After successful the BAFTA Award for greatest supporting actress, “Emilia Pérez” star Zoe Saldaña devoted the prize — and the movie itself — to her trans nephew.
Though she didn’t have time to make the dedication throughout her speech, Saldaña talked about to journalists within the winners’ room that there was “one last thing that I didn’t get to say on stage.”
“I’m dedicating all of these awards and the film ‘Emilia Pérez’ to my nephew, Eli. He is the reason — they are the reason — I signed up to do this film in the first place,” she mentioned. “So as the proud aunt of a trans life, I will always stand with my community of trans people.”
In the Spanish-language crime musical, Saldaña performed Rita Mora Castro, a lawyer who helps a Mexican cartel chief achieve entry to gender-affirming surgical procedure. This marks Saldaña’s first BAFTA win, in addition to her first nomination from the British awards physique. She’s additionally up for an Oscar in the identical class.
“Emilia Pérez” obtained the second-most nominations at this yr’s BAFTAs, nabbing 11 whole together with greatest movie, director, main actress Karla Sofía Gascón and supporting actress for Selena Gomez. Though Saldaña and Gomez have been current on the BAFTAs ceremony, Gascón didn’t attend after previous racist tweets resurfaced in current weeks.
However, Saldaña nonetheless thanked Gascón in her acceptance speech, saying: “I want to thank my wonderful cast, Karla, Selena, Adriana… Films are supposed to change hearts and challenge minds. And I hope that ‘Emilia Pérez’ did something like this, please, because voices need to be heard.”
Saldaña emerged victorious in a stacked class that, in addition to her co-star Gomez, additionally included Ariana Grande for “Wicked,” Felicity Jones for “The Brutalist,” Jamie Lee Curtis for “The Last Showgirl” and Isabella Rossellini for “Conclave.”