BAFTA: '12 Years a Slave' and 'Gravity' stand out.
The horrifying drama "12 Years a Slave" won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award for best film of the year, solidifying its position as an Oscar favorite; the space thriller "Gravity" received the most trophies of the night, six.
By Belinda Goldsmith
LONDON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - The horrifying drama "12 Years a Slave" won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award for best film of the year, solidifying its position as an Oscar favorite. The space thriller "Gravity" received the most trophies of the night, with six.
"12 Years a Slave," directed by Briton Steve McQueen and produced by Brad Pitt, was already considered the big favorite of the night. Its protagonist, Chiwetel Ejiofor, who plays a black man subjected to captivity in pre-Civil War United States, received the award for best actor.
McQueen, 44, said upon receiving the award that it is terrifying to think that 21 million people still live in conditions analogous to slavery worldwide. "I hope that, 150 years from now, our ambivalence will prevent another filmmaker from making this film," he stated at London's Royal Opera House.
"Gravity," starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, won six of the 11 categories it was nominated for, including Best Director, which went to Mexican director Alfonso Cuarón.
The BAFTA Awards are the most-watched film awards outside the US, and because they are presented two weeks before the Oscars, they are seen as an indicator of Hollywood's main award. On Sunday, celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks, and British actresses Judi Dench and Emma Thompson walked its red carpet.
Prince William arrived late and still stopped to chat with members of the public in front of the theater, despite the cold.
He presented a special award to actress Helen Mirren, who in 2006 played his grandmother, Elizabeth II, in the film "The Queen".