London BAFTA film awards

FEB 13

Posted by sagarmedia

 Stars of the silver screen have braved London’s chilly winter rain for the annual British Academy of Film Awards. There was good news for James Bond fans and special recognition for British director Alan Parker.

The awards, presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, are seen as an indicator of success leading up to Hollywood’s Oscars.

The James Bond film “Skyfall” was named best British film, while Iran hostage drama “Argo” – now a front-runner for the Oscars best picture award – won the best movie drama prize.

Daniel Day-Lewis scooped the best actor prize for “Lincoln,” while France’s veteran screen presence Emmanuelle Riva won best actress for “Amour.”

In the supporting actress category, Anne Hathaway emerged as the winner for her performance in the British musical “Les Miserables.” Austrian actor Christoph Waltz, who owns a German citizenship, won best supporting actor for his role in Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained.”

Steven Spielberg’s stately presidential biopic “Lincoln” garnered the most nominations at 10.

“Les Miserables” and Ang Lee’s magical realist film “Life of Pi” each received nine nominations. “Skyfall” received eight nominations and “Argo” garnered seven.

Best director nominees included German-born Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke for “Amour,” Quentin Tarantino for “Django Unchained,” Ang Lee for “Life of Pi” and Kathryn Bigelow for “Zero Dark Thirty.” In the end the winner was Ben Affleck for “Argo.”

British director Alan Parker received a BAFTA Fellowship, the academy’s highest honor, for a career that includes “Midnight Express,” ”Fame” and “Mississippi Burning.”