‘Nomadland,’ ‘Rocks’ Lead Heavily Indie BAFTA Nominations

“Nomadland,” “The Father,” “The Mauritian,” “Promising Young Woman” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7” were nominated as the best films of 2020 at the EE British Academy Film Awards, which were announced on Tuesday in London.

The nominations were heavily weighted toward indie films and will likely bear only a passing resemblance to next week’s Academy Award nominations. They clearly showed the impact of last fall’s overhaul of the BAFTA voting process, a move that was designed to increase the diversity of its selections.

Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland” and Sarah Gavron’s “Rocks” led all films with seven nominations, with “Nomadland” the only film to be nominated in the Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay categories. Zhao was one of four female directing nominees alongside Shannon Murphy for “Babyteeth,” Jasmila Zbanic for “Quo Vadis, Aida?” and Sarah Gavron for “Rocks.” Those three became the first women nominated in the category, after only seven had received nominations in BAFTA’s 73-year history.

Also Read: BAFTA Overhauls Voting Rules to Increase Diversity of Film Awards

Other directing nominees were Thomas Vinterberg for “Another Round” and Lee Isaac Chung for “Minari.” The directing slate left out a number of formidable contenders, including David Fincher for “Mank,” Aaron Sorkin for “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” Paul Greengrass for “News of the World,” Regina King for “One Night in Miami” and Emerald Fennell for “Promising Young Woman.”

The acting categories were also notable for who wasn’t nominated. In Best Actress, the nominees included Bukky Bakray for “Rocks,” Radha Blank for “The Forty-Year-Old Version,” Wunmi Mosaku for “His House” and Alfre Woodard for “Clemency,” but did not include two of the Oscar front runners, Carey Mulligan for “Promising Young Woman” or Viola Davis for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Best Actor included Adarsh Gourav for “The White Tiger,” Mads Mikkelsen for “Another Round” and Tahar Rahim for “The Mauritanian,” but not Gary Oldman for “Mank.” And notable contenders in the supporting categories who were bypassed included Ellen Burstyn for “Pieces of a Woman,” Olivia Colman for “The Father,” Amanda Seyfried for “Mank” and Sacha Baron Cohen for “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”

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Among the acting favorites who did make the cut with BAFTA were Vanessa Kirby for “Pieces of a Woman,” Frances McDormand for “Nomadland,” Riz Ahmed for “Sound of Metal,” Chadwick Boseman for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” Anthony Hopkins for “The Father,” Maria Bakalova for “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” Daniel Kaluuya for “Judas and the Black Messiah” and Leslie Odom Jr. for “One Night in Miami.”

First-time nominees account for 21 of the 24 acting nominees and four of the six directing nominees.

Also Read: Watch ‘Minari’ Star Alan Kim’s Tearful Critics Choice Awards Acceptance Speech (Video)

“The Father,” “Mank,” “Minari” and “Promising Young Woman” finished just behind “Nomadland” and “Rocks” with six nominations each, while “The Dig” and “The Mauritanian” received five. “Another Round,” “Calm With Horses,” “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “News of the World” and “Sound of Metal” each received four.

In most categories, voters from specific BAFTA chapters selected the nominees from a shortlist of 10-20 films with the help of juries. In some categories, including Best Director and the acting categories, a jury also selected the nominees. Voters were required to see all the films on the longlist before voting in a category, with the number of nominees expanded from five to six in the acting and directing categories and from five to 10 in the Outstanding British Film category.

The expansion of categories and the use of juries rather than general voters will make this year’s nominations a far less reliable Oscar predictor than usual. In the past, the two groups overlapped to a significant degree: Last year, for instance, in 16 categories common to both shows, 70 of the 80 BAFTA nominees went on to receive Oscar nominations, with four or five BAFTA nominees in each category repeating their success with Oscar voters. (This does not include the animated feature, documentary and Best Film Not in the English Language categories, which draw from different slates of qualifying films.) Five categories, including Best Director, Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay, were exact matches between the two shows.

The EE British Academy Film Awards will be presented at two virtual shows from the Royal Albert Hall in London, the first taking place on Saturday, April 10 and the second on Sunday, April 11. The April 10 show will be devoted to the craft categories.

The nominees:

BEST FILMThe FatherThe MauritanianNomadlandPromising Young WomanThe Trial of the Chicago 7

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILMCalm With HorsesThe DigThe FatherHis HouseLimboThe MauritanianMisbehaviourMogul MowgliPromising Young WomanRocksSaint Maud

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH ACTOR, DIRECTOR OR WRITERHis House, Remi WeekesLimbo, Ben Sharrock and Irune GurtabiMoffie, Jack SideyRocks, Theresa Ikoko, Claire WilsonSaint Maud, Rose Glass

FILM NOT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGEAnother RoundDear Comrades!Les MisérablesThe Life AheadMinariQuo Vadis, Aida?

DOCUMENTARYCollectiveDavid Attenborough: A Life on Our PlanetDick Johnson is DeadThe DissidentMy Octopus TeacherThe Social Dilemma

ANIMATED FILMOnwardSoulWolfwalkers

DIRECTORAnother Round, Thomas VinterbergBabyteeth, Shannon MurphyMinari, Lee Isaac ChungNomadland, Chloe ZhaoQuo Vadis, Aida?, Jasmila ZbanicRocks, Sarah Gavron

LEADING ACTRESSBukky Bakray, RocksRadha Blank, The Forty-Year-Old VersionVanessa Kirby, Pieces of a WomanFrances McDormand, NomadlandWunmi Mosaku, His HouseAlfre Woodard, Clemency

LEADING ACTORRiz Ahmed, Sound of MetalChadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black BottomAdarsh Gourav, The White TigerAnthony Hopkins, The FatherMads Mikkelsen, Another RoundTahar Rahim, The Mauritanian

SUPPORTING ACTRESSNiamh Algar, Calm With HorsesKosar Ali, RocksMaria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent MoviefilmDominique Fishback, Judas and the Black MessiahAshley Madekwe, County LinesYuh-Jung Youn, Minari

SUPPORTING ACTORDaniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black MessiahBarry Keoghan, Calm With HorsesAlan Kim, MinariLeslie Odom Jr., One Night In Miami…Clarke Peters, Da 5 BloodsPaul Raci, Sound of Metal

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAYAnother RoundMankPromising Young WomanRocksThe Trial of the Chicago 7

ADAPTED SCREENPLAYThe DigThe FatherThe MauritanianNomadlandThe White Tiger

CASTINGCalm With HorsesJudas and the Black MessiahMinariPromising Young WomanRocks

CINEMATOGRAPHYJudas and the Black MessiahMankThe MauritanianNews of the WorldNomadland

COSTUME DESIGNAmmoniteThe DigEmma.Ma Rainey’s Black BottomMank

EDITINGThe FatherNomadlandPromising Young WomanThe Trial of the Chicago 7

MAKE UP & HAIRThe DigHillbilly ElegyMa Rainey’s Black BottomMankPinocchio

ORIGINAL SCOREMankMinariNews of the WorldPromising Young WomanSoul

PRODUCTION DESIGNThe DigThe FatherMankNews of the WorldRebecca

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTSGreyhoundThe Midnight SkyMulanThe One and Only IvanTenet

SOUNDGreyhoundNews of the WorldNomadlandSoulSound of Metal

BRITISH SHORT ANIMATIONThe Fire Next TimeThe Owl and the PussycatThe Song of A Lost Boy

BRITISH SHORT FILMEyelashLizardLucky BreakMiss CurvyThe Present

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