14 DAY TRIAL // With the awards season still in full swing, in preparation for the Academy Awards, the stars came out for the annual British Academy Film Awards, held just hours ago in London. On this occasion, “Gravity” has just delivered the most surprising run of the entire awards season.
Though considered a favorite all along, Alfonso Cuaron’s movie actually managed to emerge as the biggest winner of the night, scooping up no less than 6 different awards, more than any other film in the competition.
However, it did not win Best Film, as this distinction went to the Brad Pitt-produced “12 Years a Slave,” which also won Best Lead Actor for Chiwetel Ejiofor, who plays a free man who is abducted and sold into slavery for 12 years.
Cuaron won Best Director with “Gravity,” a movie he waited years to make because he did not have the technology needed to shoot all those breathtaking and beautiful scenes in space. In taking home this award, Cuaron bested fellow directors Steve McQueen (“12 Years a Slave”), Martin Scorsese (“The Wolf of Wall Street”), David O. Russell (“American Hustle”) and Paul Greengrass (“Captain Phillips”).
Cate Blanchett won Best Lead Actress for her role in Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine,” that of a rich woman who becomes emotionally unstable after she finds herself penniless and in debt, and has to move in with her sister because she has no place to go.
“The Act of Killing” took home the BAFTA for Best Documentary, while “Frozen,” which continues its reign at the box office as we speak, won Best Animated Film.
Below is the complete list of winners, check it out to see if your favorite won anything.
Director: Alfonso Cuaron – “Gravity” Best Film: “12 Years a Slave” Lead Actor: Chiwetel Ejiofor – “12 Years a Slave” Lead Actress: Cate Blanchett – “Blue Jasmine” Supporting Actor: Barkhad Abdi – “Captain Phillips” Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence – “American Hustle” Original Music: Steven Price – “Gravity” Outstanding British Film: “Gravity” Adapted Screenplay: Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope – “Philomena” Documentary: “The Act of Killing” Animated Film: “Frozen” Original Screenplay: Eric Warren Singer, David O Russell – “American Hustle” Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer: Kieran Evans – “Kelly + Victor” Film Not in the English Language: “The Great Beauty” Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki – “Gravity” Editing: Dan Hanley, Mike Hill – “Rush” Production Design: Catherine Martin, Beverley Dunn – “The Great Gatsby” Costume Design: Catherine Martin – “The Great Gatsby” Make Up & Hair: Evelyne Noraz, Lori McCoy-Bell – “American Hustle” Sound: Glenn Freemantle, Skip Lievsay, Christopher Benstead, Niv Adiri, Chris Munro – “Gravity” Special Visual Effects: Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, David Shirk, Neil Corbould, Nikki Penny – “Gravity” British Short Animation: “Sleeping with the Fishes” British Short Film: “Room 8” EE Rising Star Award: “Will Poulter”