Baftas 2025: ‘Conclave’ director Edward Berger takes political stand: “That’s why we make movies”
Making any movie about organised religion opens the door to backlash and controversy, but Conclave director Edward Berger used the opportunity to take the podium at the Baftas after winning ‘Outstanding British Film’ to shine a light on issues that extend well beyond his acclaimed film.
The papal thriller has been one of the leading contenders throughout awards season, and deservedly so. After all, Far Out named it as the best movie of 2024, praising Berger for the way he “toes the line between the threat of change and our fear of uncertainty, something that only grows in a world unsure of its next move, and chooses to resolve this anxiety in a surprisingly upbeat way.”
The final twist has stirred up plenty of discourse and debate, but it hasn’t been able to overshadow the artistic and creative merits of Conclave. Having defeated a stacked field to claim ‘Outstanding British Film’, which included Bird, Blitz, Gladiator II, Hard Truths, Kneecap, Lee, Love Lies Bleeding, The Outrun, and Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Berger wanted to look at the bigger picture.
“We live in a crisis of democracy,” he said. “Institutions that used to bring us together are bringing us apart, and sometimes it’s hard to keep the faith in that situation, but that’s why we make movies, and that’s why we made this movie. Thank you very much. There’s a crack in everything, but that’s how the light gets in.”
Conclave may focus on the heated race to name a new Pope and the political machinations that rear their head throughout the process, but it’s clear that Berger’s comments were aimed well beyond Catholicism regardless of the way some religious groups sharpened their pitchforks and tried their best to tear it down.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out which democratic crises he’s referring to, given all that’s been going on in the world since Conclave entered production in January 2023, with Berger continuing to fight the good fight by using cinema as a means to spotlight and give voices to resonant cultural and socio-political conversations.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.