“Oppenheimer” Wins Big at BAFTA, “Anatomy of a Fall” Scoops Awards, “Barbie” Leaves Empty-Handed

The Baftas, held less than a month before the much-anticipated Oscars, proved to be a significant event for Christopher Nolan’s biopic “Oppenheimer”. The film, which is based on the life of the father of the atomic bomb, emerged as the major victor of the night, securing a whopping seven awards. The success of “Oppenheimer” at the Baftas, however, did not deter “Anatomy of a Fall” from continuing its impressive international run.

The British film awards ceremony began on a high note for “Anatomy of a Fall”, a film by French director Justine Triet. The film, which has been consistently winning awards since it received the Palme d’Or at Cannes, started off by bagging the award for best original screenplay. Despite having seven nominations, the film had to settle with this one award. Nevertheless, this victory keeps the expectations alive for the film at the upcoming Los Angeles event on March 10, where it is nominated in five categories.

“Oppenheimer”, riding on 13 nominations, dominated the event and managed to outshine its competitors, including “Barbie”, which went home empty-handed. The film’s impressive performance included winning in prestigious categories like best film and best director, making it a first for Christopher Nolan. These victories, after numerous commercial successes like “Inception” and “The Dark Knight”, mark the first time Nolan has been honoured in his home country.

The film, which offers a portrait of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the troubled physicist and scientific director of the Manhattan Project during World War II, triumphed over films like “Anatomy of a Fall” by Justine Triet, “Winter Break” by Alexander Payne, “Killers of the Flower Moon” by Martin Scorcese and “Poor Creatures” by Yorgos Lanthimos. With 13 Oscar nominations, the Bafta victories set a promising tone for the film’s prospects at the Oscars.

The film also saw its actors being recognized, with Irish actor Cillian Murphy winning best actor and Robert Downey Jr. winning best supporting actor. This marked Downey Jr.’s second Bafta win, 31 years after his role in “Chaplin”.

Emma Stone’s Triumph

Other notable winners of the evening included Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Poor Creatures” and Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest”. “Poor Creatures” secured five Baftas, and Emma Stone was honored as the best actress for her role as Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by a mad scientist. The film also won in various technical categories like special effects, costumes, and makeup. “The Zone of Interest” took home three awards, including best British film and best foreign language film.

Da’Vine Joy Randolph won the best supporting actress for her performance in “Winter Break”, a heartwarming Christmas tale set in an American university. The best documentary award went to “20 Days in Mariupol”, a film that chronicles the onset of war in a Ukrainian city that turned into one of the bloodiest battlefields of the Russian invasion.

Miyazaki’s Return to Glory

The award for best animated film went to “The Boy and the Heron” by Hayao Miyazaki. This marked the first time the director of “Princess Mononoke” and “Spirited Away” won this award.

Prince William, a regular attendee of the event, was also present. He is expected to meet several winners in his capacity as the president of Baftas. His wife, Kate, however, was absent as she is still recovering from her abdominal surgery in January.