Michel Hazanavicius won best director for The Artist at the BAFTA awards on Sunday.

Silent movie The Artist dominated the British Academy Film awards, the U.K. equivalent of the Oscars, winning seven awards, including best picture.

French director Michel Hazanavicius was named best director, and the film won BAFTA trophies for screenplay, cinematography, music and costume design.

Jean Dujardin, who stars as a silent film actor in 1920s Hollywood who falls on hard times as the “talkies” come into vogue, won the best actor trophy. The Artist is also a leading contender for the Oscars later this month.

Christopher Plummer won the best supporting actor BAFTA for Beginners, in which he plays a recent widower who decides to come out as a gay man. The Canadian film star is nominated for an Oscar for the same role.

Spy thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy was named outstanding British film, while co-writers Peter Straughan and his late wife, Bridget O'Connor, took the best adapted screenplay trophy for adapting the 1972 novel by John le Carré.

Meryl Streep won best actress for her role in The Iron Lady at the BAFTA awards. (Joel Ryan/Associated Press)

Meryl Streep was recognized as best actress for her portrayal of former British prime minister Maggie Thatcher in The Iron Lady. Octavia Spencer won best supporting actress for drama The Help.

Senna, which tells the life story of Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna, won best documentary, beating Martin Scorsese's George Harrison: Living in the Material World and Project Nim, about a chimpanzee raised as a child in the 1970s.

The BAFTAs, hosted by Stephen Fry, were held Sunday at London's Royal Opera House.