedy Licorice Pizza.

 

Meanwhile, Pixar’s Encanto and the Japanese drama Drive My Car were the respective winners of Best Animated Film, and Best Film Not in the English Language.

On a night dedicated to the sixtieth anniversary of James Bond, the action blockbuster No Time to Die won the Best Editing award, while cast member Lashana Lynch was the recipient of this year’s EE Rising Star Award for her breakthrough role as spy Nomi.

 

The other triumphant films on the night included Cruella (Best Costume Design), The Eyes of Tammy Faye (Best Makeup & Hairs), Summer of Soul (Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (Best Documentary) and The Harder They Fall (Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer).

However, a number of multi-nominated films came away from the evening empty-handed including Boiling Point, Cyrano, Don’t Look Up, The French Dispatch, House of Gucci, The Lost Daughter and Passing.

The BAFTA ceremony welcomed a full capacity audience for the first time in two years, with Australian comedian actress Rebel Wilson earning mixed reviews for her presenting gig.

The full list of EE BAFTA winners are….

BEST FILM
THE POWER OF THE DOG

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
BELFAST

BEST DIRECTOR
Jane Campion, THE POWER OF THE DOG

BEST LEADING ACTRESS
Joanna Scanlan, AFTER LOVE

BEST LEADING ACTOR
Will Smith, KING RICHARD

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Ariana DeBose, WEST SIDE STORY

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Troy Kotsur, CODA

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
CODA (Siân Heder)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
LICORICE PIZZA (Paul Thomas Anderson)

BEST CASTING
WEST SIDE STORY (Cindy Tolan)

BEST EDITING
NO TIME TO DIE

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
DUNE

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
DUNE

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
CRUELLA

BEST MAKEUP & HAIR
THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE

BEST SOUND
DUNE

BEST SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
DUNE

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC
DUNE (Hans Zimmer)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
ENCANTO

BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
DRIVE MY CAR

BEST DOCUMENTARY
SUMMER OF SOUL (OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED)

BEST BRITISH SHORT FILM
THE BLACK COP

BEST BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
DO NOT FEED THE PIGEONS

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
THE HARDER THEY FALL, Jeymes Samuel (Writer/Director)

EE RISING STAR AWARD
Lashana Lynch