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Updated 4.33pm
A NORTHERN IRISH film took home a Bafta last night at the awards ceremony in London.
Boogaloo and Graham won the British short film award.
The film, set in 1970s Belfast, is based around two young boys and their pet chickens.
However, in just a few weeks, the production could take home an even bigger accolade. It’s nominated for Best Live Action Short Film at the Oscars next month.
At a separate awards ceremony – the Clermont Ferrand Short Film Festival, one of the most prestigious for short films – Somewhere Down The Line received the Best Animation award.
The film was produced under the Frameworks short-film scheme, which is co-financed by the Irish Film Board, RTÉ and the Arts Council.
Back to the Baftas, and the American coming-of-age tale tale “Boyhood”, filmed over 12 years, took home the award for best film last night, but the British awards ceremony was dominated by the Stephen Hawking biopic “The Theory of Everything”.
Eddie Redmayne picked up the best actor gong for playing theoretical physicist and motor neurone disease sufferer Hawking, who himself attended the glitzy film event.
The biopic also won best British film and best screenplay adaptation.
British star Redmayne, who is hotly tipped for Oscar glory later this month after already winning a Golden Globe, thanked Hawking and his family “for reminding me of the great strength that comes from the will to live a full and passionate life”.
Our dream as actors is to tell interesting stories about interesting people and they don’t come more interesting than this.
On the red carpet, Redmayne said he had been “galvanised” by the hope that the film would raise awareness of Hawking’s condition and had been to a clinic for four months to prepare for the role.
The awards this year favoured sensitive portrayals of illness and simple emotions and gave a lifetime achievement prize to director Mike Leigh, who is famous for his down-to-earth portrayals of working class life.
“Boyhood” is a family drama that follows a six-year-old boy, Ellar Coltrane, as he grows up and also features Ethan Hawke as his father.
Coltrane said it showed “the simplicity of human interaction”, adding: “It was really scary to release something so close to us”.
Best actress went to US star Julianne Moore for “Still Alice” — a painstaking portrayal of a professor diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
Moore broke down as she thanked her family in her acceptance speech.
Cumberbatch snub
Five nominees — Redmayne, Benedict Cumberbatch, Felicity Jones, Keira Knightley and Rosamund Pike — are also Oscar hopefuls, part of what has been described as a “British invasion” of Hollywood.
Jones, who is still waiting for her big break, was nominated for her role as Hawking’s wife Jane in a film that concentrates on their love story as students and the beginning of his disease.
Pike said her role in the thriller “Gone Girl” covered “all facets of being a woman, to be sort of sexy and fun-loving, to be manipulative, to be devious, to be challenging, to be angry.”
The awards were held in London’s Royal Opera House and Hollywood star Tom Cruise, ex-footballer David Beckham and Hawking himself were among the presenters.
Wes Anderson’s comedy “Grand Budapest Hotel” was the biggest winner of the night, taking home five awards.
But the jury snubbed “The Imitation Game” starring Cumberbatch, which had received nine nominations.
The documentary “Citizenfour” about US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden won a BAFTA but there was no-one to pick up the award as director Laura Poitras is afraid of being prosecuted in the UK.
The ceremony also paid tribute to former British Academy director Richard Attenborough, an award-winning director who died last year aged 90.
Prince William and Robert Downey Jr, who played Charlie Chaplin in Attenborough’s biopic, praised the late director in pre-recorded video messages.
Downey quoted from a Chaplin song saying: “Smile, though your heart is aching!”
Hawking presented an award for best special effects, joking that he was not only more intelligent but also “better-looking” than the night’s host, comedian Stephen Fry.
‘Real passion’
Cumberbatch, who plays World War II codebreaker Alan Turing, said the role of a man persecuted for his homosexuality had become a “cause” and a “real passion” for him in the course of filming.
The actor has signed a petition for the thousands of men who were prosecuted under anti-gay laws in Britain only repealed in 1967 to receive a pardon like the one given decades later to Turing.
At a pre-ceremony party in Kensington Palace, the London home of Prince William and his wife Kate, Cumberbatch praised the new wave of British cinema.
“Britain has had a great year across the board, across writers, producers, actors and directors. It’s a very, very good time,” Cumberbatch said.
The only cloud in the run-up to the BAFTAs was a controversy over the biopic “Selma” about Martin Luther King starring British actor David Oyelowo.
Oyelowo said the fact that the film had not been nominated sent “an odd message” but the British Academy said the movie was delivered too late.
- © AFP, 2015, additional reporting by Nicky Ryan. Originally published 10.02am
This government will do nothing about it
@Mary Breezer: You asking the government to break the law.
@Mary Breezer: Yes they will…..they’ll talk about it.
@Jp Cleary: unfortunately that’s all they do. These things don’t directly affect any of them so nothing will be done.
@S banter: They will always side with corporate profiteering against the ordinary person in the street, FFG have been embroiled in nothing but controversy since regaining power (nothing new there) and in fairness they have been in control for so long they’ve gone stale.
@Daniel Roche: explain this law…
@Daniel Roche: To follow on from Johnny: You don’t even need to explain the law, just let us know which law you think is being broken.
It’s gone absolutely crazy and now seriously something has to be done it can’t continue.
Rip off Ireland is alive and doing well
This is just a “put us in the headlines” road trip for the Soc Dems. They don’t actually give a toss what happens as long as they are pulling their €130,000 ++ salaries out of the taxpayers pockets!!!
Fight to reduce TD’s salaries if you care that much!!!
@Ollie Fitzpatrick: And the number of TDs we have in a tiny country is off the scale compared to our nearest neighbour, but no one in the Dail will mention it. UK 1 MP per 80 to 90 thousand. Here 1 TD per 20 to 30 thousand. Give us a referendum on reducing the amount of shysters in the Dail. Something useful for once.
