The 79th BAFTA Film Awards saw ‘One Battle After Another’ dominate with six prizes, including best film and best director for Paul Thomas Anderson. The ceremony, hosted by Alan Cumming at London’s Royal Festival Hall, celebrated the year’s finest films in front of an audience that included the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Sean Penn won best supporting actor for his role in ‘One Battle After Another’, while Wunmi Mosaku took best supporting actress for ‘Sinners’. The biggest surprise came when Robert Aramayo won best actor for ‘I Swear’, an indie biopic about Tourette Syndrome campaigner John Davidson, beating favourites Timothée Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio. Cumming addressed the audience twice to ask for understanding regarding Davidson’s tics, which include involuntary strong language.
Ryan Coogler’s ‘Sinners’ made history with three wins—original screenplay, supporting actress, and original score—making it the most decorated film from a Black director. Coogler became the first Black winner in the original screenplay category, using his speech to encourage writers to draw on love and empathy. Jessie Buckley won best actress for ‘Hamnet’, which also won outstanding British film, while ‘Sentimental Value’ became the first Norwegian film to win a BAFTA, taking the prize for film not in the English language.
‘One Battle After Another’ led the nominations with 14, followed by ‘Sinners’ with 13. ‘Marty Supreme’, which had 11 nominations, was shut out entirely, tying the record for most BAFTA losses. The ceremony also featured performances from ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ and Jessie Ware, who sang ‘The Way We Were’ for the In Memoriam segment.
