A mixed night for British talent
Two of the first four awards were won by Brits, and the energy levels inside the BFI s Southbank started rising, despite the uncomfortable hour. London was hosting a satellite ceremony, as the show played on across the Dolby Theatre and Union Station in Los Angeles.
Emerald Fennell won Best Original Screenplay for her debut feature Promising Young Woman - the most controversial and headline-grabbing of this year’s contenders for its contemporary feminist spin on a revenge tragedy.
Surprisingly, Ms Fennell, who made the film while seven months pregnant during a 23-day shoot, was so sure she wasn t going to win that she didn t even write a speech.
Parasite has kicked down the door for foreign films in Hollywood, according to the director of Oscar-tipped Irish language famine film Arracht.
The Korean movie Parasite wowed audiences and made history when it scooped four Academy Awards, becoming the first non-English film to win Best Picture in the process.
Writer-director Tom Sullivan, whose next work has been put forward as Ireland’s candidate for Best International Film at the 2021 Oscars, believes its success has boosted interest in foreign language films.
He said: “Parasite kicked a lot of doors down and got a lot of people who would not have normally considered watching foreign language films to watch them.