Baftas 2025: a night of triumph for ‘Conclave’ and Zoe Saldana
“Conclave” was named Best Film at the 78th British Academy Film Awards (Baftas).
The political thriller, which stars Ralph Fiennes and Isabella Rossellini, beat off competition from “A Complete Unknown”, “Anora”, “The Brutalist” and “Emilia Perez” to take home the top prize on Sunday, February 16, where director Edward Bergman noted just how much he admitted screenwriter Peter Straughan's work.
Speaking live on stage at the Royal Festival Hall during the ceremony, he said: "First of all, I wanna say, about seven years ago, I got my hands on this script by Peter and I started reading everything he’d written.
“Suddenly, out of the blue, Tessa [Ross, producer] called to say she had a script by him. You might imagine how I felt. Thank you for your wonderful script."
The German-born film-maker thanked his leading stars for their work on the film and described it as "complete magic" when he was watching them bring the story to life on set.
He added: “Ralph, Isabella and the rest of the ensemble, what you did to me on set when I watched it was pure magic. It was beyond my grasp or understanding. We would never be here without you and I’m so glad I was able to witness it. Thank you."
Just before the cast and crew left the stage with their accolade, Ross stepped up to give a few words where she thanked audiences around the world for "embracing" the film as she called for others to "celebrate" differences.
She said: "The audiences have been so wonderful to embrace the wit and intrigue, and maybe that the world is better if we celebrate differences and that’s the thing we’re so proud of. Thank you."
Meanwhile, Zoe Saldana broke down in tears as she accepted the Best Supporting Actress at the Baftas.
The 46-year-old actress fought off competition from her “Emilia Perez” co-star Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande (“Wicked”), Felicity Jones (The Brutalist”), Jamie Lee Curtis (“The Last Showgirl”) and Isabella Rossellini (“Conclave”) following her role in the Spanish-language French musical
Speaking live on stage, she said: "I was told not to cry by my children so I'm gonna try.
"This is so validating and a true honour because the very few times I had for a part with a British accent, the dialect coach was like 'This is not gonna happen for you' and even though I do love a British accent and I have a lot of British friends, I find myself repeating their phrases and I find that I am a pain in the a***!
"This was the creative challenge of a lifetime."
The “Crossroads” star, who has Zen, Cy, and Bowie with her husband Marco Perego, couldn't stop crying as she dedicated the award to her mother and her husband as she joked that the accent that she affected for the film didn't necessarily need to be heard again.
She said: "I wanna thank my mom for being the most selfless person, it's thanks to you that I am able to do this, and this is insane. My husband, you are God's favourite and I hate it! But you're so beautiful.
“Thank you for my children. Films are supposed to change hearts and challenge minds and I hope, I hope that 'Emilia Perez' did something like this. Please, because voices need to be heard - just not my English accent!"
An abridged list of the winners:
Best Film: “Conclave”.
Outstanding British Film: “Conclave”.
Best Film Not in the English Language: “Emilia Perez”.
Best Director: Brady Corbet - “The Brutalist”.
Best Leading Actress: Mikey Madison - “Anora”.
Best Leading Actor: Adrien Brody - “The Brutalist”.
Best Supporting Actress: Zoe Saldana - “Emilia Perez”.
Best Supporting Actor: Kieran Culkin - “A Real Pain”.
Best Original Score: “The Brutalist”.
∎ Additional reporting by Karishma Dipa.