The BAFTAs are coming soon....so what do the nominations tell us about this year’s awards race?

Let’s start with the Outstanding British Film category, since it offers a who’s who of British filmmaking talent and also a hugely diverse line-up. Conclave, directed by Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front) and starring Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter, Coriolanus), is the most nominated film of the year, with 12 nods including Best Film and Leading Actor (Fiennes again). That will also be competing for Best Film with another British produced awards darling, The Brutalist, which has an impressive nine nominations overall. Also up for Best British film with Conclave are the likes of Gladiator II, from director Ridley Scott (Alien, The Martian) and starring Paul Mescal (Aftersun, All of Us Strangers), and Blitz, the World War II film from Steve McQueen (Widows, Hunger) starring Irish actor Saoirse Ronan (Atonement). 

But what’s fascinating about the British Film category this year is the sheer variety of nominees. In the same category there’s a second Saoirse Ronan performance, as a woman battling alcohol in The Outrun, and a star turn from Kate Winslet (Ammonite, Iris) in Lee, about the extraordinary war photographer Lee Miller. But there’s also the return of Claymation duo Wallace & Gromit in Vengeance Most Fowl, and more avian fantasy in Andrea Arnold’s (Fish Tank, Cow) lyrical and lovely Bird. 

This year’s nominations also marked the return of director Mike Leigh and star Marianne Jean-Baptiste, who worked together nearly 30 years ago on the extraordinary Secrets & Lies and who have now reteamed to land a nomination for Hard Truths, a drama about a woman struggling with severe depression and anger. That reality is a stark contrast to the vibrant, sometimes surreal filmmaking of Rose Glass’ (Saint Maud) second film, Love Lies Bleeding, a crime thriller about a female bodybuilder, and also to Northern Ireland’s breakout contender. Kneecap, which has an impressive six nominations, is a mostly Irish-language film about the Belfast-based Irish rappers of the same name, a fictionalised biography of the group that’s outrageously funny and ultimately quite profound.  

Kneecap could easily be in the mix too for its debut director, Rich Peppiatt, who’s nominated in the Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer category. That’s always a great place to spot your next favourite filmmaker, but particularly this year with nominations for extraordinary breakthrough talent. Luna Carmoon is nominated for the visceral, fascinating Hoard, the story of a troubled young woman who starts obsessively collecting trash. Then there’s Monkey Man, where British star Dev Patel (Lion, Slumdog Millionaire) made his writing and directing debut in a wildly stylish action movie; Santosh, a Hindu language crime drama from the newcomer team of writer-director Sandhya Suri and producers James Bowsher and Balthazar de Ganay; and comedy horror Sister Midnight from new writer-director Karan Kandhari.

In the Acting categories British and Irish nominees also made a strong showing. Cynthia Erivo (Widows, Drift) is a previous nominee for the Rising Star award; now she has not just risen but defied gravity in Wicked this year. She’ll be competing against that powerful, confronting turn by Marianne Jean-Baptiste in Hard Truths and Saoirse Ronan’s bracing, fearless work in The Outrun. In leading actor, Ralph Fiennes will be up against, among others, Hugh Grant (Paddington 2, Bridget Jones’s Diary) for his chilling turn in Heretic, a rare case of an awards body acknowledging a horror performance. Meanwhile Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything, The Aeronauts) will compete for Best Supporting Actress for The Brutalist. 

There are also the Rising Stars nominees. Previous winners include James McAvoy (Filth, His Dark Materials); Tom Hardy (Capone, Dunkirk) and Lashana Lynch (Casino Royale, Matilda: The Musical), so it’s a good indicator of future success. This year’s line-up includes Marisa Abela, who broke through this year in Back to Black, the Amy Winehouse biopic; David Jonsson, who led the delightful Rye Lane before this year’s Alien: Romulus; and Nabhaan Rizwan who appeared in 1917 and Mogul Mowgli and this year conquered TV as well in Kaos.  

Of course that’s only a handful of the great British and Irish talent at this year’s awards: there are also the likes of composer Robbie Carolan, nominated for Nosferatu; costume designer Jacqueline Durran, who’s nominated for the 11th time for Blitz after winning for Vera Drake and Anna Karenina in the past; casting director Nina Gold, who already won a special TV BAFTA for her work on the likes of Game of Thrones and won the very first Casting BAFTA for her work on The Two Popes. Funnily enough she’s nominated for more papal shenanigans this year on Conclave. 

The announcement this week was made by actor-director Will Sharpe (The Electric Life of Louis Wain), who also appears in one of the nominees, A Real Pain, and actor Mia McKenna-Bruce (How to Have Sex), who was last year’s Rising Star winner. We’ll learn about all the results on February 16 when David Tennant (Doctor Who, Good Omens) returns to host what will undoubtedly be a fun, funny and glamorous ceremony. Tune in to see the biggest and brightest of the film world take the stage and celebrate all that’s best in movies.