US director Kathryn Bigelow's Iraq war movie The Hurt Locker swept the board at the BAFTAs, winning the best film and director awards and leaving ex-husband James Cameron almost empty-handed.

Bigelow picked up six gongs out of eight she was nominated for, and was the first woman to win the best director award for her movie portraying elite soldiers tasked with defusing bombs in the heat of combat.


Collecting her best film award from US actor Dustin Hoffman, she said the prize was "beyond our wildest imagination." "This is so unbelievable, we're just so deeply honoured and humbled," she said late Sunday night.