Papal thriller "Conclave" and immigrant epic "The Brutalist" on Sunday emerged neck-and-neck at the BAFTA awards with each film picking up four coveted gongs.

"Conclave", directed by German-born Edward Berger, won the BAFTA for the best film with its tale of the intrigue and horse-trading behind the scenes during the election of a new pope.

Accepting the award, Berger recalled the journey to make the film took seven years, paying tribute to British screenplay writer Peter Straughan's "wonderful script" and lead actor Ralph Fiennes.

US filmmaker Brad Corby took the BAFTA for best director for "The Brutalist", while leading man Adrien Brody scooped up the best actor gong for his portrayal of a Hungarian Holocaust survivor and architect who emigrates to the United States.

Veteran British actor Fiennes, who played a cardinal in "Conclave", once again saw his hopes of winning a BAFTA gong dashed, losing out to Brody in the race for the honour.

Scandal-hit "Emilia Perez", a surreal musical about a Mexican druglord who transitions to a woman, had been heavily favoured at the beginning of the year. But it only emerged with two BAFTAs, including one for Zoe Saldana for best supporting actress.

Until last month, French director Jacques Audiard's movie had been expected to be a frontrunner at the British film awards.

But old racist and Islamophobic tweets by lead actor Karla Sofia Gascon surfaced at the end of January, shaking up the race just before the London ceremony and the Oscars on March 2.

A surprise of the night was the BAFTA for best actress which went to 25-year-old Mikey Madison for her portrayal of a sex worker in the black comedy "Anora" about an erotic dancer's whirlwind romance gone wrong.

Accepting the award, Madison said she wanted to dedicate the award to "the sex worker community, I see you, you deserve respect and human dignity".

LGBTQ support

Demi Moore, Timothee Chalamet and Ariana Grande were also at the glitzy evening hosted by "Doctor Who" and "Good Omens" star David Tennant, but all emerged empty-handed.

Saldana, who won a Golden Globe last month for her role as the sassy lawyer in "Emilia Perez", said she was dedicating her BAFTA award to her trans nephew.

"They are the reason I signed to do the film in the first place", adding she would "always stand" with the LGBTQ community, which has come under attack under the new presidency of Donald Trump.

"Conclave" also picked up awards for outstanding British film, editing and best adapted screenplay, while "The Brutalist" took awards for cinematography and original score.

"Wicked" picked up two BAFTAs including for production design, while Rich Peppiatt who wrote "Kneecap", a docu-drama about an audacious trio of Northern Irish rappers, won for an outstanding debut by a British writer.

"Dune: Part Two" won BAFTAs for both special visual effects and best sound.

Although they can often set the tone for the Oscars, the BAFTAs -- the biggest night of the year for the British film industry -- regularly diverge from the films favoured by the Academy Awards in Los Angeles, which holds its ceremony on March 2.

France's Coralie Fargeat was the only woman nominated in the directing category, for "The Substance".

Originally published on France24