During the 2023 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards, the winners were celebrated. Still, the ceremony also took a moment to honor those who lost their lives in the major earthquake in Türkiye, severely damaging 10 provinces as well as Syria.
At the awards ceremony, many world-renowned names such as Colin Farrell, Cate Blanchett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Angela Bassett, Sophie Turner and Paul Mescal showed their support for refugees by wearing blue ribbons on their suits and gowns. This gesture came in the wake of recent earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria that displaced even more people and was just ahead of the first anniversary of Russia's war in Ukraine.
Charlotte Wells, the screenwriter, and director of the award-winning film "Aftersun," which was shot in Türkiye, extended a special thank you to the Turkish team that contributed to the movie's success. As the winner of the outstanding debut, Wells said: "A special thank you to our Turkish crew. I don’t think anyone in that country’s been unaffected by the earthquake."
The lead star of the movie Paul Mescal paid tribute to those who lost their lives in the earthquake during an interview with an Associated Press (AP) correspondent.
Before the ceremony, the German-language antiwar drama "All Quiet on the Western Front” led the pack of nominees. The visceral depiction of life and death in the World War I trenches was up for 14 awards, including best picture. It received a handful of early awards for the best-adapted screenplay, cinematography, sound, score, and a film not in English. It cemented its favorite status when filmmaker Edward Berger was named best director.
Irish tragicomedy "The Banshees of Inisherin" and madcap metaverse romp "Everything Everywhere All at Once” have ten nominations each, including best picture.
"Banshees” won a separate award for best British film.
"Best what award?” joked writer-director Martin McDonagh of the film, shot in Ireland with a predominantly Irish cast and crew. It has British funding, and McDonagh was born in Britain to Irish parents.
"Banshees” also won for McDonagh’s original screenplay, and awards for Kerry Condon as best supporting actress and Barry Keoghan for best-supporting actor.
Baz Lurhmann’s flamboyant musical biopic "Elvis” won trophies for casting, costume design, and hair and makeup.
Actor Richard E. Grant hosted the ceremony, walking onstage in a luxurious white cape after a jokey introductory film that saw him taking advice from Steve Martin and pulling up to the concert hall in the Batmobile.
"West Side Story” star Ariana DeBose opened the show by performing "Sisters are Doin' it for Themselves,” with an added rap shoutout to some of the nominated women, including Cate Blanchett, Viola Davis and Michelle Yeoh.
Guests and presenters walking the red carpet on the south bank of the River Thames included Colin Farrell, Ana de Armas, Eddie Redmayne, Brian Cox, Florence Pugh, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Cynthia Erivo, Julianne Moore and Lily James.
Heir to the throne Prince William, president of Britain’s film and television academy, was in the audience alongside his wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge.
Helen Mirren paid tribute to William’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September. Mirren, who portrayed the late monarch onscreen in "The Queen” and onstage in "The Audience," called Elizabeth "the nation's leading lady.”
