MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina's “Wild Tales” wins best non-English language Film at British Academy

Damián Szifron’s box-office hit and Oscar nominated picture 'Wild Tales' won Best Non-English Language Film last night at the BAFTA Awards.

Argentine box-office hit and Oscar nominated picture Wild Tales (“Relatos Salvajes”) won Best Non-English Language Film at the BAFTA Awards. The British Film Academy also showered a lot of love on The Revenant, awarding Best Picture to Alejandro González Iñárritu and Best Actor to Leonardo DiCaprio.

 Damián Szifron’s box-office hit and Oscar nominated picture 'Wild Tales' won Best Non-English Language Film last night at the BAFTA Awards. The British Film Academy picked Szifron’s black comedy anthology over such nominees as Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s The Assassin, Ruben Östlund’s Force Majeure, Abderrahmane Sissako’s Timbuktu, and Naji Abu Nowar’s Theeb.

Szifron attended the Royal Opera House gala with actress María Marull and producer Hugo Sigman, who was accompanied by his wife Silvia Gold. 'Wild Tales', written and directed by Szifron with a star-studded cast including Ricardo Darín, Oscar Martínez, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Érica Rivas, Rita Cortese, Julieta Zylberberg and Darío Grandinetti, sold more than 3,900,000 tickets in Argentine theatres, a record figure for the country's cinema industry.

It premiered in the main competition at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival and was shortlisted for an Academy Award last year.

As for the English-language film, the UK film industry showered a lot of love on The Revenant, awarding the endurance epic five prizes, including best picture and best actor. Tierra del Fuego in south Argentina was chosen for much of the filming.

Leonardo DiCaprio cemented his Oscar-favorite status by taking the best-actor trophy for playing a bear-battling fur trapper in a brutally wild American West. Alejandro González Iñárritu was named best director for what he called a “human and tender story,” and The Revenant also won prizes for cinematography and sound.

The British awards, known as BAFTAs, are considered a portent of success at Hollywood’s February 28 Academy Awards. The Revenant has earned DiCaprio his sixth Oscar nomination — and, many believe, his best shot at finally winning.