The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has unveiled its awards nominations, and they’re precisely the agents of chaos that many have been anticipating.
Only the second edition of the BAFTA Film Awards since the institute’s groundbreaking diversity review in 2020, this year’s nominations are full of surprises that reflect a shifting membership. While James Bond movie “No Time to Die,” which grossed $131 million at the U.K. box office, was expected to lead nominations, that honor instead goes to Denis Villeneuve’s epic sci-fi thriller “Dune,” which earned 11 nods, with many of those in technical categories.
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Jane Campion’s moody western “The Power of the Dog” scored eight nominations, while Kenneth Branagh’s personal coming-of-age drama “Belfast” received six. Daniel Craig’s swan song as Bond, “No Time to Die,” picked up five nods, alongside Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1970s-set “Licorice Pizza” and Steven Spielberg’s musical reboot “West Side Story.”
“The key thing to the whole review is making sure more work is seen by more voters and all the changes were geared to that because it’s about levelling the playing field,” BAFTA chair Krishnendu Majumdar tells Variety. “It’s not about stipulating quotas [in the nominations], because we didn’t feel that was was right and people didn’t want that. They want their work to be recognized.”
BAFTA has expanded its membership in a major recruitment drive over the last two years, and aims to hit 1,000 new members by 2023. Currently, there are 7,000 voting members within the wider membership. The org also introduced jury methods to the voting process in the performance and director categories last year — a move that in 2021 yielded an unexpected field of contenders and has done so again this year.
In the best actress field, Lady Gaga earned her second BAFTA nomination for “House of Gucci,” while Brits Joanna Scanlan (“After Love”) and Emilia Jones (“Coda) also earned nods alongside Alana Haim (“Licorice Pizza”) and Tessa Thompson (“Passing”). Breaking through in the category is Norwegian star Renate Reinsve, who’s nominated for her memorable turn in Joachim Trier’s “The Worst Person in the World” (which is also competing in the film not in the English language category).
Notably missing from the best actress race are Nicole Kidman (“Being The Ricardos”) and Olivia Colman (“The Lost Daughter”), both of whom were expected to be the top two contenders in the field, and particularly the latter Brit, who won the prize in 2019 for “The Favourite.” Another omission is Kristen Stewart (“Spencer”), whose Princess Diana evidently didn’t sway BAFTA voters.
Over in the best actor race, Benedict Cumberbatch is in the running for “The Power of the Dog,” while Stephen Graham earned his first BAFTA film nomination (he’s been nominated four times previously for BAFTA TV awards) for his tour de force performance as a harried chef in “Boiling Point.” Other nominees include Adeel Akhtar (“Ali & Ava”), Mahershala Ali (“Swan Song”) and Leonardo DiCaprio (“Don’t Look Up”), while Will Smith picked up his first BAFTA nomination ever for playing Richard Williams, the formidable father and manager of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams, in “King Richard.”
Missing out on a best actor nomination was Denzel Washington, whose take on Macbeth alongside Frances McDormand in “The Tragedy of Macbeth” couldn’t clinch the actor’s first BAFTA nod.
Over in the supporting actress race, nominees include Caitríona Balfe (“Belfast”), Jessie Buckley (“The Lost Daughter”), Ariana Debose (“West Side Story”), Ann Dowd (“Mass”), Aunjanue Ellis (“King Richard”) and Ruth Negga (“Passing”).
Meanwhile, all supporting actor nominees are first-timers at the BAFTAs. The group includes: Mike Faist (“West Side Story”), Ciarán Hinds (“Belfast”), Troy Kotsur (“Coda”), Woody Norman (“C’mon C’mon”), Jesse Plemons (“The Power of the Dog”) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”).
Nominations were revealed by presenter AJ Odudu and Tom Allen on Thursday at the refurbished BAFTA building in London.
This year’s awards span 48 films, just slightly down from the 50 titles in 2021. In the performance categories, 19 of 24 nominees are receiving their first BAFTA film nomination. Meanwhile, in the directing category, there’s an equal split between female and male directors — slightly down from last year, when four of six directors were female. Overall, there’s an increase in the number of female directors nominated in total across all categories, up to 12 versus the eight in 2021.
