BAFTA

Haneke's Amour triumphs at the BAFTA Awards

By Adrienne Benassy
07/02/2013

Last year, The Artist  won seven awards including Best Films: a first in the history of the BAFTAs, which until then had tended to favour Anglo-Saxon films. Although French cinema did not do as well as in 2012,  "Amour" of Michael Haneke triumphed this year with two awards including Best Foreign Film & Best Leading Actress for Emmanuelle Riva.

Michel Haneke’s Amour won the Best Foreign Film Award

Haneke’s latest film, featuring Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant as an elderly couple whose relationship undergoes the ultimate test of love, won the Best Film Not in English Language, beating the globally successful French comedy, Untouchables, and Jacques Audiard’s drama, Rust and Bone. Also in the running were the Danish film The Hunt and the Norwegian movie Headhunters. Nevertheless, Amour lost the race for the BAFTA’s Best Original play Award, won by Tarantino for Django Unchained and Best Director Award which went to Ben Affleck for Argo.

After winning the Golden Palm and two BAFTA Awards, let’s hope Haneke’s drama will continue on this trajectory all the way to the Césars (five nominations) and the Oscars (10 nominations). 

Emmanuelle Riva won the Best Leading Actress Award

At the age of 85, Emmanuelle Riva wins the Best Leading Actress Award against Marion Cotillard (Rust and Bone) Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook) and Helen Mirren (Hitchcok).

Four Awards for Les Misérables

The movie based on Victor Hugo's famous book, Les Misérables, won four awards:

• Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway 
• Best Make-Up and Hair: Lisa Westcott
• Best Production Design: Eve Stewart, Anna Lynch-Robinson
• Best Sound: Simon Hayes, Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, Jonathan Allen, Lee Walpole, John Warhurst

French Special Visual Effect Designer wins a prize for Life of Pi

Life Of Pi received the award for the Best Special Visual Effects, rewarding Guillaume Rocheron, a Paris-born Visual Supervisor, and his team for their superb work. They are part of The Moving Picture Company, the world-leading post-production company. Another French talent who did not get a mention should also be commended for his part in the making of the movie. The tiger's trainer, Thierry Leportier, who made a huge contribution to the film thanks to his ability to control the Bengal tiger, Life Of Pi's true hero. 

The Imposter voted Oustanding Debut By A British Writer, Director, Producer

The British documentary about the case of a French serial imposter, Frédéric Bourdin, who claims to have assumed more than 500 different identities, won the Oustanding Debut By A British Writer, Director, Producer. 

The Full List of BAFTA Award Winners: 

Best Film: Argo (Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, George Clooney)

Outstanding British Film: Skyfall (Sam Mendes, Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan)

Best Original Screenplay: Django Unchained (Quentin Tarentino)

Best Director: Ben Affleck (Argo)

Best Foreign Film: Amour (Michael Haneke, Margaret Ménégoz)

Best Leading Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)

Best Leading Actress: Emmanuelle Riva (Amour)

Best Supporting Actor: Christophe Waltz

Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables)

Best Documentary: Sugar Man (Malik Bendjelloul, Simon Chinn)

Best Cinematography: Life Of Pi (Claudio Miranda)

Best Adapted Screenplay: Silver Linings Playbook (David O.Russell)

Best Make-Up and Hair: Les Misérables (Lisa Westcott)

Best Animated Film: Brave (Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman)

Best Original Film Music: Skyfall (Thomas Newman sung by Adèle)

Best Costume Design: Anna Karenina (Jacqueline Durran)

Outstanding British Contribution To Cinema: Tessa Ross

Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director or Producer: The Imposter (Bart Layton, Dimitri Doganis)

Best Rising Star: Juno Temple

Best Production Design: Les Misérables (Eve Stewart, Anna Lynch-Robinson)

Best Editing: Argo (William Goldenberg)

Best Short Animation: The Making of Longbird (Will Anderson, Ainslie Henderson)

Fellowship: Sir Alan Parker

Best Short Film: Swimmer (Lynne Ramsay, Peter Carlton, Diarmid Scrimshaw)

Best Sound: Les Misérables (Simon Hayes, Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, Jonathan Allen, Lee Walpole, John Warhurst)

Best Special Visual Effects: Life Of Pi (Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer, Donald R. Elliott)