Sci-fi adventure leads Bafta awards with 11 nominations
SCI-FI EPIC Dune and the Western drama The Power of the Dog lead the nominations for this year’s Bafta film awards.
Dune, directed by Denis Villeneuve and based on Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel, featured a starstudded cast including Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson and Oscar Isaac and has received the most nominations overall with 11, including original score, casting, cinematography and best film.
New Zealand director Jane Campion’s dark Western, The Power of the Dog, received eight nominations, among them best director and best film.
Benedict Cumberbatch, who stars as a gritty rancher, is nominated in the leading actor category, with co-stars Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee nominated as best supporting actor.
Other supporting actor nominees include Mike Faist (West Side Story), Ciaran Hinds (Belfast), Troy Kotsur for Coda and 11-year-old Woody Norman for C’mon C’mon.
Hollywood star Will Smith is among the first-time nominees in the performance categories, with a leading actor nomination for his role in King Richard, in which
he stars as the father of tennis champions Serena and Venus Williams.
Also nominated in the leading actor category are Mahershala Ali for Swan Song, Adeel Akhtar for Ali & Ava, Leonardo DiCaprio for Don’t Look Up and Stephen Graham
for Boiling Point. Sir Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical Belfast, starring Jude Hill, Jamie Dornan and Caitriona Balfe and which focuses on the Troubles in Northern Ireland, has six nominations, among them best film.
Reacting to the film’s nominations, which also included outstanding British film and original screenplay, Sir Kenneth said it was “an amazing tribute to a remarkable part of the world”.
He added: “This news on top of the incredible box office support from UK cinema audiences is truly fantastic.”
Actress Caitriona Balfe is nominated in the supporting actress category for her role in Belfast, with Jessie Buckley for The Lost Daughter, Ariana DeBose for West Side Story, Ann Dowd for Mass, Aunjanue Ellis for King Richard and Ruth Negga for Passing.
Leading actress nominees include Lady Gaga for House of Gucci, Alana Haim for Licorice Pizza, Emilia Jones for Coda, Renate Reinsve for The Worst Person in the World, Joanna Scanlan for After Love and Tessa Thompson for Passing.
An amazing tribute to a remarkable part of the world.
Sir Kenneth Branagh’s reaction to the six nominations.