Movies that made it to BAFTAs nominations

Movies that made it to BAFTAs nominations

Date: 17/02/23

Author: Anthony Harrison

Drum roll... This Sunday, on the 19th of February, we have witnessed the most talked about The British Academy Film Awards, or more commonly known as BAFTAs. Keeping to the true traditions of anything British and Royal, BAFTAs have been around since 1949, with the ceremony broadcasted to radios on BBC channel, held in spring.  

In March 1976, Her Majesty the Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh have generously gifted their share of profits to the Society from Richard Cawston's documentary film called “Royal Family” to BAFTA. This allowed for the organisation to move into their new headquarters in 195 Piccadilly. The Queen has been a great support for the creative industries her whole life and was in close association with BAFTAs for 50 years. 

(Source: Gert’s Royals on Twitter. Link)

 

The history behind BAFTAs: 

The British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) is a highly prestigious event taking place annually, rewarding British Film, Actors, Actresses, Directors and more. The award is not exclusive to the British nationals but is exclusive to British Film. For the rest of the year BAFTAs is a prominent charity mainly working in UK, USA and Asia, educating people through various methods, ranging from workshops and classes to scholarships and mentoring. It is similar to the Oscars but was born and nurtured to success in the Foggy Albion. 

 

BAFTAs’ 2023 movie nominees: 

Brian and Charles (2022) - Nominated for: Outstanding British film 

Genre: Comedy 

Cast: David Earl, Chris Hayward, Louise Brealey 

It is not often that we are presented with comedies at movie awards, but this is an exception I think many of us have been yarning for following the struggles we all faced in some ways for the past three years. Meet Brian, a quirky man of rural Wales filling out his days with curious inventions, which don’t always work out. He embarks on a journey to create his most complicated project so far – an artificial intelligence robot called Charles. This is a heartwarming story about most human emotions and experiences - loneliness, friendship, family, finding love, and letting go. 

Turning Red (2022) - Nominated for: Best Animated Film  

Genres: Family/Comedy   

Cast: Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Rosalie Chiang, Sandra Oh 

From the creators of “Inside Out”, our top suppliers of children's (and adults’) joy and laughter, Disney and Pixar, have teamed up to bring us another animated coming of age story. Mei Lee is struggling to keep pulling on both ends of the rope – be an obedient daughter and a dorky teenager that she is with her friends. The story is an allegory to growing up by “poofing” the main character into a giant red panda whenever she feels stressed... which is, let’s be honest, unavoidable with raging hormones of a 13-year-old! 

Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical (2022) - Nominated for: Outstanding British film 

Genres: Musical/Fantasy 

Cast: Emma Thompson, Alisha Weir, Lashana Lynch 

Shipped off to boarding school with a children-hating supervisor, Matilda is left to her own imagination running wild and free trying to carve out a space for herself in the brutal world while retaining her loud personality. Don’t know about you, but this sounds a bit like my story too! Matilda loves to lose herself on the pages of her beloved books, but will she find true friendship in the real world and not get her wings cut? 

The Batman (2022) - Nominated for: Cinematography 

Genres: Action/Drama 

Cast: Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Colin Farrell 

After keeping peace for two years in the smog-filled, rotten city of Gotham, Bruce Wayne carries a great responsibility on his shoulders as the only defender of the city. With the new killer on the loose targeting the elite, Batman goes on to the underworld investigation, meeting the characters we know well - Selina Kyle, (Catwoman), Oswald Cobblepot (Penguin), Carmine Falcone, and Edward Nashton (the Riddler). On a side note, we get 176 min worth of heartthrobs for all genders – Robert and Zoë... wink-wink. 

Argentina, 1985 (2022) - Nominated for: Film not in the English language  

Genres: Drama/Costume drama 

Cast: Ricardo Darín, Peter Lanzani, Alejandra Flechner 

Following one of the most compelling trials, David-vs-Goliath's battle for the prosecution of The Juntas, Argentina’s bloodiest military dictatorship. A very heavy piece of history is presented with such grace, due to the efforts of the director and actors. 

