London: A German remake of anti-war classic "All Quiet on the Western Front" was the big winner at the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday, triumphing in the key categories at the ceremony seen as an indicator for next month's Oscars.
Based on the 1928 novel by German author Erich Maria Remarque about the horrors of World War One from the perspective of a young German soldier, the Netflix drama had led nominations, with 14 nods, making it one of the most recognised films not in the English language in BAFTA's history.
It won seven awards overall: best film, adapted screenplay, film not in the English language, director for Edward Berger, cinematography, sound and original score.
"German language film, we've been blessed with so many nominations and winning this is just incredible," producer Malte Grunert said in his acceptance speech for best film.
"'All Quiet on the Western Front' tells a story of a young man who, poisoned by right-wing political nationalist propaganda, goes to war thinking it's an adventure, and war is anything but an adventure. That is one of the messages of Remarque's seminal novel and when we started embarking on this... that seemed a relevant message even 100 years after the book was published." Austin Butler won the leading actor prize for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in "Elvis". He thanked the Presley family in his acceptance speech.
"I hope I've made you proud, this means the world to me," he said.
Heir to the throne Prince William, who is president of Britain’s film and television academy, was in the audience alongside his wife Kate, Princess of Wales.
Cate Blanchett wins Best Actress
Cate Blanchett won the leading actress prize for her portrayal of a gay conductor of a Berlin orchestra whose career comes tumbling down due to an abuse scandal in "T".Oir", an undertaking she described as "very dangerous and career-ending potentially".
"Banshees", about two feuding friends on an island off the coast of Ireland, won outstanding British film, both supporting acting categories for Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan as well as original screenplay.
"Navalny", about jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, won the documentary category. Filmmakers dedicated the award to the Navalny family and Bulgarian investigative journalist Christo Grozev.
Sandy Powell became the first costume designer to get the BAFTA Fellowship, the highest honour bestowed by the Academy.
The BAFTAs also remembered Britain's late Queen Elizabeth, who died in September. Actress Helen Mirren, who won both a BAFTA and an Oscar for her portrayal of Elizabeth in 2006 film "The Queen", led a tribute.
Winners of the 2023 British Academy Film Awards
Film — “All Quiet on the Western Front”
British Film — “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Director — Edward Berger, “All Quiet on the Western Front”
Actor — Austin Butler, “Elvis”
Actress — Cate Blanchett, “Tár"
Supporting Actor — Barry Keoghan, “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Supporting Actress — Kerry Condon, “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Rising Star (voted for by the public) — Emma Mackey
Outstanding British Debut — Writer-director Charlotte Wells, “Aftersun”
Original Screenplay — Martin McDonagh, “The Banshees of Inisherin”
Adapted Screenplay — Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson and Ian Stokell, “All Quiet on the Western Front”
Film Not in the English Language — “All Quiet on the Western Front”
Musical Score — Volker Bertelmann, “All Quiet on the Western Front”
Cinematography — James Friend, “All Quiet on the Western Front”
Editing — Paul Rogers, “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Production Design — “Babylon”
Costume Design — Catherine Martin, “Elvis”
Sound — “All Quiet on the Western Front”
Casting — Nikki Bartlett and Denise Chamian, “Elvis”
Visual Effects — “Avatar: The Way of Water”
Makeup and Hair — “Elvis”
Animated Film — “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”
British Short Film — “An Irish Goodbye”
British Short Animation — “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse”
Documentary – “Navalny”
BAFTA Fellowship — Sandy Powell
