Winners pose on the stage, during the British AcademyFilm and Television Awards 2015, at the Royal Opera House, in London on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015. LONDON – Slow-cooked coming-of-age tale “Boyhood” took the best film and director trophies at the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday, while Wes Anderson’s candy-colored comedy “The Grand Budapest Hotel” won the biggest haul of prizes, with five.
Both are distinctive works by directors with strong signatures, and there were also multiple trophies for Stephen Hawking biopic “The Theory of Everything” and jazz-drumming drama “Whiplash” at an event that proved small, personal films could emerge as winners.
Richard Linklater, who spent 12 years making “Boyhood,” was named best director, and Patricia Arquette won the supporting-actress trophy as a struggling mother in the film.
“Boyhood” star Eilar Coltrane, who grew from 6 to 18 onscreen, thanked British voters for rewarding “an exercise of collaboration and vulnerability.”
The British awards are considered an indicator of likely success at Hollywood’s Academy Awards later this month.