BAFTAs in Spotlight Events
To the young ingénue, the Hollywood star and the viewing public, the Orange British Academy Film Awards signal the pinnacle of British film celebration. The impact of the cancellation of the Golden Globes and the threat to the Oscars hadn’t been clearly quantified at the time of writing but last night did offer the Baftas a clear platform observes Sat Bal. (11 Feb ’08)
The
production effort was evident immediately as a 100 metre by 10 metre red carpet,
costing around £20,000, greeted celebrities at London’s Royal Opera House.
Later they alighted at the Bafta party which was headed up by AD Design for
the eighth year. AD’s managing director, Amanda Davis, typified the pace of the
industry by racing to work on the premiere of the new Rambo as soon as the
Baftas were over.
Bafta Head of Production, Clare Brown (pictured left) is charged with producing an event which reflects the increasing status of Bafta on an international level. "The event went really well," she says. "It was the second year that it had been held at the Royal Opera House, which enabled us to smooth out last year's rough edges."
This was helped by the input of West Design whose brief was to soften the structure while recreating the drama of the red carpet. "Lucy Smail (of West Design) and I discussed using softer material to offset last year's metallic look but in the end we opted for glass matrix screens and pieces of mirror in the columns," Brown explains. "Amanda Davis, again, did the whole of the party at The Grosvenor House which was very dramatic, with the party exuding a more natural look of foliage and wood. The sponsor, E! Entertainment, also had greater input at this year's party."
Giving the Baftas a public event feel also took some doing. "The biggest challenge was the new structure in the piazza which allowed the public to view the event via the TV screen and see the talent walk up to the stage at the end of the event," says Brown. "Although it was a huge build with challenges I'd still like to make it a two-day event. The sponsors were thrilled and there were no guest complaints. We
did have problems with the sound transmission during the ceremony itself and
these were resolved as soon as possible but not as quickly as we'd have
liked. "
The awards were customarily unpredictable with Atonement named Best Film but winning only two of the 14 award categories it was nominated for.
Music, Make Up & Hair and Costume
Design, presented posthumously to designer Marit Allen. No
Country for Old Men won three BAFTAs and The Bourne Ultimatum received two. 
La Vie en
Rose was another surprise, receiving the
highest number of wins with four Baftas for its portrayal of singer, Edith Piaf
by French actress Marion Cotillard who received the BAFTA for Leading Actress. The film also won awards for
Keira Knightley arrives on the red carpet
Joel and Ethan Coen won the Director award for No Country for Old Men and Javier Bardem was named Supporting Actor for his performance. The film also received the Cinematography BAFTA.
In
addition to winning the Best Film BAFTA,
Atonement also won the Production Design award. The
Bourne Ultimatum won the awards for Sound
and Editing.
Anthony
Hopkins was
awarded the Academy Fellowship, the highest accolade bestowed by BAFTA, in recognition of an outstanding
and exceptional contribution to film. Ricky Gervais signs up
This is
England was
named Best British Film, one of 6 award
categories decided by BAFTA jury. The Film Not in the English Language award
was won by The Lives of Others.
Daniel Day-Lewis won
Leading Actor for his performance as
oil baron Daniel Plainview in There Will
Be Blood. The Supporting Actress award was presented to Tilda Swinton for her
role in 
Michael Clayton.
The Original Screenplay BAFTA was presented to Diablo Cody for Juno and the Adapted Screenplay award went to Ronald Harwood for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
The
award for Animated Film was won by Ratatouille. The Special
Visual Effects BAFTA was presented to The
Golden Compass.
Writer
Matt Greenhalgh won The Carl
Foreman Award for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer
for their First Feature Film for Control. Tilda Swinton wins Supporting Actress
The Pearce Sisters won the Short Animation award and the Short Film award was presented to Dog Altogether. Property Master Barry Wilkinson was presented with the award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema. Wilkinson's credits include Indiana Jones, Titanic, Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Fifth Element, and the Harry Potter films.
The Orange Rising Star Award was presented to Shia LaBeouf, star of Transformers and awarded to young international actors who have demonstrated exceptional talent. This award, now in its third year, was created in honour of Mary Selway, the highly respected casting director, who died in 2004.
The
winner of 60 Seconds of Fame, BAFTA
and Orange’s
short film initiative, was announced earlier during the afternoon in front of the big
screen in Covent Garden Piazza. Kate Hudson
Hundreds
of filmmakers from the 15 BBC Nations and Regions around the UK entered 60-second
short films, regional which were then voted by BAFTA panels.The winning film, United (Polar Showtime Dancers) was
created by Cheryl Marshall from the East Midlands.
Daniel Day-Lewis & wife, Rebecca Thandie Newton 
The
Orange British Academy Film Awards were hosted by Jonathan Ross and broadcast
on BBC ONE.The Awards were sponsored by Orange for the 11th year running
and the awards broadcast was produced by Whizz Kid Productions. 