BAFTA says the number of female nominees in total has risen to 70, which is the highest in the last five years (when reporting began for the org).
Organizers tell Variety that the BAFTAs are planning for an in-person event on March 13 at Royal Albert Hall, where Rebel Wilson will make her hosting debut.
2022 BAFTA Film Award nominees are below:
Best Film
“Belfast”
“Don’t Look Up”
“Dune”
“Licorice Pizza”
“The Power of the Dog”
Outstanding British Film
“After Love”
“Ali & Ava”
“Belfast”
“Boiling Point”
“Cyrano”
“Everybody’s Talking About Jamie”
“House of Gucci”
“Last Night in Soho”
“No Time to Die”
“Passing”
Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer
“After Love” – Aleem Khan (Writer/Director)
“Boiling Point” – James Cummings (Writer), Hester Ruoff (Producer) [also written by Philip Barantini and Produced by Bart Ruspoli]
“The Harder They Fall” – Jeymes Samuel (Writer/director) [also written by Boaz Yakin]
“Keyboard Fantasies” – Posy Dixon (Writer/Director), Liv Proctor (Producer)
“Passing” – Rebecca Hall (Writer/Director)
Film Not in the English Language
“Drive My Car” – Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Teruhisa Yamamoto
“The Hand of God” – Paolo Sorrentino, Lorenzo Mieli
“Parallel Mothers” – Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar
“Petite Maman” – Céline Sciamma, Bénédicte Couvreur
“The Worst Person in the World” – Joachim Trier, Thomas Robsahm
Documentary
“Becoming Cousteau” – Liz Garbus, Dan Cogan
“Cow” – Andrea Arnold, Kat Mansoor
“Flee” – Jonas Poher Rasmussen. Monica Hellström
“The Rescue” – Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, John Battsek, P. J. Van Sandwijk
“Summer of Soul (or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” – Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, David Dinerstein, Robert Fyvolent, Joseph Patel
Animated Film
“Encanto” – Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino, Clarke Spencer
“Flee” – Jonas Poher Rasmussen. Monica Hellström
“Luca” – Enrico Casarosa, Andrea Warren
“The Mitchells Vs the Machines” – Mike Rianda, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
Director
“After Love” – Aleem Khan
“Drive My Car” – Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
“Happening” – Audrey Diwan
“Licorice Pizza” – Paul Thomas Anderson
“The Power of the Dog” – Jane Campion
“Titane” – Julia Ducournau
Original Screenplay
“Being the Ricardos” – Aaron Sorkin
“Belfast” – Kenneth Branagh
“Don’t Look Up” – Adam Mckay
“King Richard” – Zach Baylin
“Licorice Pizza” – Paul Thomas Anderson
Adapted Screenplay
“Coda” – Siân Heder
“Drive My Car” – Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
“Dune” – Denis Villeneuve
“The Lost Daughter” – Maggie Gyllenhaal
“The Power of the Dog” – Jane Campion
Leading Actress
Lady Gaga – “House of Gucci”
Alana Haim – “Licorice Pizza”
Emilia Jones – “Coda”
Renate Reinsve – “The Worst Person in the World”
Joanna Scanlan – “After Love”
Tessa Thompson – “Passing”
Leading Actor
Adeel Akhtar – “Ali & Ava”
Mahershala Ali – “Swan Song”
Benedict Cumberbatch – “The Power of the Dog”
Leonardo DiCaprio – “Don’t Look Up”
Stephen Graham – “Boiling Point”
Will Smith – “King Richard”
Supporting Actress
Caitríona Balfe – “Belfast”
Jessie Buckley – “The Lost Daughter”
Ariana Debose – “West Side Story”
Ann Dowd – “Mass”
Aunjanue Ellis – “King Richard”
Ruth Negga – “Passing”
Supporting Actor
Mike Faist – “West Side Story”
