Last Sunday (the 18th of February), London’s Southbank Centre hosted the annual British Academy Film Arts Awards – more commonly known as the BAFTAs. This year the awards were a jumbled combination of tears, a dog, and Sophie Ellis Bextor’s infamous song Murder on the Dancefloor. David Tennant brought a dog, Saltburn star Barry Keoghan thoroughly enjoyed Bextor’s performance of Murder on the Dancefloor, and Da’Vine Joy brought journalists to tears when asked about the strange choice to release The Holdovers in January in the UK, despite it being set in Christmas.
Christopher Nolan’s 2023 film Oppenheimer took home multiple awards, including best picture, director, and actor. Cillian Murphy thanked his “Oppenhomies” in his acceptance speech for best actor, he also added that he is “a really proud Irishman, it means a lot” and described 2023 as “a brilliant year for cinema”.
This year’s host was David Tennant, who was a big success. Tennant made everyone laugh with his genuine excitement and humorous script. Unforgettably too, Tennant brought Bark Ruffalo – Michael Sheen’s dog – to the awards show after being asked to pet sit. He also had hilarious fun with the Barbie cast and crew, and signed the show of with the signature line from the Aqua song, “Come on Barbie, let’s go party”, truly a highlight.
War seems to have been at the centre of the show though, as many of the films and television shows which picked up awards were focused on past conflicts. The Zone of Interest won three awards: Outstanding British Film, Best Sound, and Best Film Not in the English Language. The film tells the story of the head of the second World War concentration camp Auschwitz, who lives next door with his family. James Wilson, the producer, said in his acceptance speech: “A friend wrote to me after seeing the film the other day that he couldn't stop thinking about the walls we construct in our lives, which we choose not to look behind. Those walls aren't new, from before or during or since the Holocaust, and it seems stark right now that we should care about innocent people being killed in Gaza, or Yemen, in the same way we think about innocent people being killed in Mariupol or in Israel.”
Wilson was not the only award winner to make a poignant and heartfelt speech, Samantha Morton dedicated her award to children currently in care. Morton was this year’s winner of the Fellowship award, the highest accolade bestowed by BAFTA which recognises an individual’s contribution to film and television across their entire career. She has had an incredibly successful career, starring in a variety of films and shows ranging from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them to The Walking Dead. Morton grew up in the care system, and raised the importance of representing children like her in television and film. In a backstage interview she said: "We can't just be a service industry for the wonderful Americans... we need our own investments. But if our government only gives us a culture and sports minister rather than separating that and identifying what we do... it's a billion-dollar industry. And it's foolish of them not to understand that."
The number of viewers for the award show this year peaked at 3.8 million, and overall was a truly enjoyable evening. Will you be tuning in next year?