By Marie-Louise Gumuchian in London

Oppenheimer, a three-hour epic about the making of the atomic bomb during World War II, was the big winner at the BAFTA Film Awards, picking up seven prizes in total.

One of the highest-grossing movies of 2023, it won the night’s top prize – best film.

It also picked up awards for leading actor Cillian Murphy, supporting actor Robert Downey Jr, editing, cinematography, original score and director for Christopher Nolan, his first such BAFTA Award.

“I have so many people to thank for this, an incredible cast… an incredible crew,” Nolan said in his acceptance speech.

Emma Stone picked up the leading actress award for sex-charged gothic comedy Poor Things, which won five prizes overall.

Da’Vine Joy Randolph won the supporting actress prize for her role in The Holdovers, a comedy set in a boys’ boarding school.

Courtroom drama Anatomy of a Fall won the first prize of the night, original screenplay.

The Zone of Interest, about the commandant of Auschwitz and his family living next to the Nazi death camp, won prizes for outstanding British film, the film not in the English language and sound.

Best documentary went to 20 Days in Mariupol, journalist Mstyslav Chernov’s personal account of the siege of the Ukrainian city in 2022.

“This is not about us, this about Ukraine, about people of Mariupol… the day before yesterday another Ukrainian city has fallen… many cities before that,” Chernov said in his acceptance speech.

“So the story of Mariupol is a symbol of everything that happened, a symbol of struggle.”

As well as a spate of celebrities attending the ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall by the River Thames in central London, the guest list also included BAFTA president Prince William.

Known as the BAFTAs (British Academy of Film and Television Arts), the ceremony was hosted by actor David Tennant.

Barbie, one half of 2023’s Barbenheimer box office juggernaut and the year’s top-grossing film, also went home empty-handed from five nominations.

Barbie director Greta Gerwig failed to get a directing nomination for either the BAFTAs or the Oscars, in what was seen by many as a major snub.

Before the ceremony, nominees including Bradley Cooper, Carey Mulligan, Emily Blunt, Downey Jr, Rosamund Pike, Ryan Gosling and Ayo Edebiri all walked the red carpet, along with presenters Andrew Scott, Cate Blanchett and David Beckham.

Prince William arrived without his wife, Kate, who is recovering from abdominal surgery last month.

The ceremony included musical performances by Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham, singing Time After Time, and Sophie Ellis-Bextor, singing her 2001 hit Murder on the Dancefloor, which shot back up the charts after featuring in Saltburn.

Winners of the 2024 British Academy Film Awards:

* Film — Oppenheimer

* British Film — The Zone of Interest

* Director — Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer

* Actor — Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer

* Actress — Emma Stone, Poor Things

* Supporting Actor — Robert Downey Jr, Oppenheimer

* Supporting Actress — Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers

* Rising Star (voted by the public) — Mia McKenna-Bruce

* Outstanding British Debut — Savannah Leaf, Shirley O’Connor and Medb Riordan, Earth Mama

* Original Screenplay — Justine Triet and Arthur Harari, Anatomy of a Fall

* Adapted Screenplay — Cord Jefferson, American Fiction

* Film Not in the English Language — The Zone of Interest

* Musical Score — Ludwig Goransson, Oppenheimer

* Cinematography — Hoye van Hoytema, Oppenheimer

* Editing — Jennifer Lame, Oppenheimer

* Production Design — Shona Heath, James Price and Zsuzsa Mihalek, Poor Things

* Costume Design — Holly Waddington, Poor Things

* Sound — Johnnie Burn and Tarn Willers, The Zone of Interest

* Casting — Susan Shopmaker, The Holdovers

* Visual Effects — Simon Hughes, Poor Things

* Make-up and Hair — Nadia Stacey, Mark Coulier and Josh Weston, Poor Things

* Animated Film — The Boy and the Heron

* British Short Film — Jellyfish and Lobster

* British Short Animation — Crab Day

* Documentary – 20 Days in Mariupol

* Outstanding British contribution to cinema: Film curator June Givanni

* BAFTA Fellowship — Samantha Morton
– with AP