(London) – The force of “Gravity” was strong at the British Academy Film Awards but it was unflinching drama “12 Years a Slave” that took the top prize. Steve McQueen’s visceral, violent story of a free black man kidnapped into servitude in the 19th-century US South was named best picture. Its star, Chiwetel Ejiofor, took the male acting trophy.
Ejiofor thanked McQueen, a visual artist who turned to filmmaking with “Hunger” and “Shame,” for bringing the story to the screen. The prizes, coming two weeks before Hollywood’s Academy Awards, are watched as an indicator of likely Oscars success.
It was a good night for lost-in-space thriller “Gravity,” which won six prizes, including best director for Alfonso Cuaron.
