By Marie-Louise Gumuchian
LONDON (Reuters) – The German remake of the anti-war classic “All That’s New at the Front” was the big winner at the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday, triumphing in the top categories at the ceremony seen as an Oscar nominee next month.
Based on German author Erich Maria Remarque’s 1928 novel about the horrors of World War I from the perspective of a young German soldier, the Netflix drama topped the nominations with 14 nominations, making it one of the most recognizable non-German films. English language of the BAFTA story.
“Nada de Novo no Front” won seven awards in total: best film, adapted screenplay, non-English language film, direction by Edward Berger, cinematography, sound and original score.
+ “Nothing New on the Front” tops Bafta nominations list with 14 nominations
“German language film, we’ve been blessed with so many nominations and to win this is just incredible,” said producer Malte Grunert in his acceptance speech for best film.
“’Nada de Novo no Front’ tells the story of a young man who, poisoned by right-wing nationalist political propaganda, goes to war thinking it’s an adventure, and war is anything but an adventure. That’s one of the messages of Remarque’s seminal novel and when we started to get on board with it… it felt like a relevant message even 100 years after the book’s publication.”
Austin Butler won the Lead Actor award for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in “Elvis”. He thanked the Presley family in his acceptance speech.
“I hope I made you guys proud, it means the world to me,” he said.
Cate Blanchett won the lead actress award for her portrayal of a gay Berlin orchestra conductor whose career falls apart due to an abuse scandal in “Tár”, a venture she described as “very dangerous and with the potential to end career”.
“The Banshees of Inisherin”, about a fight between two friends on the remote coast of Ireland, won best British film, supporting actress and supporting actor for cast members Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan, as well as original screenplay.
“Navalny,” about jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, won in the documentary category. The filmmakers dedicated the award to the Navalny family and Bulgarian investigative journalist Christo Grozev.
The journalist, who Russia put on a wanted list in December, said on Friday that he was “banned by British police from attending” the BAFTA on security grounds.
In response, London police said they did not and could not ban anyone from attending a private event. Decisions about attendance were up to the event organizers, he said.
Sandy Powell became the first costume designer to receive a BAFTA Fellowship, the Academy’s highest honor.
BAFTA also remembered the late Queen Elizabeth, who died in September. Actress Helen Mirren, who won a BAFTA and an Academy Award for her portrayal of Elizabeth in the 2006 film “The Queen,” led the honor.
(Additional reporting by Sarah Mills)
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