Tragicomic royal drama The Favourite and Mexican family memoir Roma split the honours with multiple wins each at Sunday's British Academy Film Awards - victories that suggest a wind of change may be blowing through the movie industry.
The Favourite won seven trophies including best British film and best actress for OIivia Colman, who plays Britain's 18th century Queen Anne in the female-centric drama.
Scroll down for the full list of 2019 Bafta winners.
Alfonso Cuaron's Roma, which centres on the nanny to a middle-class Mexico City family, took prizes for best picture, director, cinematography and foreign-language film.
Winners relished the symbolism of their victories.
"Thank you for celebrating our female-dominated movie about women in power," said The Favourite writer Deborah Davis, who won the original screenplay award alongside co-writer Tony McNamara.
Cuaron thanked the film's backer, Netflix, for having the courage to support "a black and white film about a domestic worker" that is not in English.
He said the extent to which the film has been embraced "in an age where fear and anger are proposed to divide us means the world to me."
Director Yorgos Lanthimos' The Favourite snapped up the outstanding British film and screenplay awards as well as prizes for its opulent production design, its extravagant costumes, larger-than-life hair and makeup and the performances of Colman and supporting actress Rachel Weisz.
"This is for all three of us," Colman said, speaking of Weisz and the film's other star, Emma Stone. "It's got my name on it but we can scratch on some other ones."
The best-actor trophy went to Rami Malek for his electric turn as Queen front man Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody.
Mahershala Ali was named best supporting actor as a concert pianist touring the 1960s Deep South in Green Book.
Other winners included Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman for best adapted screenplay and the Bradley Cooper-directed A Star is Born for music.
The awards, known as Baftas, will be scoured for clues on who might triumph at Hollywood's Academy Awards on February 24. Roma and The Favourite each have 10 Oscar nominations.
The main difference with the Oscars is that at the British awards, real royalty mixes with the Hollywood variety.
Prince William, and his wife, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge — wearing a white, off-the-shoulder Alexander McQueen dress — joined Amy Adams, Cate Blanchett, Viola Davis, Timothee Chalamet and other film stars for the black-tie ceremony at Royal Albert Hall.
Absolutely Fabulous star Joanna Lumley was the gently risque host.
William, who is president of the British film academy, presented its top honour, a Bafta Fellowship, to film editor Thelma Schoonmaker, longtime collaborator of Martin Scorsese.
British academy voters all but ignored superhero blockbuster Black Panther, which is up for best picture at the Oscars and took top prize at the SAG awards last month. It had a single Bafta nomination, for visual effects, which it won. One of its stars, Letitia Wright, was named Rising Star, the only category decided through a public vote. The London-raised actress spoke of her own past struggles with depression and urged others not to give up.
The red carpet glamour unfolded against a backdrop of soul-searching and scandal about abuses in the entertainment industry.
Last week, the British academy suspended director Bryan Singer's nomination as part of the team behind Bohemian Rhapsody after four men accused him of sexually assaulting them when they were minors.
Baftas said the alleged abuse was "completely unacceptable" and incompatible with its values. Singer, who was fired while Bohemian Rhapsody was in mid-production in 2017, denies the allegations. The film itself is still nominated.
At last year's Baftas ceremony, many women wore black as a symbol of opposition to harassment, abuse and inequality in the wake of allegations against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
White dresses and colourful frocks were prominent on many stars this year, along with a sense of hope that things are, finally, changing.
A British wing of the Times's Up campaign founded last year is vowing to keep the campaign going and to double the number of women in film, on and off screen.
The number of female nominees was up this year, but there was criticism of the academy's failure to nominate any female filmmakers in the best-director category. Only one woman has ever won a Bafta directing prize, Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker in 2010.
Bafta chairwoman Pippa Harris said only 10 percent of films entered for this year's awards were directed by women.
"It needs to be 50 percent," said Harris, who called the gender imbalance an industry-wide problem.
"There has been a traditional problem with getting females to be noticed in terms of their TV work and then get picked up to make feature films," she said. "Men seem to find that transition much easier."
