Papal thriller "Conclave" and immigrant epic "The Brutalist" on Sunday tied for top honours at Britain's BAFTA awards with each film picking up four coveted gongs.
"Conclave", directed by German-born Edward Berger, won the BAFTA for the best film with its tale of the intrigue and horse-trading behind the scenes during the election of a new pope.
Accepting the award, Berger recalled the journey to make the film took seven years, paying tribute to British screenplay writer Peter Straughan's "wonderful script" and lead actor Ralph Fiennes.
US filmmaker Brady Corbet took the BAFTA for best director for "The Brutalist", while leading man Adrien Brody scooped up the best actor gong for his portrayal of a Hungarian Holocaust survivor and architect who emigrates to the United States.
Brody told a winners press conference that the film was "an opportunity for me to honour my own ancestral struggles".
In "a film that speaks to tremendous cruelty and despicable behaviour in our past... we see elements existing today that can guide us and remind us of that," he added.
Veteran British actor Fiennes, who played a cardinal in "Conclave", once again saw his hopes of winning a BAFTA gong dashed, losing out to Brody in the race for the honour.
Scandal-hit "Emilia Perez", a surreal musical about a Mexican druglord who transitions to a woman, had been heavily favoured at the beginning of the year. But it ended the evening with just two BAFTAs, including one for Zoe Saldana for best supporting actress.
Until last month, French director Jacques Audiard's movie had been expected to be a frontrunner having won 11 nominations. —AFP
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