Yorgos Lanthimos’ Film Poor Things Wins Five BAFTAs

Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos’ film Poor Things accrued five BAFTAs along with lead actress Emma Stone taking home the BAFTA for leading actress at the star-studded event.

Last night’s (Sunday, February 18) 2024 British Academy Film Awards saw Yorgos Lanthimos’ film win yet more awards, taking home the BAFTAs for leading actress (Emma Stone), costume design, make-up and hair, production design and special visual effects.

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer took home best film and best director, Nolan’s first BAFTA, with Cillian Murphy recognised as the best actor for his portrayal of atomic age physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, and his co-star Robert Downey JR taking home the best supporting actor BAFTA.

Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos’ film Poor Things has also received Oscar nominations in eleven categories. In addition, the filmmaker himself has been nominated for Best Director, putting him in competition with Christopher Nolan and Martin Scorsese.

The 2024 Oscar nominations were announced in January with Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, a film celebrating female liberty and equality through protagonist Bella Baxter, played by Emma Stone, making the list. Its Oscar nominations include Best Picture, Best Actress (Stone), Best Supporting Actor (Mark Ruffalo), Best Director (Lanthimos), Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Cinematography, Costume Design, Film Editing, Production Design, and Makeup and Hairstyling.

Yorgos Lanthimos will be in contest with Christopher Nolan for Oppenheimer, Jonathan Glazer for The Zone of Interest, Martin Scorsese for Killers of the Flower Moon, and Justine Triet for Anatomy of a Fall.

Poor Things sees Stone playing a young woman, Bella Baxter, who goes on a journey of self-discovery and sexual awakening as she travels the world.

Adapted from Alistair Gray’s eponymous novel and scripted by Tony McNamara, the Greek director presents a fresh take on the Frankenstein myth. Poor Things serves as a provocative commentary on topics such as sexual freedom, class disparities, individual and societal self-determination, desire, and love.

Greek Directory Yorgos Lanthimos’ Films Have Won Industry Awards Before

The film stormed to victory earlier in January with two Golden Globe wins, taking home the award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, along with Emma Stone bagging the Best Actress Award. The Greek director celebrated his win by giving a shoutout to Bruce Springsteen, who was in the audience.

Three of Yorgos Lanthimos’ films have been nominated for Oscars before, and the director has won and been nominated for various other industry awards, too.

His film The Favourite received two Oscar nominations in 2019, one for the Best Motion Picture of the Year category and the other for the Best Director category, while the Greek director’s movie The Lobster was nominated for best original screenplay in 2017.

Yorgos Lanthimos also received a nomination for Best Director for The Favourite at the Boston Society of Film Critics Awards in 2018.

Yorgos Lanthimos’ work has also triumphed at the BAFTAs, with The Favourite taking home the outstanding British film of the year award in 2019. Furthermore, it was nominated for Baftas under the categories of Best Film and the David Lean award for Best Direction.