2019 Bafta Winners
Best Film
Winner: Roma
BlacKkKlansman
Green Book
The Favourite
A Star Is Born
Outstanding British Film
Winner: The Favourite
Beast
Bohemian Rhapsody
McQueen
Stan & Ollie
You Were Never Really Here
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Winner: Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody
Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born
Christian Bale, Vice
Steve Coogan, Stan and Ollie
Viggo Mortensen, Green Book
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Winner: Olivia Colman, The Favourite
Glenn Close, The Wife
Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born
Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Viola Davis, Widows
Best Direction
Winner: Alfonso Cuaron, Roma
Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman
Pawel Pawlikowski, Cold War
Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite
Bradley Cooper, A Star Is Born
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Winner: Mahershala Ali, Green Book
Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman
Richard E Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Sam Rockwell, Vice
Timothee Chalamet, Beautiful Boy
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Winner: Rachel Weisz, The Favourite
Amy Adams, Vice
Claire Foy, First Man
Emma Stone, The Favourite
Margot Robbie, Mary, Queen of Scots
Outstanding Debut by a British Director, Writer or Producer
Winner: Beast, Michael Pearce and Lauren Dark
Apostasy, Daniel Kokotajlo A Cambodian Spring - Chris Kelly
Pili, Leanne Welham and Sophie Harman
Ray & Liz, Richard Billingham and Jacqui Davies
Best Film Not in the English Language
Winner: Roma
Capernaum
Cold War
Dogman
Shoplifters
Best Short Film
Winner: 73 Cows
Bachelor
The Blue Door
The Field
Wale
Best Short Animation
Winner: Roughhouse
I'm OK
Marfa
Best Animated Film
Winner: Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse
Incredibles 2
Isle of Dogs
Best Documentary
Winner: Free Solo
McQueen
RBG
They Shall Not Grow Old
Three Identical Strangers
Best Cinematography
Winner: Roma
Bohemian Rhapsody
Cold War
The Favourite
First Man
Best Sound
Winner: Bohemian Rhapsody
First Man
Mission: Impossible - Fallout
A Quiet Place
A Star Is Born
Best Film Music
Winner: A Star Is Born
BlackkKlansman
If Beale Street Could Talk
Isle of Dogs
Mary Poppins Returns
Best Production Design
Winner: The Favourite
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
First Man
Mary Poppins Returns
Roma
Best Costume Design
Winner: The Favourite
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Bohemian Rhapsody
Mary Poppins Returns
Mary Queen of Scots
Best Editing
Winner: Vice
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
First Man
Roma
Best Special Visual Effects
Winner: Black Panther
Avengers: Infinity War
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
First Man
Ready Player One
Best Make-up and Hair
Winner: The Favourite
Bohemian Rhapsody
Mary Queen of Scots
Stan & Ollie
Vice
Best Original Screenplay
Winner: The Favourite
Cold War
Green Book
Roma
Vice
Best Adapted Screenplay
Winner: BlacKkKlansman
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
First Man
If Beale Street Could Talk
A Star Is Born
BAFTA Rising Star Award
Winner: Letitia Wright
Lakeith Stanfield
Barry Keoghan
Cynthia Erivo
Jessie Buckley
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
More from Neighbourhood Watch
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Results
United States beat UAE by three wickets
United States beat Scotland by 35 runs
UAE v Scotland – no result
United States beat UAE by 98 runs
Scotland beat United States by four wickets
Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
Admission is free
The biog
Occupation: Key marker and auto electrician
Hometown: Ghazala, Syria
Date of arrival in Abu Dhabi: May 15, 1978
Family: 11 siblings, a wife, three sons and one daughter
Favourite place in UAE: Abu Dhabi
Favourite hobby: I like to do a mix of things, like listening to poetry for example.
Favourite Syrian artist: Sabah Fakhri, a tenor from Aleppo
Favourite food: fresh fish
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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88 Video's most popular rentals
Avengers 3: Infinity War: an American superhero film released in 2018 and based on the Marvel Comics story.
Sholay: a 1975 Indian action-adventure film. It follows the adventures of two criminals hired by police to catch a vagabond. The film was panned on release but is now considered a classic.
Lucifer: is a 2019 Malayalam-language action film. It dives into the gritty world of Kerala’s politics and has become one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time.
Day 4, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Not much was expected – on Sunday or ever – of Hasan Ali as a batsman. And yet he lit up the late overs of the Pakistan innings with a happy cameo of 29 from 25 balls. The highlight was when he launched a six right on top of the netting above the Pakistan players’ viewing area. He was out next ball.
Stat of the day – 1,358 There were 1,358 days between Haris Sohail’s previous first-class match and his Test debut for Pakistan. The lack of practice in the multi-day format did not show, though, as the left-hander made an assured half-century to guide his side through a potentially damaging collapse.
The verdict As is the fashion of Test matches in this country, the draw feels like a dead-cert, before a clatter of wickets on the fourth afternoon puts either side on red alert. With Yasir Shah finding prodigious turn now, Pakistan will be confident of bowling Sri Lanka out. Whether they have enough time to do so and chase the runs required remains to be seen.
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')
Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Selected fixtures
All times UAE
Wednesday
Poland v Portugal 10.45pm
Russia v Sweden 10.45pm
Friday
Belgium v Switzerland 10.45pm
Croatia v England 10.45pm
Saturday
Netherlands v Germany 10.45pm
Rep of Ireland v Denmark 10.45pm
Sunday
Poland v Italy 10.45pm
Monday
Spain v England 10.45pm
Tuesday
France v Germany 10.45pm
Rep of Ireland v Wales 10.45pm
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
