Anora and The Brutalist lead. This is great news for a couple of films on this list headed for the Oscars. The main reason is the close link between London and BAFTA and the close link between BAFTA and the Oscars. Long ago when I said The Substance should get a Best Director and Best Picture nominations a part of me thought it is just too graphic and violent for Oscar voters. But it seems to be hitting at exactly the right time. So that’s in.
Nickel Boys is also hitting its stride and RaMell Ross is a likely pick for Best Director, and Best Picture. The question with Nickel Boys is whether any of the actors will get in. I suspect, at the very least, a supporting nod for Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor.
Our Best Actor Five are all here. Cynthia Erivo is missing from Best Actress (though they put her in the body of work category). My guess is that where Wicked struggles is with the Brits, even though Erivo is a hometown girl. It might not be their thing. But who knows. Angelina Jolie also out. Saoirse Ronan finally lands somewhere for Best Actress for The Outrun.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste is in for Best Actress—so well deserved. What a performance. It’s not an easy sit, but one can’t help but come away impressed with her and the movie. Mike Leigh is such an underrated director; it should go without saying. He has given Jean-Baptiste a showcase performance that really does deserve an Oscar nom (I’ll be writing about Best Actress today).
All We Imagine As Light
Anora
The Brutalist
La Chimera
Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Kneecap
Nickel Boys
Nosferatu
The Substance
FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
All We Imagine As Light
La Chimera
Emilia Pérez
I’m Still Here
Kneecap
DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR
Dahomey
Grand Theft Hamlet
Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger
No Other Land
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
ANIMATED FEATURE OF THE YEAR
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot
BRITISH/IRISH FILM OF THE YEAR
Bird
Conclave
Hard Truths
Kneecap
Love Lies Bleeding
DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Sean Baker, Anora
Brady Corbet, The Brutalist
Coralie Fargeat, The Substance
RaMell Ross, Nickel Boys
Denis Villeneuve, Dune: Part Two
SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR
Sean Baker, Anora
Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold, The Brutalist
Jesse Eisenberg, A Real Pain
Coralie Fargeat, The Substance
Peter Straughan, Conclave
ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Hard Truths
Nicole Kidman, Babygirl
Mikey Madison, Anora
Demi Moore, The Substance
Saoirse Ronan, The Outrun
ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
Daniel Craig, Queer
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes, Conclave
SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR
Michele Austin, Hard Truths
Danielle Deadwyler, The Piano Lesson
Margaret Qualley, The Substance
Isabella Rossellini, Conclave
Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez
SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR
Yura Borisov, Anora
Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice
Denzel Washington, Gladiator II
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMER
Marisa Abela, Back to Black
Nykiya Adams, Bird
Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison, Anora
Maisy Stella, My Old Ass
BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH/IRISH FILMMAKER (The Philip French Award)
Luna Carmoon, Hoard
Naqqash Khalid, In Camera
Amy Liptrot, The Outrun
Dev Patel, Monkey Man
Rich Peppiatt, Kneecap
BRITISH/IRISH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR (for body of work)
Cynthia Erivo, Drift/Wicked: Part I
Marianne Jean-Baptiste, The Book of Clarence/Hard Truths
Nicholas Hoult, Juror #2/Nosferatu/The Order
Josh O’Connor, La Chimera/Challengers/Lee
Saoirse Ronan, Blitz/The Outrun
YOUNG BRITISH/IRISH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
Nykiya Adams, Bird
Elliott Heffernan, Blitz
Raffey Cassidy, The Brutalist/Kensuke’s Kingdom
Dan Hough, Speak No Evil
Alisha Weir, Abigail/Buffalo Kids/Wicked Little Letters
BRITISH/IRISH SHORT FILM OF THE YEAR
Iranian Yellow Pages, directed by Anna Snowball
Karavidhe, directed by Eoin Doran
Push, directed by Elly Condron
Wander to Wonder, directed by Nina Gantz
We Beg to Differ, directed by Ruairi Bradley
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Anora, stunts, Manny Siverio, Christopher Colombo & Roberto Lopez
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, visual effects, Angus Bickerton
The Brutalist, production design, Judy Becker
A Complete Unknown, costumes, Arianne Phillips
Conclave, film editing, Nick Emerson
Dune: Part Two, visual effects, Paul Lambert
Emilia Pérez, music, Clément Ducol & Camille
Nickel Boys, cinematography, Jomo Fray
Nosferatu, cinematography, Jarin Blaschke
The Substance, makeup, Stéphanie Guillon & Pierre-Olivier Persin