Element Pictures’ The Favourite lived up to its title winning 7 of the 12 categories in which is was nominated at tonight’s EE BAFTA Awards in London.
The film won Best Actress for Olivia Colman, Best Supporting Actress for Rachel Weisz, Best Screenplay for Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara, Best Costume Design for Sandy Powell, Best Production Design for Fiona Crombie and Alice Felton, Best Make Up & Hair for Nadia Stacey, and Best British Film.
Alfonso Cuaron beat out The Favourite‘s Yorgos Lanthimos to scoop Best Director, before his semi-autobiographical film Roma went on to win Best Film. Cuaron also bested Dubliner Robbie Ryan to win Best Cinematography, while Vice beat The Favourite for Best Editing. In addition to Best Film, Roma also took home the award for Best Film Not in the English Language. These wins see Cuaron set a record of four personal BAFTAs for a single film from a record six personal nominations.
Bohemian Rhapsody star Rami Malek won Best Actor for his portrayal of Queen lead Freddie Mercury, with the film also winning Best Sound. Black Panther won Best VFX, with its young star Letitia Wright winning the Rising Star Award, ahead of Irish actors Barry Keoghan and Jessie Buckley.
Spike Lee won his first BAFTA with a win for BlacKkKlansman for Adapted Screenplay. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse took home the BAFTA for best animated film. Free Solo won the award for Best Documentary. The film has already grossed £1.7 million and will enter the all-time top ten highest grossing documentaries in the U.K. this week.
The BAFTA award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema was presented to producers Elizabeth Karlsen and Stephen Woolley of Number 9 Films, who have had a prolific relationship with Irish director Neil Jordan dating back to 1984’s The Company of Wolves.
These wins for Roma, Colman and Malek place them as firm favourites to take home their respective Academy Awards when that ceremony is held on February 24th.
We are so pleased for all our wonderful cast and crew whose talent was rightly recognised by BAFTA tonight. We are particularly pleased for Olivia and Rachel to have their amazing performances recognised in this way and for Yorgos, our friend and collaborator, for his work to garner so many awards. We are most proud that BAFTA recognised The Favourite as Outstanding British Film and are most grateful to everyone who supported us on the long journey to getting this film made, in particular our friends at Film4 and Fox Searchlight.
Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe, Producers – Element Pictures
The recognition received by Element Pictures for their co-production The Favourite, both at home and abroad, is richly deserved. It is fantastic to see Irish talent capturing the attention of both the public and the film industry at an international level. Tonight’s award wins will further build on the Irish Film Industry success and boost our reputation internationally as a country rich in talent.
Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan TD
This is a tremendous achievement for Element Pictures. Bringing home 7 BAFTA awards, including Outstanding British Film, Best Actress for Olivia Colman and Supporting Actress for Rachel Weisz is a wonderful result for the team. All of the member companies of SPI are thrilled for our colleagues in Element Pictures. Andrew Lowe and Ed Guiney spent 20 years guiding this project from initial development to production to release, and they have had their belief in the story justified. The Favourite is an excellent example of the importance of early development funding in a project alongside committed and determined producers. With every award that The Favourite wins, a worldwide spotlight shines on the Irish independent production industry and the many talented people who work in it. Our producers, crew and talent continue to create world class content. Congratulations to all the Element Pictures team and best wishes from all in SPI for the Oscars on February 24th.
Elaine Geraghty, CEO – Screen Producers Ireland
The success of The Favourite this awards season has been a truly remarkable feat and I would like to congratulate Ed, Andrew, Yorgos, and all the team at Element following last night’s BAFTA wins. We are delighted to have supported The Favourite from an early stage in the development process when the film received development funding from Screen Ireland (formerly Irish Film Board) as part of its Company Development funding scheme in which Element Pictures participated. These awards are a fitting tribute to the hardworking team behind the film and we wish Element every success ahead of the Academy Awards where The Favourite has received a phenomenal ten nominations.
James Hickey, Chief Executive – Screen Ireland
The winners
Best Film
- Roma
Best leading actor
- Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody)
Best leading actress
- Olivia Colman (The Favourite)
Costume Design
- The Favourite
Film Not in the English Language
- Roma
Special Visual Effects
- Black Panther
Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer
- Beast
Best Cinematography
- Roma
Best Supporting Actor
- Mahershala Ali (Green Book)
Original screenplay
- The Favourite
Best Original Music
- A Star Is Born
Best adapted screenplay
- BlacKkKlansman
EE Rising Star
- Letitia Wright
Best Supporting Actress
- Rachel Weisz (The Favourite)
Make Up & Hair
- The Favourite
Best documentary
- Free Solo
Editing
- Vice
Sound
- Bohemian Rhapsody
British Short Film
- 73 Cows
British Short Animation
- Roughhouse
Production design
- The Favourite
Outstanding British film
- The Favourite
Best animated film
- Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse