LONDON – TO BE UPDATED AT 0500GMT SUNDAY
The riveting political thriller “One Battle After Another” and the soulful epic “Sinners” are neck and neck as they vie for top honors at Sunday’s British Academy Film Awards, each striving to dominate this award season.
While bookmakers see these films as front-runners, there is speculation that the Shakespearean-inspired drama “Hamnet” might surprise everyone and snag the best picture award. This could happen if voters within the British film industry are swayed by the film’s emotionally powerful narrative, its vivid portrayal of English life, and the compelling performances delivered in Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s historical novel.
“One Battle” stands out with 14 nominations, including best picture, and has seen five of its actors recognized for their performances. Hot on its heels, “Sinners” boasts 13 nominations. Meanwhile, “Hamnet” and the unique sports saga “Marty Supreme” each have secured 11 nods.
Elsewhere, Guillermo del Toro’s fresh take on “Frankenstein” and the Norwegian family drama “Sentimental Value” have both received eight nominations.
Known as the EE BAFTA Film Awards, these British accolades often serve as a precursor to predicting Oscar winners, with the Academy Awards set for March 15 this year. “Sinners” is leading the Oscars race with an unprecedented 16 nominations, closely followed by “One Battle After Another” with 13.
Stars including Emma Stone, Cillian Murphy, Glenn Close and Ethan Hawke are expected on the red carpet outside London’s Royal Festival Hall before a black-tie ceremony hosted by Scottish actor Alan Cumming.
Cumming, who hosts the U.S. version of reality show “The Traitors,” pledged to strike a “balance between celebration and mischief.”
The BAFTA best film nominees are “One Battle After Another,” “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme,” “Sinners” and “Sentimental Value.” The BAFTAs also have a distinctly British accent, with a separate category for best British film. Its 10 nominees include “The Ballad of Wallis Island,” “Pillion,” “I Swear” and “Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy.”
Directing contenders are Paul Thomas Anderson for “One Battle,” Josh Safdie for “Marty Supreme,” Ryan Coogler for “Sinners,” Yorgos Lanthimos for dystopian tragicomedy “Bugonia,” Joachim Trier for “Sentimental Value” and Zhao for “Hamnet.” Zhao will be the first female director to win two BAFTAs if she takes the prize. She won the directing award in 2021 for “Nomadland.”
Best leading actor nominees are bookies’ favorite Timothée Chalamet for “Marty Supreme,” Leonardo DiCaprio for “One Battle After Another,” Ethan Hawke for Broadway biopic “Blue Moon,” Michael B. Jordan for “Sinners,” Jesse Plemons for “Bugonia” and Robert Aramayo for playing a man with Tourette’s syndrome in biographical drama “I Swear.”
The leading actress category includes the strongly favored Jessie Buckley for her performance as Agnes Hathaway, wife of William Shakespeare, in “Hamnet.” She’s up against Rose Byrne for “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” Kate Hudson for “Song Sung Blue,” Chase Infiniti for “One Battle After Another,” Renate Reinsve for “Sentimental Value” and Emma Stone for “Bugonia.”
“One Battle” actors Teyana Taylor, Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn are all nominated for supporting performances.
The Associated Press was recognized in the best documentary category with a nomination for Mstyslav Chernov’s harrowing Ukraine war portrait “2000 Meters to Andriivka, ” co-produced by the AP and Frontline PBS.
Most BAFTA winners are chosen by 8,500 members of the U.K. academy of industry professionals. Contenders for the Rising Star award – the only prize decided by public vote and a reliable picker of future A-listers – are Infiniti, Aramayo, “Sinners” star Miles Caton and British actors Archie Madekwe and Posy Sterling.
Donna Langley, the U.K.-born chairwoman of NBCUniversal Entertainment, will be awarded the British Academy’s highest honor, the BAFTA fellowship.
The ceremony airs on BBC in the United Kingdom starting at 1900GMT (2 p.m. EST) and on E! in the U.S. at 2000EST.
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