Earlier this evening at Covent Garden's Royal Opera House, the Orange British Academy Film Awards 2007 were handed out - and there were some surprises in the mix. On points, the biggest winner was either The Last King of Scotland or The Queen - the former took three prizes, but Her Majesty won the big kahuna with Best Film. Yes, The Queen nabbed Best Actress and Best Film, but it was hardly a sweep. The Last King of Scotland won three - Best British Film, Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay - while Paul Greengrass who took Best Director for his incredible work on **United 93 **(which also won Best Editing). Best Original Screenplay went to Little Miss Sunshine, which also nabbed Best Supporting Actor for Alan Arkin.
**Pan's Labyrinth **did deservedly well, nabbing Best Foreign Film, Best Make Up & Hair and Best Costume (equalling Scotland's haul, but in smaller categories), while Casino Royale was honoured for Best Sound and the Orange Rising Star award for Eva Green (and her enormous frizzy hair). Oscar frontrunners Babel and The Departed were almost entirely ignored - Babel won Best Music, but there was nothing for Scorsese and co. Still, at least he's won a BAFTA in the past; three of them, in fact, for Goodfellas.
So what's the message from the evening? Well, it reflects the general feeling this year that every category is wide open, with the exception of Best Actor, Actress and (arguably) Supporting Actress. It's great to see Greengrass and United 93 receive some love, and there was even an award for the generally-overlooked Children of Men (Best Production Design and Best Cinematography), which was pretty awesome. But this isn't really an Oscar indicator - this year above all the peculiar bias towards British films was in full flow, with a wealth of homegrown talent to favour over the competition (unless the competition was South American, in which case all the bias in the world couldn't quite justify ignoring them).
So here's the full list of winners -
**
FILM**
The Queen
**THE ALEXANDER KORDA AWARD **for the Outstanding British Film of the Year
The Last King Of Scotland
**THE CARL FOREMAN AWARD **for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer in their First Feature Film
Andrea Arnold (Director) – Red Road
**THE DAVID LEAN AWARD **for Achievement in Direction
Paul Greengrass - United 93
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Little Miss Sunshine
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Last King of Scotland
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Pan's Labyrinth
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Happy Feet
ACTOR in a LEADING ROLE
Forest Whitaker– The Last King of Scotland
ACTRESS in a LEADING ROLE
Helen Mirren – The Queen
ACTOR in a SUPPORTING ROLE
Alan Arkin – Little Miss Sunshine
ACTRESS in a SUPPORTING ROLE
Jennifer Hudson – Dreamgirls
**THE ANTHONY ASQUITH AWARD **for Achievement in Film Music
Babel
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Children Of Men
EDITING
United 93
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Children Of Men
COSTUME DESIGN
Pan's Labyrinth
SOUND
Casino Royale
ACHIEVEMENT IN SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
MAKE UP & HAIR
Pan's Labyrinth
SHORT ANIMATION FILM
Guy 101
SHORT FILM
Do Not Erase
THE ORANGE RISING STAR AWARD
Eva Green
**BAFTA 2007 Blog
Click here** to read our minute-by-minute account of this year's ceremony.