At the BAFTA Film Awards on Sunday, Conclave, a drama about cardinals electing a new pope, and The Brutalist, an immigration epic, were the big winners. Conclave, directed by German filmmaker Edward Berger, took home four awards, including Best Film and Best British Film—the first time a movie has won both in the same year since 1917 in 2019. The film also won Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing.
The Brutalist, directed by US filmmaker Brady Corbet, also claimed four awards. Corbet won Best Director, and Adrien Brody earned Best Actor for his portrayal of László Tóth, a Hungarian architect and Holocaust survivor. The film also won Best Original Score and Best Cinematography.
Other notable winners included Mikey Madison, who won Best Actress for her role in Anora, Kieran Culkin for Best Supporting Actor in A Real Pain, and Zoe Saldaña for Best Supporting Actress in Emilia Pérez. Anora, a film about a New York stripper’s romance with the son of a Russian oligarch, had been gaining momentum ahead of the Oscars, but instead of winning Best Picture, it walked away with Best Actress and Best Casting. Madison, who was surprised by her win, took the opportunity to recognize the sex worker community, pledging to be an ally and advocate for their rights.
Demi Moore, who had been favored to win Best Actress for her role in The Substance, ultimately did not take home the prize. The film, a body-horror drama about a woman using black-market drugs to regain youth, won only one award—Best Make-Up and Hair. Moore remains a strong contender at the upcoming Oscars.
The awards ceremony, hosted by David Tennant at London’s Royal Festival Hall, saw no single film dominating, reflecting the unpredictable nature of this year’s awards season. In a repeat of last year, no British actors won any of the four acting categories. Notably, films like A Complete Unknown, Nosferatu, Blitz, Gladiator II, and The Apprentice had multiple nominations but did not win.
Emilia Pérez, a French film about a Mexican drug lord transitioning into a new life as a woman, won Best International Film despite recent controversy surrounding the star, Karla SofÃa Gascón, whose offensive social media posts surfaced prior to the ceremony. Emilia Pérez also garnered attention with Zoe Saldaña’s win, adding to its momentum heading into the Oscars.
In other categories, Kieran Culkin won Best Supporting Actor for A Real Pain, a film by Jesse Eisenberg, which also took home Best Original Screenplay. Dune: Part 2 won awards for Best Special Effects and Best Sound, while Wicked earned Best Production Design and Best Costume Design.
Aardman’s Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl won Best Animation, and the film also took home the first-ever award for Best Children’s and Family Film. Kneecap, a semi-fictionalized account of an Irish rap group, won Best Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer.
The evening also saw a tribute to those lost in the film community over the past year, including Dame Maggie Smith, James Earl Jones, and Donald Sutherland.
In addition to the awards, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story won Best Documentary, with the late actor’s children accepting the award on his behalf.
This year’s BAFTA winners reflect the diversity of storytelling across different genres, with no clear frontrunner emerging, leaving much anticipation for the upcoming Oscars.
