Roma takes Bafta glory, denying clean sweep for The Favourite
Netflix production Roma triumphed at the Bafta film awards, boosting Oscar hopes for the US streaming giant.
The cinematic love letter to director Alfonso Cuaron's 1970s childhood in Mexico City beat black period comedy The Favourite to win Best Film and Best Director.
"I am seriously touched this film has been received the way it's been received," Cuaron said at a star-studded ceremony on Sunday in London's Royal Albert Hall.
He thanked Netflix for "having the courage" to get behind Roma, adding that its success "in an age where fear and anger are proposed to divide us means the world to me".
Roma's Bafta triumph dented expectations of a clean sweep by The Favourite, which picked up Best Actress for Olivia Colman as Queen Anne and Best Supporting Actress for Rachel Weisz, playing her confidante.
The film had been nominated for 12 awards and picked up seven - including Outstanding British Film, Original Screenplay, Production Design, Costume Design and Make Up and Hair - in what Colman described as an "amazing night" for the cast.
"We are going to get so (drunk) later... This is for all three of us. It's got my name on it but we can scratch on some other ones," she said on stage, also referring to co-star Emma Stone who was nominated in the same category as Weisz.
The 2019 edition of Bafta had been tinged by scandal. Last week, the British Academy of Film removed Bohemian Rhapsody director Bryan Singer from the Queen biopic's citation in the Outstanding British Film nomination "in light of recent very serious allegations".
That referred to an article in US magazine The Atlantic detailing sexual misconduct allegations that included underage sex.
Singer denies the allegations and the film itself was still up for the award, although it failed to win.
However, Rami Malek's portrayal of the late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury earned him the Best Actor award, while Best Supporting Actor went to Mahershala Ali for comedy-drama Green Book. - AFP
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