The British Academy of Film and Television Awards, or BAFTAs, as they are more commonly known, takes place on the 19th of February, and the successes that the winners achieve at the event in London’s Royal Festival Hall are usually seen as something of a pre-cursor for the Oscars, and as such it’s very much a measuring stick ahead of that event in Hollywood a month later.
The Baftas have been run since 1949, and as far as awards ceremonies are concerned, it’s undoubtedly one of the most prestigious on the circuit and a good barometer of what might do well at the Oscars.
The ceremony will be hosted by the always charming and downright hilarious Richard E. Grant, who tweeted following the announcement of this news by stating;
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be asked to host the ceremony… Being a star-struck Swazi boy, I can’t wait to meet my heroes and heroines.”
It will be broadcast live on BBC One in the UK.
So, who will triumph this year? Here are a few tips about just who might leave the venue with an award or two.
Award Favorites
The big favorite at this year’s BAFTAs comes in the form of a retelling of the classic anti-war novel All Quiet on the Western Front. An epic German production of the movie, which is on a grand scale and opts to create stunning visuals without the need to rely on stock footage to pull off an astonishing feat of filmmaking.
Directed by Edward Berger and released in the cinemas and via Netflix, the 2022 release has been nominated for an incredible 14 awards. Interestingly the last non-English movie to win the best film award at the Bafta awards was Roma, another movie that was backed by the streaming giant back in 2019.
This is the third major production based on the famous source material, the 1929 book by Erich Maria Remarque, with versions being released in 1930 and 1979. It is expected to win a great many of the awards it’s nominated for at the ceremony.
Then you have Everything Everywhere All at Once and The Banshees of Inisherin, both of which are nominated for ten awards.
Both films have proven very popular with critics and viewers alike and could be battling it out for a number of big prizes.
Elvis, by Aussie director Baz Luhrmann, has a whopping nine nominations. Tár is nominated in five categories, while Aftersun, The Batman, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, Top Gun: Maverick, and The Whale all have four nominations apiece.
Acting Plaudits
When it comes to the awards for best actor and actress categories, it looks like being a tight race, to say the least. In terms of actresses, it is strongly believed that Cate Blanchett will take the prize for leading actress for her superb role in Todd Field’s Tár, where she plays an American pianist and composer.
The Australian is no stranger to Bafta’s success, having previously won one in 1999, 2005, and 2014 for her roles in Elizabeth, The Aviator, and Blue Jasmine, respectively. Astoundingly she’s also found time to be nominated a further four times, making her latest nomination her eighth.
The race for the leading actor nod should be a tougher category to call, but Colin Farrell’s work in The Banshees of Inisherin is likely to be the leading contender, with Austin Butler’s portrayal of Elvis Presley set to push the Irishman hard for the award. However, it is distinctly possible that Brendan Fraser’s tour de force in The Whale might beat them both to the punch, such is the strength of his performance in Darren Aronofsky’s emotionally taut production.
In terms of supporting roles, The Banshees of Inisherin is likely to take both prizes for Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan, who both pretty much steal the show in Martin McDonagh’s excellent movie.
And the Big Winner Is…
Unlike many award ceremonies, the best film category has been reduced to just five movies, which will make it a very close-run thing, but we’d back All Quiet on the Western Front to take home the big prize.
Interestingly some movies that many would have predicted to get a decent amount of nominations failed to do so. Steven Spielberg was unable to get himself on the directorial shortlist for his movie The Fablemans, and the same is true of James Cameron, who might have expected to get some award-season love for his long-awaited Avatar sequel.
Avatar: The Way of Water is nominated for a number of technical awards and may be considered the favorite to win the special visual effects award on the night.
In other categories, we’d tip The Banshees of Inisherin to win the Outstanding British film award and McDonagh a likely winner in either the directing or original screenplay categories.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio is an almost sure winner in the animated film section, and one would imagine All Quiet on the Western Front would pick up the best-adapted screenplay prize, as well as for its excellent cinematography.
Whoever takes home the big prizes in London on February 19th may well want to get another acceptance speech prepared for the Oscars, which comes a month later from the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles on March 12th, as it’s very common for both academies to make similar selections.
