“Nothing new in the West” won 7 BAFTA awards

LONDON (AP) — German anti-war drama “Im Westen nichts Neues” (“All silent at the front lines”) won seven BAFTA awards on Sunday, including best film at the British Academy Film Awards, continuing its momentum towards the next Oscars month.

Irish comedy ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ and Elvis Presley biopic ‘Elvis’ have each won four awards.

‘Im Westen nichts Neues’, a brutal portrayal of life and death in the trenches of World War I, won Edward Berger the Best Director award. Its other trophies included Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Sound, and Best Foreign Language Film.

Austin Butler surprised by winning the best actor award for “Elvis”. Baz Lurhmann’s biopic and ostentatious musical also won awards for casting (cast selection), costume design, hair and makeup. Cate Blanchett won Best Actress for the drama about a female conductor “Tár.”

Martin McDonagh’s ‘Banshees’, the dark comedy about two friends who fight, has been named Best British Film.

“Best what award?” McDonagh jokingly asked of the film, which was shot in Ireland with a mostly Irish cast and crew. The film received British funding and McDonagh was born in Britain to Irish parents.

“Banshees” also won Original Screenplay for McDonagh and Best Supporting Actress for Kerry Condon and Best Supporting Actor for Barry Keoghan.

The awards, officially called the EE BAFTA Film Awards, are Britain’s equivalent of Hollywood’s Oscars and are often closely watched as an indicator of who might win the Oscars on March 12.

The goofy multiverse tale “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” the top Oscar nominee, has won just one of the 10 BAFTAs it’s been nominated for, per edition.

Mexican director Guillermo del Toro won an award for his film “Pinocchio de Guillermo del Toro”, which won the category of best animated film.

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Associated Press writer Hilary Fox contributed to this report.