2017 Awards Season: BAFTA Nominations

January 11, 2018

The Shape of Water

The BAFTA nominations were announced and this time The Shape of Water led the way with 12 nominations. The same films appear on many of the lists of nominees, but so far no one film has come to dominate the list. This makes it interesting, to say the least. There’s a good chance no one film will win the majority of prestige awards and that multiple films will have lots of reason to celebrate on February 18th when the awards are handed out.

The categories and nominees are...

Best Film

Outstanding British Film

Best Director

Best Original Screenplay

Best Adapted Screenplay

Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Best Documentary

Best Film Not in the English Language

Best Animated Film

Best Cinematography

Best Original Music

Best Sound

Best Production Design

Best Special Visual Effects

Best Costume Design

Best Makeup and Hair

Best Editing

Best British Short Animation

  • Have Heart
  • Mamoon
  • Poles Apart
Best British Short Film

  • Aamir
  • Cowboy Dave
  • A Drowning Man
  • Work
  • Wren Boys
EE Rising Star Award

Notes and Reactions...

  • The Shape of Water led the way with 12 nominations, including a mix of the prestige nominations and technical nominations. Unfortunately, the last time it led in nominations, it wasn’t able to lead in wins.
  • Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri tied for second place, but it led the way in terms of prestige nominations with six of them. It’s too soon to make solid predictions, but I think the film could be the big winner when the BAFTAs are handed out. It very likely won’t be the only film to pick up multiple wins.
  • Overall, the BAFTAs have a more British flavor, for obvious reasons, but in many categories, there were almost no differences between these nominations and those for SAG, Golden Globes, etc.
  • The Post was completely shut out, which is the biggest surprise of the evening. I still think it will earn at least a few Oscar nods, on the other hand.
  • Greta Gerwig was snubbed for Best Director for her work on Lady Bird. This is a snub, but it is no longer a surprise.
  • Paddington 2 got two nominations. Its reviews are 100% positive, but even so, family films rarely earn major nominations like this.
  • Coco and Loving Vincent were the only animated films eligible for an Oscar nomination this year and I suspect both will be recognized.
  • I will be shocked if Jane doesn’t win the Best Documentary Oscar at this point.
  • The rising star award will likely either go to Daniel Kaluuya or Timothée Chalamet, as they were the only two nominated for their performances. However, I really want Tessa Thompson to win.

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Filed under: Awards Season, Baby Driver, Coco, War for the Planet of the Apes, Wonder, Star Wars Ep. VIII: The Last Jedi, Blade Runner 2049, Beauty and the Beast, Loving Vincent, Dunkirk, Get Out, Molly’s Game, Forushande, Ma vie de Courgette, Darkest Hour, Victoria and Abdul, I Am Not Your Negro, Lady Macbeth, I, Tonya, God’s Own Country, Call Me by Your Name, An Inconvenient Sequel, The Death of Stalin, The Post, City of Ghosts, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, The Shape of Water, Phantom Thread, Nelyubov, Paddington 2, The Florida Project, All the Money in the World, Lady Bird, The Ghoul, Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, Jane, Gary Oldman, Jamie Bell, Annette Bening, Willem Dafoe, Daniel Day-Lewis, Guillermo del Toro, Greta Gerwig, Hugh Grant, Sally Hawkins, James Ivory, Allison Janney, Lesley Manville, Frances McDormand, Laurie Metcalf, Christopher Nolan, Christopher Plummer, Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan, Kristin Scott Thomas, Aaron Sorkin, Matt Greenhalgh, Tessa Thompson, Simon Farnaby, Denis Villeneuve, Octavia Spencer, Daniel Kaluuya, Jordan Peele, Vanessa Taylor, Martin McDonagh, Armando Iannucci, Paul King, Margot Robbie, David Schneider, Timothée Chalamet, Luca Guadagnino, Josh O’Connor, Florence Pugh, Steve Rogers, Ian Martin