The Quiet Girl (2022) - Nominated for: Film not in the English language  

Genre: Drama 

Cast: Catherine Clinch, Carrie Crowley, Andrew Bennett 

At first, I saw this movie and thought “God, another drama with miserable characters’ lives” but I soon realised I was wrong. In 1981 a little girl gets sent away from her neglecting family to a rural Ireland to live with her foster parents for the summer. She struggles to open up emotionally, so she is introduced as “the quiet one”. She also finds it hard to form a bond and understanding with the estranged foster father, but we soon realise he too has a heavy heart, and they might not be so different. 

Moonage Daydream (2022) - Nominated for: Best Documentary 

Genres: Documentary/Musical 

Cast: David Bowie (archive footage), Trevor Bolder (archive footage), Ken Fordham (archive footage) 

Following the life of a truly revolutionary and genius musician and actor Dawid Bowie, we get to see just how forward-thinking he was and a true man of art, exploring it in all its forms in his life: dance, painting, screenwriting, acting, live theatre and a lot more... This documentary is not made in a traditional documentaries way - family and friends talking about the main character. Instead, this watches more like a film about his life, with Bowie’s archived footage bringing the illusion of us standing there with him. 

Navalny (2021) - Winner of: Best Documentary  

Genre: Documentary 

Cast: Alexei Navalny, Yulia Navalnaya, Dasha Navalnaya 

Fighting corruption, one of Russia’s many unbreakable notions and the foundation modern Russia was built upon, Alexei Navalny dedicates his life to taking down the power from the hands of Putin, until he reaches him personally. Navalny isn’t afraid to give his life for what he believes in and wants a bright future for the upcoming young generations of citizens and a future for Russians as a whole. After his failed assassination in 2020, he investigates the story behind it and decides to return home. His brave actions open the eyes of those that have shut them and speaks the truth even from behind the bars. 

She Said (2022) - Nominated for: Best Adapted Screenplay  

Genres: Drama/Biography 

Cast: Carey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, Patricia Clarkson 

We give power to the words we are afraid to speak. Based on the New York Times investigation, we follow a true story of Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor who wish to bring justice for the sexually assaulted women in Hollywood by giving them the chance to speak up and reclaim their power. A truly emotional journey and trauma uncovering, healing. 

Tár (2022) - Nominated for: Best film 

Genres: Drama/Psychological 

Cast: Cate Blanchett, Noémie Merlant, Sophie Kauer 

Todd Field brings yet another powerful drama to our screens, exploring the dynamics of a pianist and composer tangled mind. Everything in her life is painstakingly curated to give the impression she has her life together. Over the course of the movie, we discover her roots and her toxic traits which lands her in a lawsuit. There is a thick parallel drawn between Lydia Tár and Gustav Mahler and how she, as a woman, feels she must act in her chosen career. 

BAFTAs’ 2023 director nominee:

"Tár" by Todd Field 

Also known for: “Eyes Wide Shut” (1999), “In the Bedroom” (2001), “Little Children” (2006) 

BAFTAs’ 2023 leading actress winner: 

Cate Blanchett in "Tár"

Also known for: “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001), “Blue Jasmine” (2013), “Carol” (2015) 

BAFTAs’ 2023 leading actor nominee: 

Paul Mescal in "Aftersun"

Also known for: “Normal People” (2020), “The Lost Daughter” (2021), “God's Creatures” (2022) 

If you want to read more about the BAFTAs 2023 nominations and winners, you can do so here. 

 

Viewing on the big screen:

Phew, that was a rollercoaster of emotions from just previewing the nominees’ works, we are so excited to learn about the winners! We are eager to watch all these master pieces of the British Film as soon as possible and hope you do too. It is so much easier to have all saved titles in one space, which is what you can achieve with Rakuten TV, Amazon Prime Video and a lot more movie streaming services.  

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