‘Oppenheimer' triumphs at BAFTA Film Awards with most wins
"Oppenheimer", a three-hour epic about the making of the atomic bomb in World War Two, was the big winner at the BAFTA Film Awards on Sunday, winning the top honours for best film and best director as well as five other awards.
One of the highest-grossing movies of 2023, it also won awards for leading actor Cillian Murphy, who portrays the American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, supporting actor Robert Downey Jr, editing, cinematography and original score.
Nolan, who won his first BAFTA for directing, thanked his cast and crew in his acceptance speech.
"In the real world there are all kinds of individuals and organisations who have fought long and hard to reduce the number of nuclear weapons in the world... in accepting this I do want to acknowledge their efforts," he added.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Like Nolan, Murphy had been favourite to win his category and in his acceptance speech, he referred to the man known as "the father of the atomic bomb".
"Oppenheimer was this colossally naughty, complex character and he meant different things to different people," Murphy said.
"One man's monster is another's man hero. That's why I love movies because we have a space to celebrate and interrogate and investigate that complexity."
Emma Stone picked up the leading actress award for sex-charged Gothic comedy "Poor Things", which won five prizes overall.
Da'Vine Joy Randolph won the supporting actress prize for her role in "The Holdovers", a comedy set in a boys' boarding school.
"The Zone of Interest", about the commandant of Auschwitz and his family living next to the Nazi death camp, won three prizes - outstanding British film, film not in the English language and sound.
Courtroom drama "Anatomy of a Fall" won the first prize of the night, original screenplay. Adapted screenplay went to comedy-drama "American Fiction", which is based on 2001 novel "Easure" by Percival Everett.
Best documentary went to "20 Days in Mariupol", journalist Mstyslav Chernov's personal account of the siege of the Ukrainian city in 2022.
"This is not about us, this about Ukraine, about people of Mariupol... the day before yesterday another Ukrainian city has fallen... many cities before that," Chernov said in his acceptance speech.
"So the story of Mariupol is a symbol of everything that happened, a symbol of struggle."
As well as the celebrities attending the ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall by the River Thames in central London, the guest list also included BAFTA president Prince William.
Known as the BAFTAs (British Academy of Film and Television Arts), the ceremony was hosted by actor David Tennant.
See the full list of winners
BEST FILM
Oppenheimer; Christopher Nolan, Charles Roven, Emma Thomas
LEADING ACTRESS
Emma Stone; Poor Things
LEADING ACTOR
Cillian Murphy; Oppenheimer
EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
Mia McKenna-Bruce
DIRECTOR
Christopher Nolan; Oppenheimer
MAKE UP & HAIR
Poor Things; Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier, Josh Weston
COSTUME DESIGN
Poor Things; Holly Waddington
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
The Zone of Interest; Jonathan Glazer, James Wilson
BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
Crab Day; Ross Stringer, Bartosz Stanislawek, Aleksandra Sykulak
BRITISH SHORT FILM
Jellyfish and Lobster; Yasmin Afifi, Elizabeth Rufai
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Poor Things; Shona Heath, James Price, Zsuzsa Mihalek
SOUND
The Zone of Interest; Johnnie Burn, Tarn Willers
ORIGINAL SCORE
Oppenheimer, Ludwig Göransson
DOCUMENTARY
20 Days in Mariupol; Mstyslav Chernov, Raney Aronson Rath, Michelle Mizner
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Da'Vine Joy Randolph; The Holdovers
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Downey Jr.; Oppenheimer
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
American Fiction; Cord Jefferson
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Oppenheimer; Hoyte van Hoytema
EDITING
Oppenheimer; Jennifer Lame
CASTING
The Holdovers; Susan Shopmaker
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
The Zone of Interest; Jonathan Glazer, James Wilson
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
Earth Mama; Savanah Leaf (Writer, Director, Producer), Shirley O'Connor (Producer), Medb Riordan (Producer)
ANIMATED FILM
The Boy and the Heron; Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
Poor Things; Simon Hughes
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Anatomy of a Fall; Justine Triet, Arthur Harari
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