'All Quiet on the Western Front' wins 7 BAFTAs
February 20, 2023
The German film "All Quiet on the Western Front'' won seven prizes, including best picture, at the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) on Sunday.
Irish tragicomedy "The Banshees of Inisherin" and rock biopic "Elvis" both earned four awards at the gala.
'War is anything but an adventure'
A visceral depiction of life and death during World War I, "All Quiet" earned Edward Berger the best director award in London. The film was also acclaimed as best film, adapted screenplay, film not in the English language, cinematography, sound and original score.
The film, based on the novel of the same title by Erich Maria Remarque, was up for 14 awards in total, making it the joint most-nominated foreign-language film in the academy's 76-year history.
The epic has also been nominated for nine Oscars, with the Academy Awards ceremony set to take place next month.
Producer Malte Grunert said the success the film enjoyed on Sunday night was "incredible," adding that the movie and novel illustrated that "war is anything but an adventure."
Book banned in Nazi Germany
The book first appeared towards the end of 1928 in the German newspaper Vossische Zeitung and was published as a novel in early 1929.
The book was quickly translated into 26 languages. In Germany alone, nearly half a million copies were sold within months.
The publication and its sequel, "The Road Back", which was published a year later, were among the texts banned in Nazi Germany.
The Banshees of Inisherin and Elvis win 4 BAFTAs each
"The Banshees of Inisherin" co-starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson earned four prizes, including best supporting actor for Barry Keoghan and best supporting actress for Kerry Condon, who was initially not awarded the prize after a miscommunication.
Austin Butler won the leading actor award for his portrayal of "Elvis" in the biopic movie based on the life of the legendary singer and actor dubbed the "King of Rock and Roll."
"This means the world to me," Butler said on stage upon receiving his award.
Awarded annually since 1955, the BAFTAs represent the biggest honors for film in Britain with this year's ceremony held at London's Royal Festival Hall.
jsi/ar (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)