British German director Edward Berger (3L) Italian actor Isabella Rossellini (4L) and British actor Ralph Fiennes (2R) pose with the award for Best film for "Conclave" during the BAFTA British Academy Film Awards ceremony on February 16, 2025. (Photo by Justin Tallis / AFP)
London: Papal thriller "Conclave" and immigrant epic "The Brutalist" on Sunday tied for top honours at Britain's BAFTA awards with each film picking up four coveted gongs.
"Conclave", directed by German-born Edward Berger, won the BAFTA for the best film with its tale of the intrigue and horse-trading behind the scenes during the election of a new pope.
Accepting the award, Berger recalled the journey to make the film took seven years, paying tribute to British screenplay writer Peter Straughan's "wonderful script" and lead actor Ralph Fiennes.
US filmmaker Brady Corbet took the BAFTA for best director for "The Brutalist", while leading man Adrien Brody scooped up the best actor gong for his portrayal of a Hungarian Holocaust survivor and architect who emigrates to the United States.
Brody told a winners press conference that the film was "an opportunity for me to honour my own ancestral struggles".
In "a film that speaks to tremendous cruelty and despicable behaviour in our past... we see elements existing today that can guide us and remind us of that," he added.
Veteran British actor Fiennes, who played a cardinal in "Conclave", once again saw his hopes of winning a BAFTA gong dashed, losing out to Brody in the race for the honour.
Scandal-hit "Emilia Perez", a surreal musical about a Mexican druglord, had been heavily favoured at the beginning of the year. But it ended the evening with just two BAFTAs, including one for Zoe Saldana for best supporting actress.
A surprise of the night was the BAFTA for best actress which went to 25-year-old Mikey Madison for her portrayal in the black comedy "Anora".
Demi Moore, Timothee Chalamet and Ariana Grande were also at the glitzy evening hosted by "Doctor Who" and "Good Omens" star David Tennant, but all left empty-handed.
Best supporting actor went to "Succession" star Kieran Culkin for his role in "A Real Pain" about Jewish American cousins who tour Poland in honour of their grandmother. The film also garnered the best original screenplay for Jesse Eisenberg.
"Conclave" also picked up awards for outstanding British film, editing and best adapted screenplay, while "The Brutalist" took awards for cinematography and original score.
"Wicked" picked up two BAFTAs for costume and production design, while Rich Peppiatt who wrote "Kneecap", a docu-drama about an audacious trio of Northern Irish rappers, won for an outstanding debut by a British writer.
"Dune: Part Two" won BAFTAs for both special visual effects and best sound.
To huge cheers from the audience, "Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl" picked up two BAFTAs for best animated feature and best Children's and Family Film.
France's Coralie Fargeat was the only woman nominated in the directing category, for "The Substance", which in the end picked up just one BAFTA for hair and make-up.
