French
black
and
white
drama
The
Artist
won
gold
at
the
65th
British
Academy
of
Film
and
Television
Arts
(BAFTA)
winning
seven
trophies
including
Best
Picture,
while
Meryl
Streep
continued
with
her
winning
streak
grabbing
the
Best
Leading
Actress
award
for
her
performance
in
the
movie
The
Iron
Lady.
The
awards,
which
are
Britain's
equivalent
of
the
Oscars,
gave
the
Best
Film
trophy
to
'The
Artist',
a
French
homage
to
old
silent
film
era
Hollywood,
over
other
critically
acclaimed
films
like
'The
Help'
and
'The
Descendants'.
The
film's
star
Jean
Dujardin
took
home
the
Best
Leading
Actor
award,
leaving
behind
the
likes
of
Hollywood
bigwigs
like
Brad
Pitt
(Moneyball),
George
Clooney
(The
Descendants)
and
Gary
Oldman
(Tinker
Tailor
Soldier
Spy).
Director
of
'The
Artist'
Michel
Hazanavicius
won
prizes
for
directing
and
his
original
screenplay.
'The
Artist'
has
already
won
three
Golden
Globes
and
has
10
Oscar
nominations.
Streep
was
named
best
actress
for
her
depiction
of
Margaret
Thatcher,
Britain's
first
female
prime
minister,
in
'The
Iron
Lady',
a
role
which
has
already
won
her
a
Golden
Globe
last
month.
Others
nominated
in
the
best
actress
category
were
Berenice
Bejo
(The
Artist),
Michelle
Williams
(My
Week
with
Marilyn),
Tilda
Swinton
(We
Need
to
Talk
About
Kevin)
and
Viola
Davis
(The
Help).
Octavia
Spencer
was
given
the
best
supporting
actress
BAFTA
for
her
turn
as
a
fiery
maid
in
Deep
South
drama
'The
Help',
leaving
behind
Carey
Mulligan
(Drive)
and
Judi
Dench
(My
Week
With
Marilyn).
Christopher
Plummer
won
the
best
supporting
actor
award
for
'Beginners'.
Bollywood
actor
Anil
Kapoor
presented
the
Film
Not
in
the
English
Language
BAFTA
to
Spanish
film
'The
Skin
I
Live
In'
which
saw
off
competition
from
'A
Separation'
(Iran),
'Potiche'
(French-Belgian),
'Pina'
(German)
and
'Incendies'
(Canada).