The movie stars were out in force along London’s South Bank on Sunday evening (18 February), when the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA’s) were handed out, in a glitzy ceremony.

The 77th edition of this prestigious event took place in the Royal Festival Hall to honour the best national and international films and documentaries screened at UK cinemas during 2023.

As expected it was Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer that led the way by scooping seven gongs, equalling the number won by last year’s most successful film – All Quiet On The Western Front.

The bizarre Poor Things picked up five, and these leading two are tipped to repeat their success at next month’s Oscars, although very often voters tend to disagree on either side of the Atlantic.

There was royal representation from Prince William – who is the Bafta’s president – attending what was his first high-profile engagement since his wife Kate’s recent abdominal operation and news of his father, King Charles III being diagnosed with cancer.

There was a standing ovation and quite a few tears from the audience for Michael J Fox, who made a surprise entry to present the final award in the “best film” category, which unsurprisingly went to Oppenheimer.

“Peerless” performances in Oppenheimer success

The seven awards won by Oppenheimer were still two short of the all-time record of nine, set by Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid way back in 1971, but that will have been of no concern to acclaimed Nolan, who would have been thrilled to walk away with “Best Director”, his first success after twice previously being nominated for other brilliant work.

In his acceptance speech he paid tribute to the film’s cast led by – in his own words – the “peerless” Cillian Murphy. Later Murphy was rewarded for his performance with the “Best Actor” award and “Best Supporting Actor” went to Robert Downey Jr, who picked up his award 31 years after his previous Bafta victory, for the 1993 film Chaplin, making it a new record for the longest gap between wins by any performer.

The thought-provoking epic movie which chronicles the work of Robert Oppenheimer, but essentially focuses on his Manhattan Project of World War II and his development of the atomic bomb, also won awards for “Original Score”, “Cinematography” and “Editing”.

Brilliant things

Emma Stone was a popular winner of “Best Actress” for her brilliant performance as Bella Baxter in Poor Things. She played a young woman in Victorian London, who had been resurrected by a mad scientist after she committed suicide and had her brain replaced by that of her unborn fetus.

The film received 11 nominations in total and as well as Ms Stone’s award, was successful in the categories: “Special Visual Effects”, “Production Design”, “Costume Design”, and “Make-up and Hair”.

Deserving successes

Other notable winners included Da’Vine Joy Randolph – “Best Supporting Actress” – for her role in The Holdovers and strangely The Zone of Interest won “Outstanding British film” and also “Film not in the English language”. Anatomy of a Fall came out on top for “Original Screenplay”, whilst in the “Adapted Screenplay” category it was American Fiction voted as the best.

The Boy and the Heron was a popular winner of “Best Animated Film”; whilst the makers of the moving 20 Days in Mariupol received huge applause when collecting the “Best Documentary” award.

Emotional appearance

Undoubtedly, the sight of Back To The Future star Michael J Fox entering stage in a wheelchair, but insisting on standing at the podium to hand out the “Best Film” award, drew the loudest cheer.

Diagnosed back in the 1990’s with Parkinson’s disease, the 62-year-old rarely makes public appearances these days, so to have him at the ceremony was greatly appreciated by his fellow performers.

Host David Tennant introduced him as a “true legend of cinema” and the applause he received continued for a considerable period of time, demonstrating the genuine felling in the room for a great performer so cruelly restricted.

No show Barbie

One film not celebrating was Barbie, which failed to lift a single award despite being 2023’s most successful box office movie and being short-listed with five nominations.

The same can be said of Killers of the Flower Moon, Maestro, All of Us Strangers and Saltburn, each nominated in several categories, but all walking away empty handed.