Christopher Nolan breaks BAFTA ‘curse’, wins two big awards

The director, a prominent figure among British film exports, had previously been unsuccessful in winning a BAFTA trophy.

London: ‘Oppenheimer’ director Christopher Nolan finally won a BAFTA trophy, two as a matter of fact, on Sunday, breaking what some admirers had lovingly described as a “curse”, writes The Hollywood Reporter (THR).

The director, one of the most prolific and best-known British film exports, had previously lost out on picking up a BAFTA trophy.

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Nolan, notes THR, had received three nominations for his 2010 hit ‘Inception’, but the movie lost out to ‘The King’s Speech’ in the best film race. David Fincher earned the best director honour for ‘The Social Network’ and David Seidler won the best original screenplay BAFTA for ‘The King’s Speech’.

In 2018, Nolan was also in the running for the best picture and director awards from the British Academy for his 2017 film ‘Dunkirk’. In that case, ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’ was honoured as the best film, and Guillermo del Toro walked away with the director trophy for ‘The Shape of Water’.

This year, Nolan entered the BAFTA awards ceremony on Sunday with three nominations, for best picture, director and adapted screenplay, for ‘Oppenheimer’, bringing his total career BAFTA noms count to eight, THR points out.

The biographical epic led the pack of nominees with a total of 13.

Early on during the awards ceremony on Sunday, the adapted screenplay honour went to Cord Jefferson for ‘American Fiction’. But later, Nolan was unveiled as the best director honoree before ending the evening with a second trophy, the one for best film.

“They are very heavy,” Nolan told the press after the BAFTA ceremony, holding the two trophies. “I feel like I am getting a workout.”