All Quiet on the Western Front breaks foreign film Baftas record
All Quiet On The Western Front has broken Cinema Paradiso's record for the highest number of British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) awards for a foreign language film.
Netflix's remake of a film about the stress and trauma experienced by German soldiers in the First World War won seven prizes at the EE Bafta film awards including best film and best director to pass the record of five set by the Italian coming-of-age drama in 1988.
The German language anti-war epic, directed by German filmmaker Edward Berger is based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque.
Taking to the stage at the climax of the event at London's Royal Festival Hall, producer Malte Grunert said the Netflix film showed how a generation of young German men was "poisoned by right-wing nationalistic propaganda" and he stressed that the film's message remains "relevant" nearly a century on.
Mr Berger paid tribute to those fighting in Ukraine and also told the audience he was able to get over his "doubt" thanks to his daughter Matilda who had encouraged him to film the book she was reading at school.
Military historian and author Rupert Wieloch told Forces News in October why All Quiet On The Western Front is an important film for modern audiences.
Mr Wieloch said: "The service charities in Britain at the moment are having great difficulty fighting their cause for funding.
"I think that something like this film will help them in jogging people's memories about how dreadful the psychological impact of WW1 was – and the soldiers who have come back from Afghanistan and the frontline for the past 10 or 15 years."
Mr Wieloch added: "I do feel that what we saw in Afghanistan was pretty tough, so I think the soldiers who served in Sangin and Helmand, who served from 2006 until we withdrew, would have experienced something similar to the fear and trepidation that the young soldiers in the Western Front felt."
The Prince and Princess of Wales also attended the Bafta awards ceremony, receiving a warm welcome as they arrived and were told of the late Queen's support for the academy.
Prince William, who is president of the Bafta, was told how the Queen had been a great "supporter" of the arts, and a pre-recorded feature praising the late monarch's patronage of the industry was shown to guests during the show.
During the ceremony, a pre-recorded tribute was paid by Dame Helen Mirren, who played the late monarch in the 2006 biopic The Queen.
William and Kate watched from the centre of the front row as Dame Helen said: “Cinema at its best does what Her Majesty did effortlessly – bring us together and unite us through a story.
"Your Majesty, you were our nation's leading star."
Join Our Newsletter
