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Baftas 2018: The Handmaiden and Call Me By Your Name win at awards

Written by gaytourism

Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet star in Call Me By Your Name | Photo: Call Me By Your Name

The Baftas saw LGBTI cinema awarded top gongs on Sunday (18 February) evening.

Taking place annually, the British Academy Film Awards celebrate the best in British and foreign cinema.

Held at London’s Royal Albert Hall, it served as a showcase for the best in LGBTI cinema and stars, with Call Me By Your Name and The Handmaiden picking up awards.

LGBTI themes at the Baftas

Call Me By Your Name, which follows a gay love affair in 1980’s Italy, won Best Adapted Screenplay – despite it walking away from the Golden Globes empty-handed in January.

Meanwhile, The Handmaiden, an adaptation of Sarah Waters’ tale of a lesbian love affair in Victorian England, won best non-English language film.

The Handmaiden also marked the first time a Bafta award had been given to a Korean language film.

Armie Hammer and Timothee Chalamet in Call Me By Your Name

Armie Hammer and Timothee Chalamet | Photos: Call Me By Your Name

Call Me By Your Name fails to win Best Film, Best Actor

Unfortunately, there were a few disappointments too.

Call Me By Your Name’s Timothee Chalamet lost out to Gary Oldman for his superb performance in The Darkest Hour.

The film itself lost out on the Best Film accolade to Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which picked up seven awards on the night.

It also lost to Guillermo Del Toro for Best Direction on The Shape Of Water.

Based on André Aciman’s novel, Call Me By Your Name follows the blossoming relationship between 17-year-old Jewish American Elio (Chalamet) and his architect father’s assistant Oliver (Armie Hammer).

The Handmaiden

The foreign film everyone is looking forward to this fall

The Handmaiden: a dark tale of erotica and love

The Handmaiden follows Korean con man (Ha Jung-woo) who devises an elaborate plot to seduce and dispose of a Japanese woman (Kim Min-hee) out of her inheritance.

Korean directing legend Park Chan-wook adapted Waters’ novel into a steaming, graphic film of love, betrayal and violence.

LBGTI film God’s Own Country was nominated for Best British Film, but also lost to Three Billboards on the night.

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