Sawt Falasteen - Rivals eye BAFTA victory over scandal-hit 'Emilia Perez'

Until last month, French director Jaques Audiard's surreal musical, which got the second-most BAFTA nominations and had already won big at Cannes and the Golden Globes, was expected to be a frontrunner at the British film awards.

But old racist and Islamophobic tweets by lead actor Karla Sofia Gascon surfaced at the end of January, crashing the campaign for "Emilia Perez" and shaking up the race days before the London ceremony, just weeks before the Oscars.

Papal thriller "Conclave", directed by German-born Edward Berger, is leading the BAFTA pack with 12 nominations.

But "Emilia Perez" took an early prize, awarded the BAFTA for a film not in the English language.

And "The Brutalist" got an early BAFTA boost with the award for best score.

Veteran British actor Ralph Fiennes, who is hoping to win his first BAFTA for his role as a cardinal in "Conclave", joined other A-listers thronging Sunday's ceremony.

"Conclave" producer Michael Jackman told AFP that Fiennes was a "brilliant actor".

"He brings so much to every scene and every moment. And he's a very generous actor with his fellow actors," he said.

- Big night for British film -

Demi Moore, Timothee Chalamet and Ariana Grande were also at the glitzy evening hosted by "Doctor Who" and "Good Omens" star David Tennant, which will set the tone for Hollywood's biggest night on March 2.

Chalamet was spotted in the crowd accompanied by his partner Kylie Jenner, along with Cynthia Erivo, nominated for her role in "Wicked," and US actor Adrien Brody in the running for best actor for "The Brutalist".

However, Prince William, the president of the BAFTA, and his wife Princess Catherine have skipped the event at London's Royal Festival Hall.

"Wicked" picked up BAFTA for 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.

British cinema will be in the spotlight, with "Bird" by Andrea Arnold, "Blitz" by Steve McQueen, "Gladiator II" by Ridley Scott and the new "Wallace and Gromit" all nominated in a dedicated category.

BAFTA president, Prince William and his wife Catherine have skipped the event at London's Royal Festival Hall.

"Wallace and Gromit" picked up the BAFTA in the Children Family film category.

The BAFTAs -- the biggest night of the year for the British film industry -- regularly diverge from the films favoured by the Academy Awards in Los Angeles.

This year, the BAFTA has thrown its weight behind the papal drama "Conclave" by German-born director Edward Berger, who won big in London two years ago with "All Quiet on the Western Front".

Set in the Vatican, the star-studded film about the horse-trading that takes place after the death of a pope could be a crowning moment for veteran Fiennes.

- Formidable competition -

But "The Brutalist", a three-hour epic about a Holocaust survivor and architect portrayed by Adrien Brody, promises to be formidable competition in nine categories.

It is competing for the best film award with the Palme d'Or winner "Anora", the Bob Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown", and "Emilia Perez", which tells the story of a Mexican drug lord's transition to a woman.

Her horror film starring Demi Moore is about the pressures women face to maintain bodily perfection as they age, and it won best screenplay at Cannes.

Moore, who won the best actress award at the Golden Globes, is competing for the BAFTA title against Gascon, Erivo ("Wicked"), Marianne Jean-Baptiste ("Hard Truths"), Mikey Madison ("Anora") and Saoirse Ronan ("The Outrun").

The leading actor award will see Brody and Fiennes pitted against Chalamet ("A Complete Unknown"), Colman Domingo ("Sing Sing"), Hugh Grant ("Heretic") and Sebastian Stan ("The Apprentice").

In the supporting actress category, US pop singer Grande is nominated for "Wicked" alongside Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldana (both "Emilia Perez"), Felicity Jones ("The Brutalist"), Jamie Lee Curtis ("The Last Showgirl") and Isabella Rossellini ("Conclave").

Q.Najjar--SF-PST