LONDON (AP) — Papal thriller “ Conclave ” won four prizes including best picture on Sunday at the 78th British Academy Film Awards, where genre-bending musical “ Emilia Pérez ” proved that it’s still an awards contender despite a multipronged backlash that looked to have dented its chances.
“The Brutalist” equaled the awards tally of “Conclave," scooping four trophies, including best director for Brady Corbet and best actor for Adrien Brody. Mikey Madison won the best actress prize for Brooklyn tragicomedy “Anora.”
“Conclave,” which stars Ralph Fiennes as a cardinal corralling conniving clergy as they elect a new pope, beat “The Brutalist,” “Emilia Pérez,” Bob Dylan biopic “ A Complete Unknown " to the top prize. "Conclave” was also named outstanding British film and took trophies for editing and adapted screenplay.
Supporting performer prizes went to Kieran Culkin for “A Real Pain” and Zoe Saldaña for “Emilia Pérez," which also won the award for best film not in the English language.
Saldaña won for her role as a lawyer who helps the title character transition to a woman and out of a life of crime. She called the film “the creative challenge of a lifetime.”
Best actress nominee Karla Sofía Gascón, who stars as the titular transgender ex-cartel boss in “Emilia Pérez,” wasn’t at the ceremony. Gascón has withdrawn from promoting the film, which has 13 Oscar nominations, amid controversy over her social media posts disparaging Muslims, George Floyd and diversity at the Oscars.
Audiard has condemned those comments, but in his acceptance speech thanked Gascón and her co-stars Saldaña and Selena Gomez.
“I am deeply proud of what we have all achieved together," he said.
From the BAFTAs to the Oscars
Stars including Cynthia Erivo, Hugh Grant, Ariana Grande, Lupita Nyong’o, Timothée Chalamet and Saoirse Ronan walked the red carpet at London’s Royal Festival Hall for the awards, known as BAFTAs.
The prizes will be watched for clues about who will triumph at Hollywood’s Academy Awards on March 2, in an unusually hard-to-call awards season.
They also have a distinctly British accent. The ceremony kicked off with its kilt-wearing host, Scottish actor David Tennant, leading the audience in a rousing singalong of The Proclaimers’ anthem “I’m Gonna be (500 Miles).”
Culkin's award came for “A Real Pain,” about odd couple cousins on a trip to explore their roots. The film's writer and co-star, Jesse Eisenberg, took the BAFTA for best original screenplay.
“I’d like to share this with my wife, who didn’t come because she didn’t think I’d win,” Eisenberg quipped.
“Anora,” about an exotic dancer entangled with a Russian oligarch's son, had been a best picture favorite after winning the top prizes last week at the Producers Guild Awards and the Directors Guild Awards.
“The Brutalist” had nine BAFTA nominations, while “Anora,” the sci-fi epic “Dune: Part Two” and musical “Wicked” hade seven each. “A Complete Unknown” and Irish-language hip-hop drama “Kneecap” received six nominations apiece.
Brody won over stiff competition from Fiennes and Chalamet, who plays the young Dylan in “A Complete Unknown.” The other male actors nominated were Grant for his creepy role in the horror film “ Heretic,” Colman Domingo in real-life prison drama “ Sing Sing ” and Sebastian Stan for his portrayal of a young Donald Trump in “ The Apprentice.”
Stan, who is also Oscar nominated, said it was “incredibly validating” to get recognition for the film, which initially struggled to find an American distributor. It's an origins story that focuses on Trump's relationship with ruthless power broker Roy Cohn, played by Jeremy Strong.
“We were told this was going to be a thankless job that was never going to lead to anything,” Stan said, describing the movie as a “fair” depiction of the president.
Best-actress nominees were Madison, Gascón, Demi Moore for body-horror film “ The Substance,” Ronan for “The Outrun,” Erivo for “Wicked” and Marianne Jean-Baptiste for the Mike Leigh drama “Hard Truths.” Erivo or Jean-Baptiste would have been the first non-white performer to win the leading actress BAFTA.
Animated caper “Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” won awards for best animated feature and best family and children’s film.
Sci-fi epic “Dune: Part Two” won prizes for sound and visual effects. “The Brutalist” won for cinematography and musical score. Musical “Wicked” took the costume and production design trophies.
Rising stars and lifetime honors
Britain’s film academy introduced changes to increase the awards’ diversity in 2020, when no women were nominated as best director for the seventh year running and all 20 nominees in the lead and supporting performer categories were white.
Most winners are chosen by 8,000 members of the U.K. academy of industry professionals, with one — the Rising Star Award —- selected by public vote from a shortlist of nominees. This year's winner was David Jonsson, star of high finance drama series “Industry” and London rom-com “Rye Lane.”
“Star, I don’t know,” he said. “But rising, I guess.”
“Willow” and “Return of the Jedi” actor Warwick Davis received the academy’s top honor, the BAFTA Fellowship, for his screen career and work to create a more inclusive film industry.
He founded a talent agency for actors under 5 feet tall, because, he said, “short actors weren’t known for their talent, just their height.”
BAFTA chairwoman Sara Putt sent a message of strength to everyone hit by last month’s devastating Los Angeles wildfires. Jamie Lee Curtis, a supporting actress nominee for “The Last Showgirl,” was absent because the fires delayed filming on her current work.
The event was without a dash of royal glamour this year. Neither Prince William, who is honorary president of the British film academy, nor his wife Kate are attending. The awards coincide with school holidays for their three children.
William, 42, sent a recorded video message that was played before the presentation of the Rising Star Award.
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Hilary Fox contributed to this story.
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A previous version of this story was corrected to show that the Academy Awards are on March 2, not March 3.
