Five highlights from the Bafta Film Awards

Emma Watson also appeared to throw shade at the bestselling author. “[Watson] calls herself a feminist, but we all know she’s a witch,” said Wilson, as she brought the Harry Potter actor on stage to present the award for outstanding British film. As she took her place on the podium, Watson clarified that she was “here for all of the witches”. Many perceived her emphasis on the word “all” to be a dig at Rowling. 

Emma Watson walks the red carpet outside the Royal Albert Hall

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Jane Campion scooped the top prize

Bafta has been criticised in the past for being “male, pale and stale”, but this year’s awards were anything but. The gong for best director was taken home by New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion for The Power of the Dog, making her only the third woman to win the award in Bafta’s seven-decade history (another female director, Chloé Zhao, won for Nomadland last year).

Campion wasn’t present at the ceremony but later said that it was “incredible” to win the award. Benedict Cumberbatch, star of The Power of the Dog, accepted the gong on her behalf. He received one of the biggest laughs of the night when he pretended to read out his own acceptance speech, which had gone unused after he (gracefully) lost out in the best actor category to Smith for King Richard.

Benedict Cumberbatch and his wife Sophie Hunter on the red carpet

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Nods were made to the war in Ukraine

The ceremony was relatively apolitical, but there were several significant references to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Batman actor Andy Serkis made headlines for using his speech to slam home secretary Priti Patel for her handling of Ukraine’s ongoing refugee crisis. 

“A world-class director is a visionary empowered to change the world with a story that they are burning to tell,” he told the audience, as he prepared to announce the award for best director.

He added: “It’s no surprise that Priti Patel, on her debut feature Hostile Environment, found enormous problems, and that her follow-up movie, All Refugees Are Welcome but Some Are More Welcome than Others, is a complete nightmare.”

It was when introducing a spine-tingling performance by CODA’s Emilia Jones of Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now, which was accompanied by sign language interpreters, that Wilson received her biggest laugh of the night.

“In this performance there are two different interpreters,” she told the audience. “One is signing ASL, which is American Sign Language, and one of them is signing BSL which is British Sign Language.

“Luckily, though, in all sign languages, this is the gesture for Putin,” she added, raising her middle finger to the camera. 

Article source: https://www.theweek.co.uk/arts-life/culture/film/956077/five-highlights-from-the-bafta-film-awards