The Artist takes seven Bafta awards (From Dorset Echo)

The Artist takes seven Bafta awards

10:14pm Sunday 12th February 2012 in National News © Press Association 2011

Silent film The Artist has made a big noise at the Bafta film awards winning seven awards including Best Film, Leading Actor and Best Director.

The film - a homage to the silent era of Hollywood that was lost forever with the arrival of the talkies - swept the board. The only low point was seeing its leading lady Berenice Bejo lose out in the Outstanding Actress award to Meryl Streep.

The director of The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius, picked up the gong for Original Screenplay, saying: "I'm very surprised because so many people thought there was no script because there was no dialogue, so English people are very clever. Congratulations to you." Hazanavicius also picked up the Best Director award from Brad Pitt, saying: "I know that I will have some bad days because I'm a director, but I will remember this day as a good day."

The film's star, Jean Dujardin, was presented with the Leading Actor award by Spanish star Penelope Cruz. The Artist also picked up awards for Original Music, Cinematography and Costume Design.

The awards, held at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, central London, began with a bang with Sir Tom Jones belting out the theme to the James Bond film Thunderball - more than 40 years after he first recorded the song - to mark half-a-century of the superspy's cinema adventures.

The award for Film Not In The English Language was given to Pedro Almodovar's The Skin I Live In. And actor-turned director Paddy Considine and Diarmid Scrimshaw won the gong for Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director or Producer for their film Tyrannosaur.

Helena Bonham Carter, who won the Best Supporting Actress award last year, gave the Best Supporting Actor gong to Christopher Plummer for Beginners. Meanwhile, the Supporting Actress award was presented by Daniel Radcliffe to Octavia Spencer for The Help, which is set against the rise of the civil rights movement in the US deep south.

Billy Bob Thornton presented John Hurt with the award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema and called him an "actor's actor". Receiving a standing ovation from the audience, he added: "Who would have thought all those years ago that I would have been sharing the stage of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, with Billy Bob Thornton? How fabulous."

The only gong voted for by the viewing public - The Orange Wednesdays Rising Star Award - was given to Kidulthood actor Adam Deacon by Mad Men star Christina Hendricks. And Paul Bettany handed the award for Best Documentary to the makers of Senna, about Formula One driver Ayrton Senna who died after he crashed in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

The night ended with a fulsome tribute to British cinema from Raging Bull director Martin Scorsese who was given the Bafta Fellowship. He said British films were "a bit of a mystery and a great marvel".