Sir Sam Mendes’s war film 1917 has enjoyed a winning start to the Baftas as it collected the outstanding British film prize, as well as a slew of other awards.
There was recognition for the film’s cinematographer Roger Deakins, as well as for its sound and production design.
Collecting the first award, writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns, who penned the script with Sir Sam, said: “Thank you so much for this honour, I can’t tell you how much it means to us all. As co-writer of this film I was involved from a very early stage and I got to witness how quintessentially British it was.”
She paid tribute to the more than 1,200-strong British crew, as well as its British actors and “some very gung-ho supporting artists, some almost too gung-ho”.
Collecting his trophy, Deakins said: “I think it was George Orwell that said all films are special but some films are more special than others, and for me this was a really special film.”
The best supporting actress prize was presented to Laura Dern for Marriage Story.
Dern’s mother Diane Ladd won the supporting actress Bafta in 1975 for her role in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, directed by Martin Scorsese, and she said: “When I was six years old, my mother received this very award in this category thanks to Mr Scorsese, and it was sat on our piano, and my friend asked me, ‘Ooh, what’s that mask?’ and I said, ‘My mum told me that it’s what friends give you to congratulate you, because you get to have the job you love.’
“Thank you Bafta, thank you for including me in this room of extraordinary artists as we get to tell stories and do the job we love.”
The adapted screenplay Bafta went to anti-hate satire Jojo Rabbit.
The film’s writer and director, Taika Waititi, who is from New Zealand, said: “This is very cool for me, coming from the colonies…”
He added, to laughter from the audience: “I know it’s been a hard week for you guys, it’s been nice to take a little bit of your gold back home, where it belongs.
“This is a really incredible night for me, sharing it with the people who made the film with me.”