With the nominees on Zoom, only a few stars in attendance to open the envelopes and a Royal Albert Hall as empty as your local picturehouse, it definitely wasn’t business as usual at this year’s British Academy Film Awards.
Yet even with coronavirus restrictions and social distancing in place, there were still enough moments of humour, glamour and surprise to make the event a memorable one for the people watching at home.
Nomadland was the night’s big winner, picking up awards for best film, director, lead actress and cinematography. Chloe Zhao’s film can move on to the Academy Awards in two weeks’ time confident of yet more success.
It was also a big occasion for Sir Anthony Hopkins, whose unexpected win in the best actor category over the hotly-tipped likes of Riz Ahmed and the late Chadwick Boseman saw him receive his third Bafta film award at the age of 83.
