BAFTA 2022 nominations favor blockbusters and diversity

The 75th anniversary of BAFTA will be celebrated in style. There is a welcome, diverse list of films and names - those in front of the camera, and those behind it. A shift in the industry has been reflected by the nominations.

The nominees were announced on Thursday 3rd February 2022 by red carpet hosts, AJ Odudu and Tom Allen. They really do celebrate the very best in film over the past year.

There is also a mood shift this year, surely something that has come out after the world slowly gets over the pandemic. Blockbusters seem to be the voters’ favourites with ‘Dune’ receiving 11 nominations and the ‘No Time to Die’, Daniel Craig’s final portrayal of ‘Bond’, with 5.

Photo: 'Dune' / Legendary Pictures

Diversity is key this year. Three out of the six directors nominated are female, leaving out big names like Spielberg and Branagh. ‘Power of the Dog’, which has received 8 nominations in total, is about toxic masculinity, which pulls a focus on many issues that have been circulating around Hollywood. This year, there is the highest number of women nominated, ever.

(Photo: Jane Campion and Julia Ducournau)

Jane Campion (pictured) has been praised for her film, ‘Power of the Dog’ and is expected to be praised further with a win. Audrey Diwan (Happening) and Julia Ducournau (Titane) are the other two females joining her in this category.

Paul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza) is no stranger to award nominations - or wins. He was nominated for Director in 2008 with the marvellous ‘There Will Be Blood’. He has already won the Atlanta Film Critics Circle award for best screenplay for ‘Licorice Pizza’. Aleem Khan (After Love) and Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (Drive My Car) join the other nominees.

Photo: 'Licorice Pizza'(MGM)

The only surprising nomination in this category is that the critically acclaimed ‘West Side Story’ didn’t make the cut. ‘Dune’ has swept the floor with nominations and this sci-fi film is up for the best film award. It may be serious, but it is most definitely a blockbuster - an unexpected preference for BAFTA.

Photo: 'Dune' / Legendary Pictures

‘Belfast’, ‘Don’t Look Up’, ‘Licorice Pizza’ and ‘Power of the Dog’ join ‘Dune’ as the nominees for one of the most desirable categories: Best Film.

Photo: 'Belfast' / Northern Ireland Screen; TKBC

The extent of talent in this category puts British film firmly on the scene. There is no better word to describe these nominees than ‘outstanding’. The musical ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ is in the mix, as well as Bond’s ‘No Time To Die’. The Bond film, ‘Skyfall’ won the award in 2013.

Photo: 'Everybody Loves Jamie' / Film 4

‘After Love’, ‘Ali & Ava’, ‘Belfast’, ‘Boiling Point’, ‘Cyrano’, ‘House of Gucci’, ‘Last Night in Soho’ and ‘Passing’ join ‘No Time to Die’ and ‘Everybody’s Talking about Jamie’ as the nominees for this category.

Photo: 'No Time to Die' / MGM

Alana Haim is up for her first BAFTA, whilst Lady Gaga is back with a second nomination in this category - her first being in 2019 for ‘A Star is Born’. Lady Gaga is looking to pick up this award in 2022 with her incredible performance in ‘House of Gucci’, where the singer/actress is barely recognisable in her role.

Photo: 'House of Gucci' / MGM

Emilia Jones (pictured) has generated a lot of interest for ‘CODA’, already winning a Hollywood Critics Association Film Awards nomination for Best Actress. Lady Gaga (House of Gucci), Alana Haim (Licorice Pizza), Renate Reinsve (The Worst Person in the World), Joanna Scanlan (After Love) and Tessa Thompson (Passing) also join Jones in the runnings for leading actress at this year’s BAFTAs.

This year, 19 of the 24 nominees are first time BAFTA nominees, including Will Smith (pictured) for his portrayal of Richard Williams. The father of Serena and Venus Williams who achieved the dream of making his daughters into tennis stars.

As well as Will Smith, the other nominations in this category see some big names, such as Leonardo DiCaprio (Don’t Look Up) and Benedict Cumberbatch (Power of the Dog), but also Adeel Akhtar (Ali & Ava), Mahershala Ali (Swan Song), who is best known for his outstanding performance in ‘Green Book’ (2018) and Stephen Graham from his role in ‘Boiling Point’.

Pictured: Mahershala Ali

Ariana Debose (pictured) has flown onto the scene, making her mark on the movie industry with her portrayal of Anita in ‘West Side Story’. This actress has also received the coveted nomination for the EE Rising Star Award.

‘Belfast’ gets another nod in this category with Irish actress Caitríona Balfe (pictured), who many recognise from ‘Outlander’. She is joined by Ariana Debose (West Side Story), Jessie Buckley (The Lost Daughter), Ann Dowd (Mass), Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard) and Ruth Negga (Passing) as nominees in this category.

This category sees newcomer Woody Norman (C’mon C’mon) being given a nod for his performance in this intimate, black-and-white film. He is only eleven years old, playing alongside Joaquin Phoenix and going places, it seems.

'West Side Story' gets another nod in this category with Mike Faist (pictured) - nominated for his role as Riff in the Spielberg remake. He’s joined by 11 year old Woody Norman (C’mon C’mon), Ciarán Hinds (Belfast), Troy Kotsur (CODA), Jesse Pelmons (The Power of the Dog) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (also The Power of the Dog).

Almodóvar (pictured in 2003) returns to BAFTA with his film, 'Parallel Mothers' (Spanish). The other nominations in this category are: 'Drive My Car' (Japanese), 'The Hand of God' (Italian), 'Petite Maman' (French) and 'The Worst person in the World' (Norwegian).

Diversity in documentaries, also. 'Cow', which hopes to acknowledge the service of the dairy animal, has joined 'Becoming Cousteau', 'Flee', 'The Rescue' and 'Summer of Soul (or, when the evolution could not be televised)' in the list of nominations.

Photo: 'Cow' / BBC Film

The wonderful 'Encanto', set in rural Columbia, with shining morals and an incredible soundtrack, has joined 'Flee', 'Luca' and 'The Mitchells VS The Machines' in the animated film category.

Photo: 'Encanto' / Walt Disney Pictures

The awarding of this year's BAFTAs will take place on Sunday 13 March at London’s iconic Royal Albert Hall. The Awards will be broadcast exclusively on BBC One, BBC One HD and BBC iPlayer that evening, with live red carpet coverage on BAFTA’s social channels beforehand.

Photo: Prince William and Duchess Catherine at the 2020 BAFTAs

The ceremony will be hosted by Rebel Wilson (pictured), with AJ Odudu and Tom Allen hosting the red carpet show.