“In the West, nothing new”, the German production by Netflix, made a very strong impression on Sunday evening with seven wins from Bafta, the British cinema awards, including best film and best director for the German Edward Shepherd.
A century after Erich Maria Remarque’s famous 1929 pacifist novel was brought to the screen here, producer Malte Grunert has stressed the relevance of his message.
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“In the West Nothing New tells the story of young men who, poisoned by right-wing nationalist political propaganda, go to war thinking it’s an adventure,” he said. “War is anything but an adventure.
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The film, which accompanies a young German soldier in World War I, is dedicated to this 76th Bafta ceremony, which took place at the Royal Festival Hall in London, in seven categories. It was released both on Netflix and in cinemas in the UK.
He was nominated in a total of 14 categories and equaled the number of nominations for a film shot in a language other than English with “Tiger and Dragon” (2000). He’s also multiple nominees for next month’s Oscars.
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A taste of the Oscars
Cate Blanchett receives the Bafta for Best Actress for her role as the ruthless conductor in “Tar” and celebrated her honor as an “Outstanding Year for Women”.
Meanwhile, Austin Butler of the United States scooped the best actor award for his role in the biopic Elvis about the rock ‘n’ roll legend, in which he defeated Colin Farrell, who starred in The Banshees of Inisherin belonged to the big favourites.
This tragic comedy about the sudden breakup of a friendship ended up winning four awards, notably Best Supporting Actor, which went to Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon, Best British Film – although the feature film is Irish – and Best Original Screenplay .
Ireland has been in the spotlight this year with a quarter of the 24 nominations in the acting categories going to Irish thanks to Martin McDonagh’s Banshees (four Irish actors nominated), but also My Dates With Leo and Aftersun , nominated in the category “Best Actor” with the Irish Daryl McCormack and Paul Mescal.
The 10-category feature film Everything Everywhere All at Once, in which Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh plays a laundry lost in parallel universes, won only the Bafta for Best Editing.
A total of 45 films were nominated in one or more categories this year, slightly less than in the previous year (48).
Homage to the Queen
The prize for the best documentary film was awarded to “Navalny”, dedicated to Russian opponent Alexei Navalny, against controversial backgrounds, after the head of the Bellingcat investigative body, Christo Grozev, was prevented from attending the ceremony for security reasons. The London police referred to the risk of “hostile intentions of foreign countries”.
More than five months after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Helen Mirren has paid tribute to the monarch. The 77-year-old actress won an Oscar and a Bafta in 2006 for her portrayal of the Sovereign in The Queen.
Prince William, the Queen’s grandson and Bafta President since 2010, attended the ceremony with his wife Kate for the first time since 2019.
The Bafta ceremony, like that of the Golden Globes, gives a foretaste of the Oscars, which will be awarded on March 12 in Los Angeles.
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© Agence France-Presse