BAFTAs: ‘Conclave’ Wins Best Film in the Latest Awards Season Shake-up

At the EE British Academy Film Awards, held at the Royal Festival Hall in London on Sunday, Conclave took home the prestigious Best Film award, marking the latest surprise in a tumultuous awards season where no single film has dominated all the major ceremonies.

Directed by Edward Berger and starring Ralph Fiennes, Conclave is a gripping thriller centered around the selection of a new pope. The film won a total of four BAFTAs on Sunday, including Best Film, Best Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Outstanding British Film.

In the Best Film category, Conclave triumphed over several contenders, including Sean Baker’s Anora, a dramedy about an exotic dancer who marries the son of a Russian oligarch, and Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist, which tells the story of a Jewish architect (Adrien Brody) rebuilding his life in post-Holocaust America. It also bested the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown and Emilia Pérez.

While Conclave had not been a frontrunner at previous major award shows this season, it did win a Golden Globe for Best Screenplay. At other ceremonies, Anora and The Brutalist had garnered more attention, with Anora gaining momentum for a Best Picture Oscar after sweeping the Critic’s Choice Awards, along with major wins at the Directors Guild and Producers Guild of America Awards.

The BAFTA win for Conclave has now given it a significant boost heading into the Academy Awards on March 2. With many overlapping voters between the BAFTAs and the Oscars, the two ceremonies often share the same winners.https://svtoday.org/

The cast and crew of Conclave were visibly shocked when the Best Film award was announced. Isabella Rossellini, who plays a nun in the film, beamed on stage throughout Berger’s acceptance speech, where he expressed being “deeply humbled” by the recognition.

In the Best Director category, Corbet won for The Brutalist, beating out Berger, Baker, Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez), Denis Villeneuve (Dune: Part Two), and Coralie Fargeat (The Substance, a body-horror film starring Demi Moore).

The Brutalist had a strong showing at the ceremony, also winning four awards, including Best Leading Actor for Adrien Brody. He defeated Fiennes (Conclave), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), Hugh Grant (Heretic), Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown), and Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice).

In the Best Leading Actress category, Mikey Madison won for her role in Anora, beating out Moore, Cynthia Erivo (Wicked), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Hard Truths), and Saoirse Ronan (The Outrun). During her acceptance speech, Madison took a moment to honor the sex worker community, saying, “I see you. You deserve respect and human decency.”

Karla Sofía Gascón, a nominee for Best Actress for her role in Emilia Pérez, did not attend the ceremony, which took place shortly after controversy surrounding past social media posts in which she made offensive remarks about Muslims and George Floyd.

Audiard, accepting the Best Film Not in the English Language award for Emilia Pérez, acknowledged Gascón, along with the rest of the cast. Zoe Saldaña also referenced Gascón during her acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actress. Kieran Culkin won Best Supporting Actor for his performance in A Real Pain.