Last night’s Orange BAFTA film awards made history for women, and set a new female standard for the film industry.

Highlights included Cary Mulligan – in the night’s most stunning outfit, a beautiful Vionnet gown - and Mo’Nique picking up the female category prizes for their widely acclaimed performances in, respectively, An Education and Precious (based on the novel Push by Sapphire). 

But the two real golden moments of the night were the honouring of acting dynasty matriarch Vanessa Redgrave for the BAFTA Fellowship and the barnstorming performance of Kathryn Bigelow’s critically lauded war drama, The Hurt Locker.

The latter made history; it’s the first time a woman has one a BAFTA for Best Director. And if you think about it, how often do you even see a woman in the shortlist? Both BAFTA and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have handed out trophy after trophy to men, but until this year there hasn’t been a single statuette handed out to a female director.

It’s not like there haven’t been contenders. Where have the Jane Campions, Sofia Coppolas, the Nora Ephrons been if not in the public eye? And I’m just picking a handful that are most recognisable – there are many (and that’s not an exhaustive list by any means). Why has it been so hard for female filmmakers to be recognised for their work?

This was a particularly impressive year to sweep the board with six awards and grab the two biggies: director and film. For Bigelow was up against James Cameron’s all-consuming Avatar, which collected two technical awards – almost certainly fairly, as that’s the area in which the film really shone. To his credit, no loser clapped harder for Bigelow’s win than Cameron (who is, coincidentally, her ex-husband).

Undoubtedly without meaning to – she gives the impression of just having put her head down, worked hard and made the films she wanted to make – Bigelow has become the standard for women in film. She projects quiet confidence, passion and intelligence. Her private life is her own (links to Cameron notwithstanding). 

Her simple dress style doesn’t shout ‘look at me’ or ‘shrinking violet’ but simply ‘I’m comfortable in my own skin’. Precisely because she isn’t self-consciously setting herself up as an example for women, merely commenting that she hoped she was the “first of many”, she’s become the best one anyone breaking into the industry could have.

Could that be what women need to do to succeed? Simply put aside the fact that they’re women? We shouldn’t pretend we’re not feminists at all, but maybe we need to live what we believe; if we know there’s no reason for women not to succeed in male-dominated industries, we’re simply not going to act like it’s a possibility.

Someone who might have taken that self-effacing quality to an extreme was yet another woman winner of the night, Kristen Stewart. Collecting the publicly-voted Orange Rising Star Award, she shuffled awkwardly, making her dress bulge out with her massively uncomfortable gate. She looked almost alarmed to have won, and couldn’t seem to put her considerable talent to good use and act happy. I wanted to step into the screen and lead her by the hand to the spectacularly gracious Redgrave, who positively delighted in the recognition afforded to her.

I didn’t know whether to be impressed that such a young actress could see through the glamour and glitter and brush away the nonsense, or irritated that such a successful actress couldn’t visibly enjoy her hard-earned status and the respect of the public as well as her peers.

Which is the better role model in your eyes? Who was your stand out woman of the night?