Accepting the best film award, “12 Years a Slave” director Steve McQueen said: “There are 21 million people in slavery now as we sit here. I just hope that 150 years from now our ambivalence will not allow another film-maker to make this film.” British-born actor Chiwetel Ejiofor beat shortlisted actors Christian Bale, Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks to win the best actor award, thanking McQueen for his “work, artistry and passion in this project.” Addressing his director he said: “This is yours, I know that … you know that. I’m going to keep it, that’s the kind of guy I am, but it’s yours.” ’12 Years a Slave’ big winner at BAFTA Making the BAFTA Movie season success at the box office Ejiofor is also in the frame to win an Oscar and may take the stage again at next month’s Academy Awards ceremony. CNN Oscar ballot: Make your choices, share your picks The deep space thriller “Gravity,” meanwhile, won an impressive six awards — just one award shy of “The Artist” in 2012 and “The King’s Speech” in 2011 — including best director and best British film. Alfonso Cuaron accepted the best director award for home the film, which also triumphed in the special effects category against stiff competition from a shortlist that included “Iron Man 3,” “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” “Pacific Rim” and “Star Trek Into Darkness.” The record of nine British Academy Film Awards is still held by the 1969 American Western “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” The biggest applause of the evening was reserved for newcomer Barkhad Abdi, who was named best supporting actor for his portrayal of a Somali pirate in “Captain Phillips.” The British Academy of Film and Television Arts hands out its film awards on Sunday, February 16, at the Royal Opera House in London. Here, Lily Allen poses on the red carpet. Click through to see other arrivals at the BAFTA awards: Oprah Winfrey and David Oyelowo Olga Kurylenko >> BAFTA 2014: Red carpet Winning in a strong category against Bradley Cooper, Matt Damon and Michael Fassbender, he thanked co-star Tom Hanks and director Paul Greengrass for “believing in me before I believed in myself.” Abdi, previously a limousine driver in Minneapolis, was cast after turning up to the audition on a whim. Other winners included “The Act of Killing” — a film examining the Indonesian death squads of the mid-1960s – which won more info in the documentary section.
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