'All Quiet on the Western Front' triumphs at BAFTA Awards

LONDON: A German remake of anti-war classic ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ was the big winner at the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday, triumphing in the key categories at the ceremony seen as an indicator for next month’s Oscars.

Based on the 1928 novel by German author Erich Maria Remarque about the horrors of World War One from the perspective of a young German soldier, the Netflix drama had led nominations, with 14 nods, making it one of the most recognized films not in the English language in BAFTA’s history.

It won seven awards overall: best film, adapted screenplay, film not in the English language, director for Edward Berger, cinematography, sound and original score.

“German language film, we’ve been blessed with so many nominations and winning this is just incredible,” producer Malte Grunert said in his acceptance speech for best film.

‘”All Quiet on the Western Front’ tells a story of a young man who, poisoned by right-wing political nationalist propaganda, goes to war thinking it’s an adventure, and war is anything but an adventure. That is one of the messages of Remarque’s seminal novel and when we started embarking on this… that seemed a relevant message even 100 years after the book was published.”

Austin Butler won the leading actor prize for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in ‘Elvis’. He thanked the Presley family in his acceptance speech.

“I hope I’ve made you proud, this means the world to me,” he said.

Cate Blanchett won the leading actress prize for her portrayal of a gay conductor of a Berlin orchestra whose career comes tumbling down due to an abuse scandal in ‘Tár’, an undertaking she described as “very dangerous and career-ending potentially”.

‘Banshees’, about two feuding friends on an island off the coast of Ireland, won outstanding British film, both supporting acting categories for Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan as well as original screenplay.

Sandy Powell became the first costume designer to get the BAFTA Fellowship, the highest honour bestowed by the Academy.

The BAFTAs also remembered Britain’s late Queen Elizabeth, who died in September. Actress Helen Mirren, who won both a BAFTA and an Oscar for her portrayal of Elizabeth in 2006 film ‘The Queen’, led a tribute.

See the list of winners below.

Best Film

All Quiet On The Western Front – WINNER
The Banshees Of Inisherin
Elvis
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Tár

Leading Actress

Cate Blanchett, Tár – WINNER
Viola Davis, The Woman King
Danielle Deadwyler, Till
Ana De Armas, Blonde
Emma Thompson, Good Luck To You, Leo Grande
Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All At Once

Leading Actor

Austin Butler, Elvis – WINNER
Colin Farrell, The Banshees Of Inisherin
Brendan Fraser, The Whale
Daryl Mccormack, Good Luck To You, Leo Grande
Paul Mescal, Aftersun
Bill Nighy, Living