The beginning of the show-and-tell portion of awards season has often been marked by many with the Hollywood Film Awards (sigh) or, more recently, the Academy's Governors Awards. This year that designation actually falls on BAFTA's Britannia Awards. The latest incarnation of the show took over the Beverly Hilton Hotel Thursday night with some of the world's biggest stars taking part. And, surprise, a number of those famous faces are fighting for the Oscar spotlight.
Emma Watson received the British Artist of the Year honor; Mark Ruffalo was lauded with the Humanitarian Award; Dame Judi Dench made a rare non-Oscars visit to Los Angeles to accept the Albert R. Broccoli Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Entertainment; Mike Leigh was honored with the John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Excellence in Direction; Julia Louis-Dreyfuss earned the Charlie Chaplin Award for Excellence in Comedy; and Robert Downey Jr. found himself with the night's highest honor, the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film. Some of the other stars and presenters on hand included Eddie Redmayne, Jamie Foxx, Jon Favreau, Dustin Hoffman, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Josh Gad, Hailee Steinfeld and Robert Duvall.
Highlights of the evening will be broadcast on BBC America on Sunday, Nov. 2. In the meantime, you can check out all the photos of the event in the embedded gallery below.