Sawt Falasteen - 'The Power of the Dog' triumphant with best film, director at BAFTAs

Will Smith scooped the best actor prize for his portrayal of the Williams sisters' father and tennis coach in "King Richard", while Britain's Joanna Scanlan won best actress for her widow's role in drama "After Love".

The star of "The Power of the Dog", Benedict Cumberbatch, accepted the best director award on behalf of Campion, the day after she won the Directors Guild of America's top prize for her film about the toxic masculinity of sexually repressed cowboys.

The film is a front runner for the Oscars to be held in Los Angeles in two weeks' time.

Opening the ceremony amid Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine, BAFTA chair Krishnendu Majumdar said the invasion had "shocked the world with images and stories detailing a truly horrific and heartbreaking situation".

He said that film academies across Europe stood in solidarity with Ukraine and "we share the hope for the return to peace".

Despite the world's sombre mood over Moscow's ongoing onslaught, Sunday's awards were a celebration of freedom of a different kind as they were held in person for the first time since Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns.

The evening's host, Australian actress Rebel Wilson, presented a singing performance by Britain's Emilia Jones, who played a child of deaf adults in "CODA" and was vying for the best actress prize.

Her performance was simultaneously signed on stage in British and US sign language.

"Luckily though, in all sign languages, this is the gesture for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin," Wilson said, raising her middle finger.

Presenting the prize for Best director, Andy Serkis took a swipe at Britain's Home Secretary Priti Patel and her handling of the Ukrainian refugee crisis.

Serkis said Patel's latest movie "all refugees are welcome, but some are more welcome than others, is a complete nightmare".

Despite not winning the top prizes, Villeneuve's "Dune" won for special effects, cinematography, sound, score and production design.

Accepting the best actress prize for her role as Mary Hussain, a widow who discovers her late husband has a secret family, Scanlan said the film took "extreme love, blood, sweat and tears".

She paid homage to her real husband, "living proof that there's no such thing as 'after love'."

US actress and singer Ariana Debose won the award for best supporting actress for her role in Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story" remake, confessing to the audience that "I speak dance better than I speak English".

Troy Kotsur won the best supporting actor prize for his role as the deaf Massachusetts fisherman father of Jones's singing high school student in "Coda", accepting his prize in sign language.

He joked about the event's celebration of the James Bond franchise's 60th anniversary, asking in sign language "have you maybe considered a deaf Bond, 008?"

"Coda" director Sian Heder won the award for best adapted screenplay, paying homage to the US fishermen who helped her understand their job and the deaf community who "shared their stories with me and trusted me".

France's Lea Seydoux presented the award for best film not in the English language, saying that "now more than ever we need to reach out across language divides and remember what we all have in common".

Japan's Ryusuke Hamaguchi won the award for "Drive My Car", saying "well that got rid of my jet lag" as he accepted the prize.

"That's the power of film, they go beyond language, they go beyond borders. That really is the power of film," Hamaguchi said.

Kenneth Branagh won the award for outstanding British film for his semi-autobiographical "Belfast", paying tribute to cinema going audiences in the age of Netflix.

"All hail the streaming revolution but all hail the big screen too, it's alive! And long may they live together."

"If you build it, they will come."

Lady Gaga, who was nominated for best actress for her starring role in "The House of Gucci", introduced the EE Rising Star Award, the only one voted for by the public.

The award was given to Lashana Lynch for her role as an MI6 spy in James Bond's latest outing "No Time To Die".

R.Shaban--SF-PST