Bafta 2022: “The Power of the Dog” triumphs at the British Academy Awards

“The Power of the Dog” (“The power of the dog”) won the award for best film on Sunday at the BAFTA of British cinema, while its director, New Zealander Jane Campion, won the honor for best direction.

For her dark western set in 1920s Montana and starring Benedict Cumberbatch as a ranch owner, Campion became just the third woman to win the directing statuette, and the second in two years after Chloe Zhao won. the feat with “Nomadland” in 2021.

Joanna Scanlan gave the surprise and surpassed stars like Lady Gaga to win the award for best actress for “After Love” (“After love”), Aleem Khan’s debut film about a woman who makes a discovery that changes her life. life after the death of her husband.

“Some stories have surprising endings, right?said an incredulous Scanlan.

Will Smith was declared best actor for “King Richard” (“King Richard: A Winning Family”), in which he plays the father of black tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, a role for which he has received multiple awards and that could deserve his first Oscar.

Ariana DeBose and Troy Kotsur also continued their winning streak by earning BAFTAs for their supporting performances in “West Side Story” and “CODA,” respectively.

The American actress of Puerto Rican origin, who plays Anita in Steven Spielberg’s version of the classic musical; and the American actor, who plays a deaf family man with a hearing daughter, are emerging as the favorites in the same categories of the Academy Awards, which are delivered in two weeks in Los Angeles.

Kotsur is the first deaf actor to win a BAFTA.

“Have you perhaps considered a deaf James Bond?”, he asked in his acceptance speech, in sign language.

The award for best British film went to “Belfast”, a semi-autobiographical film by Kenneth Branagh about a childhood shadowed by the violent Troubles of Northern Ireland.

Disney’s “Encanto”, about a teenager with the frustration of being the only member of her family without magical powers in Colombia, won best animated film. The award for best documentary went to “Summer of Soul,” about a 1960s music festival in New York’s Harlem neighborhood.

The BAFTAs returned with an in-person ceremony after being a curtailed event last year due to the pandemic. Benedict Cumberbatch and Lady Gaga were among the stars walking the red carpet at London’s Royal Albert Hall ahead of the ceremony, which was hosted by actress and comedian Rebel Wilson.

Krishnendu Majumdar, president of the British Film Academy (BAFTA), opened the show with a message of support for Ukraine.

“We stand in solidarity with those who bravely fight for their country and share their hope for a return to peace.“, said.

Then followed the glitz with 85-year-old diva Shirley Bassey, who performed “Diamonds Are Forever” with a live orchestra to mark the 60th anniversary of the James Bond movies.

“Bond turns 60 and his girlfriends 25″ joked Wilson, who toned down his usual raunchy material for the BBC television broadcast earlier in the evening.

Lashana Lynch, who made waves as a secret agent in “No Time To Die,” took home the award for rising star, the only one chosen by public vote. She thanked “the women of this country who taught me what it’s like to be in this industry as a dark-skinned woman. I thank them for laying the groundwork for people like me.”

The Bond film also took home the award for best editing.

The Oscar-nominated drama “Drive My Car,” from Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, won the BAFTA for Best Foreign Language Film.

Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune,” starring Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya, won five of 11 awards, including visual effects, sound, cinematography by Greig Fraser, original music by Hans Zimmer and production design.

Sian Heder won best adapted screenplay for “CODA,” while the award for best original screenplay went to Paul Thomas Anderson for “Licorice Pizza.”

The BAFTA Awards are usually handed out a week or two before the Oscars and have become a major stage of awards season. The Hollywood Academy Awards will be presented on March 27.

The British film academy has expanded its voting membership and changed its rules in recent years in a bid to address an apparent lack of diversity in nominations. In 2020, no women were nominated for best directing for the seventh year in a row, and all 20 nominees in the leading and supporting acting categories were white.

Majumdar said this year’s more diverse field showed that “change has come.” But the celebration was subdued, with many attendees reflecting on the war raging on the other side of Europe.

Cumberbatch wore a lapel pin in the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag. He said it was to oppose the “megalomaniac” Russian President Vladimir Putin who is “raining terror” on Ukraine.

“It’s a very scary and sad time”, he said on the red carpet. “Although this is a gesture, and people may say that it is false, it is something that I can do tonight”, as well as putting pressure on British politicians to take in more refugees from the war.

Jonas Poher Rasmussen, director of the animated film “Flee,” the story of an Afghan refugee, said it was “surreal” to be at an awards show when “the world is on fire.”

But he said the images of millions of people being driven from their homes in Ukraine underscore the message that “these stories must be told.”

Below is the list of winners of the BAFTA British Film Awards, which were presented on Sunday in London.

Film: “The Power of the Dog”

british film: “Belfast”

Direction: Jane Campion, “The Power of the Dog”

Actor: Will Smith, “King Richard” (“King Richard: A Winning Family”)

Actress: Joanna Scanlan, “After Love”

Supporting actor: Troy Kotsur, “CODA”

Supporting Actress: Ariana DeBose, “West Side Story” (“Love without barriers”)

rising star: Lashana Lynch

Debut British director: Jeymes Samuel, “The Harder They Fall”

Original screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson, “Licorice Pizza”

Adapted script: Sian Heder, “CODA”

non-english language film: “Drive My Car” (Japan)

original music: Hans Zimmer, “Dune” (“Dune”)

Cinematography: Greig Fraser, “Dune”

Edition: “No Time to Die”

Production design: “Dune”

Costume Design: “cruella”

Sound: “Dune”

casting: “West Side Story”

Visual effects: “Dune”

Make up and hairstyle: “The Eyes of Tammy Faye”

animated tape: “Charm”

British short film: “The Black Cop”

British animated short: “Do Not Feed the Pigeons”

Documentary film: “Summer of Soul”