LONDON — “1917,” Sam Mendes’s visually extravagant World War I drama that takes viewers into the chaos of the trenches was the big winner at the EE British Academy Film Awards on Sunday, taking seven awards including best film.

Mendes was also named best director at the event, better known as the BAFTAs, Britain’s equivalent of the Oscars.

The haul adds to the movie’s wins for best drama and best director at the Golden Globes and will increase hype around the movie in the run-up to the Oscars.

“In the midst of all this hoopla, it’s sometimes easy to forget the actual experience of shooting a movie,” Mendes said, accepting his best director award. “I had a kind of director’s paradise in this film that I think I’ll never, ever have again.”