With awards season getting underway, there is a big focus on the Academy Awards - more commonly known as the BAFTA awards are also imminent and are hailed as being just as prestigious, with producers hoping their movies pick up multiple nods.
Hosted for the first time by Rebel Wilson, this year's awards are set for the 13th of March, and will be broadcast on the BBC in the UK and around the world too. As cinephiles wait to see which movies will come out on top, these are the most notable in 2022, receiving the largest number of nominations.
Don't Look Up (4)
Netflix has been making inroads into awards season for a number of years now and 2022 could be the streamer's most successful. Although The Power Of The Dog should be at the forefront of their successes, it would be wise not to ignore the comedy hit Don’t Look Up.
With a heavyweight cast including previous Oscar winners, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, in the lead roles, Adam McKay’s disaster comedy about a meteorite hurtling towards Earth and the planet's attitude towards it was one of the more divisive films of 2021. Despite a number of unpopular opinions about Don't Look Up on Reddit and social media platforms claiming the jokes and performances didn’t land - awards s weren’t in agreement and DiCaprio is likely a frontrunner to collect the Best Actor BAFTA he’s nominated for.
Boiling Point (4)
Whereas Boiling Point may be one of the most under-the-radar movies nominated for a BAFTA in 2022, it is perhaps one of the most impressive, having been filmed entirely as one complete shot.
Director Phillip Barantini gracefully tracks the heat and pressure of a professional kitchen, along with the ups and downs of head chef Andy Jones - played by Best Actor nominee Stephen Graham. A unique entry for the 2022 BAFTA’s as the only film completed in one single take - its nomination for Best British Film is extremely worthy and could be a shock winner.
Cyrano (4)
Bringing Erica Schmidt’s 2018 stage play to the big screen, British director Joe Wright - working from Schmidt's screenplay - adapts the much-told love triangle for a new audience.
Starring Game of Thrones' Peter Dinklage as the legendary Cyrano De Bergerac - reprising his role from the stage musical alongside co-star Haley Bennett, the latest adaptation sadly failed to pick up nominations for any of its cast. Despite a number of technical award nominations, the crew hope that Cyrano could take home the Outstanding British Movie award.
After Love (4)
Aleem Khan’s directorial debut was an instant hit with critics and audiences on release in the summer of 2021 in the UK. With a 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes, the British/French-made movie became one of the most talked-about of 2021 and has been nominated for the Best British Movie BAFTA.
Best Actress nominee Joanna Scanlan, who plays the widow at the center of the movie, has been tipped to win a category that also includes Tessa Thompson, Lady Gaga, and first-time nominee, Alana Haim, although many will be watching the Outstanding Debut category and the Best Director category, where Khan goes up against Jane Campion.
Licorice Pizza (5)
Multi-time BAFTA-nominated Paul Thomas Anderson's coming-of-age drama wowed critics in late 2021. It features an all-star cast including Academy Award winner Bradley Cooper, rising star Cooper Hoffman and first-time actress, pop star Alana Haim.
Despite being a serial nominee at the BAFTA's, Anderson is yet to secure the Best Director award, however with the buzz for this movie going into awards season and also the lack of Dune's Denis Villeneuve, this could be a big chance to correct that record. More impressively, Alan Haim's debut has been rewarded with a Best Actress nomination, and with arguably one of the best pop star performances in a movie, a victory here would be very newsworthy indeed.
No Time To Die (5)
Daniel Craig's final James Bond movie was always going to be noteworthy. It's the 25th film in the series, Daniel Craig's last movie as Bond, and one which was delayed for a long time due to the pandemic. Seemingly besieged by issues from the get-go, from Danny Boyle's departure to Daniel Craig's on-set injury, it appeared that No Time To Die was cursed.
Concluding the story arc started in 2006's Casino Royale, No Time To Die wrapped up the SPECTRE-infused storyline in big, explosive fashion and provided an ending that fans did not see coming. Hailed by many as one of the best James Bond movies of the modern era, No Time To Die also introduced Lashana Lynch as a new 00 agent, Ana De Armas, and saw Cristoph Waltz reprise his stellar turn as Blofeld. The movie could be the most successful Bond film when it comes to award wins, with nominations for Cinematography and Outstanding British Film marking the end of the Craig-Bond era in success.
West Side Story (5)
Steven Spielberg turned in a movie that many did not expect, a big-budget version of the Broadway classic, West Side Story. Bringing together a cast of movie and stage superstars, Spielberg brought the late 50s stage hit up to date and was hailed as one of 2021’s genuine cinematic surprises.
Musicals and Broadway shows brought onto the big screen can cause controversy. Much like an adaptation of a well-loved novel, they sometimes fail to meet expectations. With West Side Story, Spielberg wowed critics and converted dubious fans of the source material as the film debuted to rave reviews. The ensemble cast formed featuring Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zeigler impressed the BAFTA enough to award them a Best Casting nod, however individual success may be seen for Mike Faist and Ariana Debose - nominated for Best ing Actor and Actress, respectively.
Belfast (6)
Having the opportunity to tell a deeply personal story is something that all filmmakers dream of, and with Belfast, Sir Kenneth Brannagh had the chance to document his life growing up as part of a working-class family in late 60s Northern Ireland with his heavily nominated semi-autobiographical tale.
The late '60s were a difficult time in the history of Northern Ireland as it was the time of the infamous "Troubles," and Sir Brannagh captures the tension of the time in this star-studded movie which he also directed. Alongside Jamie Dornan and Ciaran Hinds, Belfast stars previous BAFTA winner Dame Judi Dench rounding off the heavyweight cast. Sir Brannagh knew that Belfast would spark strong emotions in viewers and he told Belfast Live: "I hope that there is humor and I hope that it’s emotional. It’s a look at a people and a place in tumult through the eyes of a nine-year-old movie-mad kid."
The Power Of The Dog (8)
In the rapidly changing world of movie consumption, tentpole releases produced and released on streaming platforms for home viewing ( either alongside or ahead of cinema release) are finally beginning to earn awards nominations, and The Power Of The Dog could be 2022's biggest streaming winner. Adapted from the powerful novel by Thomas Savage, The Netflix Western starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, and Jesse Plemons, and featuring a breakout performance from Kodi Smit-Mhee, has gained praise for its tackling of LGBTQ+ issues and family drama.
Nominations came in for Best Director for Jane Campion, as well as Best Picture. There was also a Best Actor nod for Benedict Cumberbatch, who said, "The journey to play Phil Burbank took me a long way from anything familiar to me and this recognition of that work feels like completing the circle and coming home," as reported in The Belfast Telegraph.
Dune (11)
One of the most highly anticipated movies of 2021, Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of Frank Herbert's sci-fi book, Dune, had a lot to live up to. With a dedicated fanbase, expectations were high for Villeneuve's version of the Spice wars following David Lynch's 1980s movie. Featuring an all-star cast lead by Timothee Chalomet, Zendaya, Dave Bautista, and Oscar Issac, the cinematic epic was praised by critics upon arrival, Dune was a hit at the box office too, grossing circa $400 million to date.
Picking up 10 nominations at this year's Oscars, Dune went one better at the BAFTA's with 11, including Best Picture, Actor, and Actress - although much like the Oscars, Villeneuve missed out on a Best Director nomination at the BAFTAs too.
