The British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards (BAFTA) were handed out yesterday in London, adding to what has become an unpredictable awards race. Richard Linklater’s Boyhood narrowly edged out DGA, PGA, and SAG champ Birdman and hometown favorite The Theory of Everything to take top honors for best motion picture and best director. However, it was Wes Anderson’s stealthy awards performer The Grand Budapest Hotel that took home the most trophies, winning five awards including a screenplay prize for the quirky auteur himself. Boyhood, The Theory of Everything, and in a surprising turn, Whiplash, all won three prizes. Birdman took home just one trophy for Emmanuel Lubezki’s cinematography.
The BAFTA Awards, first handed out in 1948, have a fairly strong correlation with the Academy Awards, and in recent years they have made an effort to emulate the Academy. Starting in 2003, the BAFTAs started announcing winners before the Oscars, and two years ago changed their voting practices to become more in line with the Academy Awards – before, the BAFTAs would have the entire membership nominate films and then have the separate branches vote in the individual categories, now they’ve swapped that process (the same way the Academy votes). The full list of BAFTA winners is below:
- PICTURE: Boyhood
- DIRECTOR: Richard Linklater, Boyhood
- ACTOR: Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
- ACTRESS: Julianne Moore, Still Alice
- SUPPORTING ACTOR: J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
- SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
- ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: The Grand Budapest Hotel– Wes Anderson
- ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: The Theory of Everything– Anthony McCarten
- ANIMATED FILM: The LEGO Movie
- DOCUMENTARY: Citizenfour
- FOREIGN FILM: Ida (Poland)
- CINEMATOGRAPHY: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)– Emmanuel Lubezki
- COSTUME DESIGN: The Grand Budapest Hotel– Milena Canonera
- PRODUCTION DESIGN: The Grand Budapest Hotel– Adam Stockhausen, Anna Pinnock
- FILM EDITING: Whiplash– Tom Cross
- MUSIC: The Grand Budapest Hotel– Alexandre Desplat
- MAKE-UP AND HAIR: The Grand Budapest Hotel– Frances Hannon, Mark Coulier
- SOUND: Whiplash
- VISUAL EFFECTS: Interstellar
- LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM: Boogaloo and Graham
- ANIMATED SHORT FILM: The Bigger Picture
- OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM: The Theory of Everything
- OUTSTANDING BRITISH DEBUT: Pride– Steven Beresford (screenwriter); David Livingstone (producer)
- OUTSTANDING BRITISH CONTRIBUTION TO CINEMA: BBC Films
- EE RISING STAR AWARD: Jack O’Connell