Ciarán Hinds – “Belfast”
Troy Kotsur – “Coda”
Woody Norman – “C’mon C’mon”
Jesse Plemons – “The Power of the Dog”
Kodi Smit-McPhee – “The Power of the Dog”
Original Score
“Being the Ricardos” – Daniel Pemberton
“Don’t Look Up” – Nicholas Britell
“Dune” – Hans Zimmer
“The French Dispatch” – Alexandre Desplat
“The Power of the Dog” – Jonny Greenwood
Casting
“Boiling Point” – Carolyn Mcleod
“Dune” – Francine Maisler
“The Hand of God” – Massimo Appolloni, Annamaria Sambucco
“King Richard” – Rich Delia, Avy Kaufman
“West Side Story” – Cindy Tolan
Cinematography
“Dune” – Greig Fraser
“Nightmare Alley” – Dan Laustsen
“No Time to Die” – Linus Sandgren
“The Power of the Dog” – Ari Wegner
“The Tragedy of Macbeth” – Bruno Delbonnel
Editing
“Belfast” – Úna Ní Dhonghaíle
“Dune” – Joe Walker
“Licorice Pizza” – Andy Jurgensen
“No Time to Die” – Tom Cross, Elliot Graham
“Summer of Soul (or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” – Joshua L. Pearson
Production Design
“Cyrano” – Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
“Dune” – Patrice Vermette, Zsuzsanna Sipos
“The French Dispatch” – Adam Stockhausen, Rena Deangelo
“Nightmare Alley” – Tamara Deverell, Shane Vieau
“West Side Story” – Adam Stockhausen, Rena Deangelo
Costume Design
“Cruella” – Jenny Beavan
“Cyrano” – Massimo Cantini Parrini
“Dune” – Robert Morgan, Jacqueline West
“The French Dispatch” – Milena Canonero
“Nightmare Alley” – Luis Sequeira
Make Up & Hair
“Cruella” – Nadia Stacey, Naomi Donne
“Cyrano” – Alessandro Bertolazzi, Siân Miller
“Dune” – Love Larson, Donald Mowat
“The Eyes of Tammy Faye” – Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram, Justin Raleigh
“House of Gucci” – Frederic Aspiras, Jane Carboni, Giuliano Mariana, Sarah Nicole Tanno
Sound
“Dune” – Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Doug Hemphill, Theo Green, Ron Bartlett
“Last Night in Soho” – Colin Nicolson, Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin, Dan Morgan
“No Time to Die” – James Harrison, Simon Hayes, Paul Massey, Oliver Tarney, Mark Taylor
“A Quiet Place Part II” – Erik Aadahl, Michael Barosky, Brandon Proctor, Ethan Van Der Ryn
“West Side Story” – Brian Chumney, Tod Maitland, Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom
Special Visual Effects
“Dune” – Brian Connor, Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Gerd Nefzer
“Free Guy” – Swen Gillberg, Brian Grill, Nikos Kalaitzidis, Daniel Sudick
“Ghostbusters: Afterlife” – Aharon Bourland, Sheena Duggal, Pier Lefebvre, Alessandro Ongaro
“The Matrix Resurrections” – Tom Debenham, Hew J Evans, Dan Glass, J. D. Schwaim
“No Time to Die” – Mark Bokowski, Chris Corbould, Joel Green, Charlie Noble
British Short Animation
“Affairs of the Art” – Joanna Quinn, Les Mills
“Do Not Feed the Pigeons” – Jordi Morera
“Night of the Living Dread” – Ida Melum, Danielle Goff, Laura Jayne Tunbridge, Hannah Kelso
British Short Film
“The Black Cop” – Cherish Oteka
“Femme” – Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon Ping, Sam Ritzenberg, Hayley Williams
“The Palace” – Jo Prichard
“Stuffed” – Theo Rhys, Joss Holden-rea
“Three Meetings of the Extraordinary Committee” – Michael Woodward, Max Barron, Daniel Wheldon
EE Rising Star Award (Voted for by the Public)
Ariana Debose
Harris Dickinson
Lashana Lynch
Millicent Simmonds
Kodi Smit-McPhee
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