The BAFTA Winners: True Brits?

Alfonso Cuaron and Steve McQueen

Below is the full list of winners for the 2014 Bafta Film Awards. To make sure I've got it right, I've cut and paste it from the BBC news site The winners are in bold. Of great interest - especially online - is the fact that 12 Years a Slave took Best Film while Gravity took the Outstanding British film with director, Alfonso Cuaron taking home the Director prize. The fact is 12 Years a Slave was not eligible for Outstanding British film not only because it wasn't shot in the UK and was largely produced through American companies, -notably Brad Pitt's Plan B - the film's producers did not submit it in the 'British film' category. Gravity, on the other was shot in the UK AND the producers did submit it, so there's that!

There's been a slew of questions and complaints about Gravity taking the best pic award (6 in all!) over more clearly British films; check in at Digital Spy to read more about the dustup. Alfonso Cuaron has already weighed in on the 'controversy' saying ...

"Except for a couple of Mexicans that came here - legally! - and a couple of American stars, this is a film that was completely shot in this country, developed in this country, and made using cutting edge technology developed by British artists," said Cuarón.
"I want to say artists because I don't like the distinction between the technical awards and the artistic awards."

Personally I loved both 12 Years a Slave and Gravity - for very different reasons, the first being such a deeply emotional, historical and weighty film, the second for the riveting visceral thrill of it - and get very grouchy about the whole winner/loser conversation. Being last to get picked in gym class seems to have left a never-ending distaste for competition.

We'll see where British director Steve McQueen ends up in a couple of weeks at the Academy Awards. We'll also see how Chiwetel Ejiofor fares; he won the BAFTA but will he be able to beat Matthew McConaughey riding high in his new role as renaissance man after a remarkable transformative performance in Dallas Buyer's Club (not in BAFTA competition) a turn only buffeted by his hypnotic work in the huge HBO hit True Detective? A hit show from novelist Nic Pizzolatto which incidentally, if you're not watching, you might want to, although with Girls, Downton Abbey and Sherlock all airing on Sunday nights, it can make for an overly busy date night with your tv set.

Very pleased the heartwarming Philomena was awarded the Adapted Screenplay prize although again, 12 Years A Slave's screenwriter John Ridley would have been a worthy winner, as well. As much as I adored Judi Dench's performance in Philomena, not at all surprised that it was eclipsed by Cate Blanchett's in Blue Jasmine. Jennifer Lawrence's Supporting Actress win for American Hustle is a bit of an irritant, I'm so over her 'cool girl' aura and would love to have seen lovely and gracious Lupita Nyongo (12 Years a Slave) or surprising Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine) take home that particular trophy. But that's my personal bias, another left-over from an awkward adolescence, a pathetic reminder of feeling like the mousy one in the corner while the pretty and popular girls knew how to be comfortable and confident in their own glowing skin. Poor Jennifer Lawrence; she has a lot of ground to make up with me!

Do you have a personal bias that blocks you from seeing and assessing one of this year's movies or performances dispassionately? After all, we can't help but filter the films we see through our very personal lens, can we?

Best film

12 Years a Slave

American Hustle

Captain Phillips

Gravity

Philomena

Outstanding British film

Gravity

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Philomena

Rush

Saving Mr Banks

The Selfish Giant

Actor

Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)

Christian Bale (American Hustle)

Bruce Dern (Nebraska)

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street)

Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips)

Actress

Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)

Amy Adams (American Hustle)

Sandra Bullock (Gravity)

Judi Dench (Philomena)

Emma Thompson (Saving Mr Banks)

Supporting actor

Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips)

Daniel Bruhl (Rush)

Bradley Cooper (American Hustle)

Matt Damon (Behind the Candelabra)

Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)

Supporting actress

Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle)

Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine)

Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave)

Julia Roberts (August: Osage County)

Oprah Winfrey (The Butler)

Director

Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity)

Paul Greengrass (Captain Phillips)

Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave)

David O Russell (American Hustle)

Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street)

Adapted screenplay

Philomena

12 Years a Slave

Behind the Candelabra

Captain Phillips

The Wolf of Wall Street

Original screenplay

American Hustle

Blue Jasmine

Gravity

Inside Llewyn Davis

Gravity

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Iron Man 3

Pacific Rim

Star Trek Into Darkness

Short animation

Sleeping with the Fishes

Everything I Can See From Here

I Am Tom Moody

Short film

Room 8

Island Queen

Keeping Up with the Joneses

Orbit Ever After

Sea View

Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer

Kieran Evans (writer-director, Kelly + Victor)

Colin Carberry, Glenn Patterson (writers, Good Vibrations)

Scott Graham (writer-director, Shell)

Kelly Marcel (writer, Saving Mr Banks)

Paul Wright. Polly Stokes (writer-director and producer, For Those in Peril)

Rising Star award

Will Poulter

Dane DeHaan

George MacKay

Lupita Nyong'o

Lea Seydoux

Chapter1-Take1

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