Baftas 2018 ceremony as it happened: Three Billboards clears up as Time's Up proves running theme throughout

Three Billboards and Gary Oldman score success at the Bafta Awards

Awards season arrived to UK shores this Sunday, as the Baftas honoured the last year in film - and what a truly spectacular one it was.

While Guillermo del Toro's aquatic romance The Shape of Water, garnered 12 nods, the most of any film this year, it was actually Martin McDonagh's Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri which walked away the night's big winner with five awards in total: Best Film, Best British Film, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor.

The ceremony also carried on the Time's Up conversation, with attendees continuing the show of solidarity by wearing black on the red carpet from the Golden Globes, with many others bringing along activists. You can read our coverage of the ceremony as it happened below.

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Key Points

• Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri conquers the night with five awards 
• The red carpet was dominated by the Time's Up movement, as attendees wore black in solidarity
• Joanna Lumley's opening monologue compared the Time's Up and women's suffrage
• Protestors stormed the red carpet wearing 'Time's Up Theresa' t-shirts

[18 February 2018 21:10 · clarisse.loughrey]

Cirque Du Soleil open with a tribute to the most nominated film of the night, The Shape of Water. Which is lucky for them, I guess, otherwise we'd have aerobatic racists cops flying through the air.

Everyone is very politely clapping for the woman and fish-man making out. Timothee Chalamet even lends a "Whoo!".

 

BAFTAs 2018: The Shape of Water inspired Cirque Du Soleil opening

[18 February 2018 21:18 · clarisse.loughrey]

Joanna Lumley's introducing speech pays tribute both to the celebration of women's suffrage and to the Time's Up movement, while also stressing that the night is to celebrate all those involved in the filmmaking process: both in front of, and behind the camera.

Followed by a lot of flattering of famous people.

[18 February 2018 21:20 · clarisse.loughrey]

The montage of the year's cinematic highlights is clearly very internet-literate. Here's a porg, there's a "Hiya, Georgie!", plus a dancing Timothee Chalamet.

[18 February 2018 21:26 · clarisse.loughrey]

Jennifer Lawrence present Outstanding British Film to Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri. A strong start for a favourite of the night, but certainly a hard stare from Paddington will come its way... 

"It's the story of a woman taking on the establishment and challenging the status quo," producer Graham Broadbent says. "It turns out that meaningful change can happen very quickly if we put our minds to it."

 

BAFTAs 2018: Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri wins Outstanding British Film

[18 February 2018 21:33 · clarisse.loughrey]

Octavia Spencer and Margot Robbie (who Lumley refers to as her niece, because everybody perfectly remembers the plot to The Wolf on Wall Street, right?) present the EE Rising Star Award to Get Out's Daniel Kaluuya!

"I am the product of arts funding within the United Kingdom. I'd like to thank people who financially support that," Kaluuya says. 

 

[18 February 2018 21:37 · clarisse.loughrey]

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Guga Mbatha-Raw and Orlando Bloom present Best Adapted Screenplay to Call Me By Your Name, and the spectacular James Ivory. Cue the perfect GIF for this... 

[18 February 2018 21:43 · clarisse.loughrey]

Lupita Nyong'o presents Best Supporting Actor to Sam Rockwell for Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri. 

"I stand on the shoulders of women. Strong, intelligent, righteous women, who made my life complete," Rockwell says. He praises co-star Frances McDormand with, "You make me proud to be an actor."

However, a shout out to Nyong'o's spectacular glasses...

[18 February 2018 21:48 · clarisse.loughrey]

The Shape of Water wins Best Production Design and, of course, all the praise goes to the film's visionary leader Guillermo del Toro: "You're the benchmark that all us creatives strive to reach." Paul Austerberry gets the name of the film's own studio wrong, but that's fine, and I'm sure no awkward conversation is going to happen at the after party. Enjoy your prize, Paul!

 

[18 February 2018 21:52 · clarisse.loughrey]

Karen Gillan threatens the "nerds" creating CGI characters, like in Rogue One, as Taron Egerton begs, "Please, don't take our jobs."

Blade Runner wins Best Special Visual Effects! Fake people triumph!

[18 February 2018 21:59 · clarisse.loughrey]

Gemma Arterton and Lily James thank the audience for supporting gender equality (but do it in a sweet, kind way that immediately makes you want to make them friendship bracelets).

They present Best Debut, which goes to Rungano Nyoni's I Am Not a Witch. A truly spectacular film about an 8-year-old girl sent to a desert camp after being convicted of a witch. One of the greatest parts of the BAFTAs are awards like this, an opportunity to celebrate new voices and encourage us all to seek out these projects. 

(Seriously, go see I Am Not a Witch).