Jane Campion looks on track to take home her second Oscar for directing after winning Best Director at the BAFTA Awards, where her Western drama The Power of the Dog was also awarded Best Film.
The Australian-New Zealand co-production joined coming-of-age drama/comedy CODA and musical West Side Story in winning two awards, while Denis Villeneuve’s Dune was the most decorated title, converting five of its 11 nominations, including Best Cinematography for Australian Greig Fraser.
It’s the first BAFTA win and second nomination for Fraser, who also got a nod for Lion in 2017.
He said he was honoured to receive an award from a body that “celebrates the crafts” of the industry.
“Dune is greater than the sum of its parts, and I certainly wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my camera team, the sound department, the outstanding music composers, the hair and makeup artists, editors, costumers, art and production design departments,” he said.
“The list of people I am indebted to is too long to share, but you know who you are.
“I’d have no business accepting this award without thanking my wife Jodie. You have been the greatest supporter and the reason I am able to forge my path in this challenging industry.
“And of course Denis Villeneuve. I am grateful you took me on this journey with you, and I can’t wait to see where it takes us next.”
Campion was also a first-time winner on the night and only the third woman ever to triumph in the directing category. The director also won the Theatrical Feature Film Award at the Directors’ Guild of America (DGA) Awards over the weekend.
The Power of the Dog, which is produced by See-Saw Films, Brightstar, BBC Films, Big Shell Films, and Max Films, has so far won Best Picture at the Golden Globes and Best Film at AACTA International Awards.
In accepting the BAFTA for Best Film, producer Tanya Seghatchian paid tribute to Campion, describing her as “a visionary who has trailblazed through the last 30 years of cinema with stories about the silenced, the underrepresented, and the misunderstood”.
“You’ve inspired legions of women to find their voices; we’re here because of you,” she said.
There was less joy for the film in the acting categories, however, with Kodi Smit-McPhee and Jesse Plemons losing out to CODA‘s Troy Kotsur for Supporting Actor, while King Richard‘s Will Smith beat out Benedict Cumberbatch for Leading Actor.
Lashana Lynch won the publicly voted Rising Star Award, which Smit-McPhee was also up for.
There was no shortage of fresh faces on the winners list, with 25 of the 47 recipients taking home an award for the first time.
Rebel Wilson was tasked with hosting this year’s ceremony, which took place at Royal Albert Hall.
The full list of winners is as follows:
BEST FILM
THE POWER OF THE DOG Jane Campion, Iain Canning, Roger Frappier, Tanya Seghatchian, Emile Sherman
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
BELFAST Kenneth Branagh, Laura Berwick, Becca Kovacik, Tamar Thomas
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
THE HARDER THEY FALL Jeymes Samuel (Writer/Director) [also written by Boaz Yakin]
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
DRIVE MY CAR Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Teruhisa Yamamoto
DOCUMENTARY
SUMMER OF SOUL (OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED) Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, David Dinerstein, Robert Fyvolent, Joseph Patel
ANIMATED FILM
ENCANTO Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino, Clarke Spencer
DIRECTOR
THE POWER OF THE DOG Jane Campion
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
LICORICE PIZZA Paul Thomas Anderson
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
CODA Siân Heder
LEADING ACTRESS
JOANNA SCANLAN After Love
LEADING ACTOR
WILL SMITH King Richard
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
ARIANA DEBOSE West Side Story
SUPPORTING ACTOR
TROY KOTSUR CODA
ORIGINAL SCORE
DUNE Hans Zimmer
CASTING
WEST SIDE STORY Cindy Tolan
CINEMATOGRAPHY
DUNE Greig Fraser
EDITING
NO TIME TO DIE Tom Cross, Elliot Graham
PRODUCTION DESIGN
DUNE Patrice Vermette, Zsuzsanna Sipos
COSTUME DESIGN
CRUELLA Jenny Beavan
MAKE UP & HAIR
THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram, Justin Raleigh
SOUND
DUNE Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Doug Hemphill, Theo Green, Ron Bartlett
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
DUNE Brian Connor, Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Gerd Nefzer
BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
DO NOT FEED THE PIGEONS Jordi Morera
BRITISH SHORT FILM
THE BLACK COP Cherish Oleka
EE RISING STAR AWARD
LASHANA LYNCH