@Daniel Gilroy: not really a like for like comparison: the UK has nearly twice as many councillors per head of population – their councils have much more devolved power, including the ability to raise taxes
@Ollie Fitzpatrick: why do you assume the SDs only care about their salary? If they didn’t care about the issues they represent, surely the more established govt parties would be an easier route? Of all the parties, the SDs are surely the most principled, whether you agree with their policies or not.
@Kev Kerr: not to mention an entirely different electoral system and a much higher population density.
Mehole couldn’t give a flying preverbial about the hard working people of this country. He’s proven that time and again. Selective amnesia when it suits, as regards decisions he was involved in which destroyed people’s lives and lively hoods. The man has no moral substance, none whatsoever, as proven by his latest grubby deal with shyster no1 Lowry.
As long as ever TD publish there or spouses income from the rental market or housing IPAs
what have the supermarkets got to hide by not publishing their profits?
Unless you have a clubcard in certain supermarkets you’ll pay a higher percentage then the true value price.. Scandalous behaviour..
@Will Q: vouchers in dunnes a joke too…prices of things higher to compensate
@Clare Power: can well believe it Clare,the word Cartel should be placed after they’re brand name..
@Clare Power: dunnes use there Tener off but quadruple the prices if you use the silly voucher
This government has done nothing since they came into power last November, on any front everything is a mess and worse than ever before, it has become a country for folk with deep pockets and dry mouths, I do not know how families are surviving.
@Phillip Smyth: they got re-elected quite easily so not sure where the disconnect is.
In the last three months my grocery bill has risen by about €50 a week andvthat does not include any luxuries just the basics. It’s gone beyond a joke.
It’s a cartel. Everyone knows this.
Because We live on the border. I get to see prices in uk and Ireland here’s some examples Tesco. 6 pack own brand crumpets €1.35 tesco Ireland vs 44p tesco uk
Drum of own brand sweetners click top
€2.79 tesco Ireland vs 99p Tesco uk
Just two from the top of my head .
Supervalu are the other way round
Take that over a range of products. Then the clubcard con as well
Government want people to struggle with housing, food, energy security, too many worries to form up opposition/protests.
Crazy prices..
@Stiles: And yellow packs
I don’t think the government realises that the soaring cost of living will affect all businesses across Ireland, not just people like us. People have significantly cut back on non-essential spending. The government doesn’t seem to care—they just keep talking and spending hundreds of millions on hotels to try to solve problems they themselves created, and that now seem unsolvable.
The SD leader might want to check up the law on private companies that don’t have to declare their profits in Ireland.
@Daniel Roche: Any relation to Roches Stores perchance?
@Daniel Roche: That is what he wants changed!
FFG represent the interests of the most affluent strata of society say maybe 20%.The rest are regarded with little more than open contempt. Unfortunately this does not register with the majority, so they continue to be elected. Therin lies the root of this country’s problems.
Petrol and diesel owners should be called to account over the massive increase in prices over recent days and don’t tell me it’s the war because oil prices have actually declined in the last few days
Where’s Holly
@Jp Cleary: on maternity leave
Bread milk and cheese over 20 euro now simply unaffordable
I think as there such hate towards people who work hard and buy a second property or even more ,
There should be limits put on how much food you can buy maybe like max 4 lts of milk one loaf of bread anything above this will be subject to a higher rate, and if you’re high earner you must subside lower earners messages and then like with the RPZ there be SPZ where groceries must me sold cheaper regardless of the costs involved in buying them.
@Be Lucky: Communism much?
@Be Lucky: Are you drunk…..look at your last sentence, it makes no sense
That’s funny , no they won’t, especially if they have off-shored the companies like most of our waste collectors do to ‘hide’ the profits allegedly from competitors
@R. Gantly: Hilarious
Their profits are stated after they pay ‘management fees’ back to hq in Germany
The only way to have any meaningful impact is for the people to boycott the supermarkets. Most areas have some form of social media account for whats happening in their locality, each week a different supermarket is chosen to boycott, as it’s only chosen on the week in question the supermarket will have done it’s ordering. Keep changing the supermarket each week and eventually they will get the message as they will be discarding large amounts of fresh produce. Like most things, the people have the power but are too lazy to use it effectively.
Working for a retail business I think they should post their profits. Cut hours because they are not making money. What a lot of shite.
@David O Brien: hours cut on account of minimum wage increases as well as insurance, energy costs and increase in theft. Just a few examples. Not what you want to read but sadly it’s a vicious circle in retail right now.
@Pat B:We still need to see profit margins. Doesn’t matter the running costs are part of every business, if they are making huge profits it price gauging. 190g coffee in dunnes 15 euro, Sainsbury’s 4.99 same brand.
Farm gate prices up. Cattle are making mad money at marts, dairy farmers doing good and minimum wage has increased and that’s absolutely fine. People are entitled to be rewarded for hard work. But there’s a cost and the cost has to be borne somewhere to keep business open.
@Pat B: processors and supermarkets profits are what’s driving price increases. Cattle and dairy prices are only at minimum levels for economic sustainability.
And cracking down on the semi state operators too hopefully.
Why stop at food retailers. Why not also look at the energy providers, the motor/property/health insurance industry , the phone/television media providers. But wait, why would the Government want to do that. The higher the price of a product, the bigger the company profit, the bigger Corporation Tax paid into the Government exchequer.
All private companies providing essential services, food, fuel, utilities etc should be compelled to publish profits to prove they are not “price gouging” and the government should implement caps where required. No point having a government if the private sector is not accountable
There are no free school lunches in my kids primary school yet and my oldest goes to a private school so no free books either.
I think the big ones like Tes Trump them all hands down.
have your say