Roma and The Favourite triumph at the London Film…

Roma and The Favourite triumph at the London Film Critics' Circle awards

Yalitza Aparicio, Marco Graf and Daniela Demesa in Roma. — Roma consolidates its Oscar frontrunner position … Yalitza Aparicio, Marco Graf and Daniela Demesa in Alfonso Cuarón’s film. Photograph: Allstar/Netflix

Alfonso Cuarón’s domestic memoir Roma and scabrous period comedy The Favourite dominated the London Film Critics’ Circle awards, which were handed out on 20 January.

Roma, which has been backed to the hilt by its distributors, Netflix, secured the film of the year award and Cuarón won director of the year. With the Acadmey awards nominations being announced on 22 Jamuary, Roma appears to consolidate its position as an Oscar frontrunner. However, The Favourite, which is also a leading Oscar contender, took home the most awards: four, including actress of the year for Olivia Colman (who plays troubled monarch Queen Anne), supporting actress for Rachel Weisz (who plays power-behind-the-throne Sarah Churchill), and British/Irish film of the year.

Cold War, Paweł Pawlikowski’s lushly filmed black-and-white romance won two awards: foreign-language film of the year as well as the technical achievement award for its cinematographer Łukasz Żal. British veterans Rupert Everett (for his directorial debut The Happy Prince) and Richard E Grant featured among the winners, for British/Irish actor and supporting actor of the year respectively.

The nearest thing to a surprise of the evening was Ethan Hawke’s award for actor of the year, for playing a priest in the throes of a spiritual crisis in Paul Schrader’s First Reformed. Hawke competed against Oscar favourite Christian Bale, who was nominated for Vice.