Seven victories on the Western Front – Newspaper Kommersant No. 32 (7477) dated 21.02.

The 76th British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards took place in London. Her absolute triumph was the German war drama All Quiet on the Western Front by Edward Berger, which won in 7 categories out of 14 in which it was nominated, including Best Film. comments Yulia Shagelman.

This year, the main British film award, which also plays a prominent role in the race for the Oscars, has a new venue and a new format. From the Royal Albert Hall, she moved to the Royal Festival Hall on the south bank of the Thames – this concert hall is smaller and much more modest in decoration than the previous one, which immediately gave the ceremony a feeling of more intimacy and democracy, despite the presence of the Prince of Wales William and his wife among the guests. . Also, unlike in previous years, the awards in the “technical” categories were presented not the day before, but on the same evening as the others, although their distribution was still broadcast in the form of a short digest. And for the first time in BAFTA history, the four main prizes – Best Film, Actor, Actress and Rising Star – were televised live.

The ceremony was hosted by actor Richard E. Grant, whose entertainer turned out to be British self-ironic (he began by taking a crumpled piece of paper with his resume out of his pocket, allegedly hoping to find a new job without leaving the cash register), good-natured (the jokes sounded not offensive for no one, although last year’s infamous slap in the face at the Oscars was of course mentioned) and at the right moments emotional. One of the sentimental moments was, for example, a tribute to Elizabeth II presented by Helen Mirren, who played the late queen in film and theater.

The evening immediately began with All Quiet on the Western Front winning the Best Adapted Screenplay nomination. One of his co-authors and film director Edward Berger said that an international team worked on the tape – the descendants of people who were on opposite sides of the front during the First and Second World Wars. He also noted that hostilities are still going on in Europe, and stressed that there are no heroes in a war.

It seems that it was the topicality, as well as the importance for the British of the topic of the First World War, that contributed to the success of the film “All Quiet on the Western Front”.

In addition to the main one, it also won prizes for the best director, cinematography, sound, music and was declared the best film in a foreign language. Thus, a new record was set: All Quiet on the Western Front became the non-English language film with the most BAFTA awards (the previous one was Giuseppe Tornatore’s New Cinema Paradiso, which won five awards in 1991).

The inclusion of British academics in the current political agenda was also demonstrated by their choice of the best documentary film, which was Navalny by Canadian director Daniel Roer. It is interesting how the events of European history, both modern and a century old, will be close to American academics, because “On the Western Front …” and “Navalny” also claim Oscars.

For “Banshee Inisherina”, nominated in ten nominations, the ceremony also got off to a good start: Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon received prizes for the best male and female supporting role, respectively. In addition, the comedy-drama, set on a secluded island during the Irish Civil War, was named best British film, and Martin McDonagh, who couldn’t resist joking about his film’s nationality, won in the Best Original Screenplay category.

“Elvis”, which caught up with “Banshee …” in terms of the number of prizes, was awarded for the best casting, costumes, makeup and hairstyles, and Austin Butler, who played the main role, became the best actor. His victory turned out to be rather unexpected: the young American, reincarnated as an American pop culture icon, beat three Irishmen (one of whom, Colin Farrell, was considered the favorite in this nomination) and a Brit. This greatly increases Butler’s chances at the Oscars, where he will have almost the same opponents.

Academics deservedly chose Cate Blanchett as the best actress for her role as an authoritarian female conductor in Todd Field’s drama Tar, which also strengthened her Oscar position. In general, the film, which did not receive any more prizes, became one of the losers of the ceremony, like “Everything Everywhere and At Once”, where Blanchett’s main competitor Michelle Yeoh played, this film, which claimed ten awards, took only one, for best editing .

As for the purely British awards, which are not of great importance in the context of the awards season, but certainly please their owners, Charlotte Wells, the favorite of film critics from all over the world, won in the nomination “Best Debut by a British Screenwriter, Director or Producer” with the film “My Sunshine”. The Rising Star Award, which is awarded based on audience voting, went to actress Emma Mackie of Sexual Education and the biopic Emily, while the BAFTA Fellowship Award for Career Achievement went to legendary costume designer Sandy Powell.