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| Author | Zoe Aresti |
The British Academy Film Awards took place last night at London’s Royal Albert Hall, where some of Hollywood’s finest gathered to find out who'd won at this year’s ceremony.
The big winner on the night was Damien Chazelle’s La La Land, which had been nominated for 11 awards and picked up five, including the biggie, Best Film.
Chazelle was named Best Director for the modern musical that has taken cinemas by storm since its release, and Emma Stone accepted the award for Leading Actress before referring to “divisive times” for the world in her speech.
Elsewhere, Ken Loach also took the opportunity to speak out politically regarding the recent refugee crisis and his gritty drama, I, Daniel Blake, won the award for Outstanding British Film. Another Brit who enjoyed success on Sunday night was Dev Patel, for Lion, as he was named Best Supporting Actor. The film also won a BAFTA for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Viola Davis picked up the Best Supporting Actress prize for her role alongside Denzel Washington in Fences, which was released in cinemas on Friday.
Host Stephen Fry had joked about Casey Affleck being “one of the best actors in his family” and Affleck went on to win the Leading Actor gong for his role in Manchester by the Sea. The film also won the award for Original Screenplay.
DCM's exhibitor partner, Curzon, received the Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema honour and the company’s CEO, Philip Knatchbull, collected the gong and paid tribute to the power of storytelling on the big screen in his speech. Daniel Mulloy's Home, which DCM helped bring to screens, was awarded for Best Short Film.
Also at the event was 90-year-old actor, Mel Brooks, who was awarded the Fellowship by the Academy in 2017. His speech was based on his excitement at accepting the prestigious award as an American, and he also said “I want to thank Harvey Weinstein for having nothing to do with this award” in his true comedic style.
The EE Rising Star in 2017 was awarded to Spider-Man: Homecoming’s Tom Holland. The award is the only one voted for by the public and the young actor was overjoyed with the triumph.
The prize for Best Animated Film was won by Kubo and the Two Strings and MPC picked up best Special Visual Effects for last year’s The Jungle Book live-action remake.
Moonlight was perhaps the biggest surprise on the night, and missed out on awards in all the categories it was nominated for. Anticipation now turns to the Oscars, which takes place on Sunday 26 February in Los Angeles.
To see a full list of last night’s BAFTAs winners, visit the British Academy Film Awards website.