50th British Academy Film Awards

1997 film awards

The 50th British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, took place on 29 April 1997 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, honouring the best national and foreign films of 1996. Presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, accolades were handed out for the best feature-length film and documentaries of any nationality that were screened at British cinemas in 1998.

Anthony Minghella's The English Patient won the award for Best Film (and previously won the Academy Award for Best Picture), while Mike Leigh's Secrets & Lies was voted Outstanding British Film. Geoffrey Rush won for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role in Shine and Brenda Blethyn won for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her role in Secrets & Lies, respectively.^[1]^[2]^[3]

The ceremony was hosted by actor and comedian Lenny Henry.

Winners and nominees

BAFTA Fellowship

Woody Allen, Julie Christie, Oswald Morris and Harold Pinter

Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema

Film4 Productions

Awards

Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

Best Film The English Patient – Saul Zaentz and Anthony Minghella Fargo – Joel Coen and Ethan Coen Secrets & Lies – Simon Channing Williams and Mike Leigh Shine – Jane Scott and Scott Hicks	Best Direction Joel Coen – Fargo Anthony Minghella – The English Patient Mike Leigh – Secrets & Lies Scott Hicks – Shine
Best Actor in a Leading Role *Geoffrey Rush – Shine* as David Helfgott** Ian McKellen – Richard III as Richard III Ralph Fiennes – The English Patient as László Almásy Timothy Spall – Secrets & Lies as Maurice Purley	Best Actress in a Leading Role *Brenda Blethyn – Secrets & Lies* as Cynthia Rose Purley** Emily Watson – Breaking the Waves as Bess McNeill Frances McDormand – Fargo as Marge Gunderson Kristin Scott Thomas – The English Patient as Katharine Clifton
Best Actor in a Supporting Role *Paul Scofield – The Crucible* as Thomas Danforth** Alan Rickman – Michael Collins as Éamon de Valera Edward Norton – Primal Fear as Aaron Stampler / Roy John Gielgud – Shine as Cecil Parkes	Best Actress in a Supporting Role *Juliette Binoche – The English Patient* as Hana** Lauren Bacall – The Mirror Has Two Faces as Hannah Morgan Lynn Redgrave – Shine as Gillian Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Secrets & Lies as Hortense Cumberbatch
Best Original Screenplay Secrets & Lies – Mike Leigh Brassed Off – Mark Herman Fargo – Ethan Coen and Joel Coen Lone Star – John Sayles Shine – Jan Sardi	Best Adapted Screenplay The English Patient – Anthony Minghella The Crucible – Arthur Miller Evita – Alan Parker and Oliver Stone Richard III – Ian McKellen and Richard Loncraine
Best Cinematography The English Patient – John Seale Evita – Darius Khondji Fargo – Roger Deakins Michael Collins – Chris Menges	Best Costume Design Richard III – Shuna Harwood The English Patient – Ann Roth Evita – Penny Rose Hamlet – Alexandra Byrne
Best Editing The English Patient – Walter Murch Evita – Gerry Hambling Fargo – Roderick Jaynes Shine – Pip Karmel	Best Makeup and Hair The Nutty Professor – Rick Baker and David LeRoy Anderson 101 Dalmatians – Lynda Armstrong, Martial Corneville, Colin Jamison and Jean-Luc Russier The English Patient – Fabrizio Sforza and Nigel Booth Evita – Sarah Monzani and Martin Samuel
Best Original Music The English Patient – Gabriel Yared Brassed Off – Trevor Jones Evita – Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice Shine – David Hirschfelder	Best Production Design Richard III – Tony Burrough The English Patient – Stuart Craig Evita – Brian Morris Hamlet – Tim Harvey
Best Sound Shine – Jim Greenhorn, Toivo Lember, Livia Ruzic, Roger Savage and Gareth Vanderhope The English Patient – Mark Berger, Pat Jackson, Walter Murch, Chris Newman, David Parker and Ivan Sharrock Evita – Anna Behlmer, Eddy Joseph, Andy Nelson, Ken Weston and Nigel Wright Independence Day – Bob Beemer, Bill W. Benton, Chris Carpenter, Sandy Gendler, Val Kuklowsky and Jeff Wexler	Best Special Visual Effects Twister – Stefen Fangmeier, John Frazier, Henry Labounta and Habib Zargarpour Independence Day – Tricia Ashford, Volker Engel, Clay Pinney, Douglas Smith and Joe Viskocil The Nutty Professor – Jon Farhat Toy Story – Eben Fiske Ostby and William Reeves
Outstanding British Film Secrets & Lies – Simon Channing Williams and Mike Leigh Brassed Off – Steve Abbott and Mark Herman Carla's Song – Sally Hibbin and Ken Loach Richard III – Lisa Katselas, Stephen Bayly and Richard Loncraine	Best Film Not in the English Language Ridicule – Frederic Brillion, Philippe Carcassonne, Gilles Legrand and Patrice Leconte Antonia's Line – Hans de Weers and Marleen Gorris Kolya – Eric Abraham and Jan Svěrák Nelly and Mr. Arnaud – Alain Sarde and Claude Sautet
Best Short Animation The Old Lady and the Pigeons – Bernard La Joie, Didier Brunner and Sylvain Chomet Famous Fred – John Coates, Catrin Unwin and Joanna Quinn The Saint Inspector – Richard Hutchinson and Mike Booth Testament: The Bible in Animation (for episode "Joseph") – Elizabeth Babakhina and Aida Ziablikoua Testament: The Bible in Animation (for episode "Moses") – Naomi Jones and Gary Hurst Trainspotter – Christopher Moll, Jeff Newitt and Neville Astley	Best Short Film Majorettes in Space (Des majorettes dans l'espace) – Carole Scotta and David Fourier The Butterfly Man – Robin MacPherson and Barry Ackroyd Dual Balls – Laurence Bowen and Dan Zeff Everything Must Go – François Barat and Jean-Marc Moutout Machination – Alice Beckmann and Ralph Seiler

Statistics

Films that received multiple nominations
Nominations	Film
13	The English Patient
9	Shine
8	Evita
7	Secrets & Lies
6	Fargo
5	Richard III
3	Brassed Off
2	The Crucible
	Hamlet
	Independence Day
	Michael Collins
	The Nutty Professor

Films that received multiple awards
Awards	Film
6	The English Patient
3	Secrets & Lies
2	Richard III
2	Shine

References

^ Lister, David (28 April 1997). "'The English Patient' in the best of health". The Independent.
^ Lister, David (29 April 1997). "Triple triumph for Mike Leigh comedy". The Independent.
^ Lister, David (30 April 1997). "Mike Leigh's secret is revealed". The Independent.