Bafta film awards 2022

By: Sarin Istanboulli, Arts and Entertainment Editor, The Pawprint

Epic science fiction film Dune, which stars Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya, has the most nominations for this year’s Bafta Film Awards, with eleven nominations. This year, the ceremony will be at the Royal Albert Hall, on Sunday, March 13, 2022. 

The top nominees are: 

• Dune – 11
• The Power of the Dog – 8
• Belfast – 6
• Licorice Pizza – 5
• No Time to Die – 5
• West Side Story -5
• After Love – 4
• Boiling Point -4
• Cyrano – 4
• Don’t Look Up – 4
• Passing – 4
• King Richard – 4

Best film recognitions:

Dune’s has the highest number of nominations on Thursday. It received recognition in many categories, which include, cinematography, visual effects, costume design, and make-up and hair. The movie is a sprawling story of power, murder, and betrayal which is set in the distant future, and was a box office hit when the film came out last year in the UK. The film made more than £20m. 

The other best film nominees are Leonardo DiCaprio’s disaster comedy Don’t Look Up, the comedy-drama Licorice Pizza, starring Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman, and the Power of the Dog. 

Who is in the acting categories?

Cumberbatch was nominated in the leading actor category and later had told PA news agency he was “deeply humbled and grateful”. “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,” he said. 

The UK actor will go against DiCaprio and King Richard star Will Smith for the leading actor award, as well as, another Brit Stephen Graham who had played an under pressure chef in Boiling Point. 

This will be Will Smith’s first Bafta nomination, for his role as Richard Williams, in the biographical drama. 

What about the Oscars?

Actors like Chalamet and Cumberbatch might have a dilemma over whether they want to attend the Bafta of the Critics Choice Award in Los Angeles, after being nominated for both awards. 

The Critics Choice Award was moved from January to the same day as the Bafta’s, which usually attracts an array of big-name nominees from the US, as well as, the UK. In January, Bafta had announced that they are not planning to have a satellite link-up with the Critics Choice Award. 

The Oscar nominations are going to be announced on Tuesday, before the Academy Award on the 27 of March. 

The final Oscar votings will begin four days after the Bafta as well as the Critics Choice ceremonies.