Awards whispers: Bafta, Oscar voters compare this year’s nominations

Producer male, Bafta voter

Do you care how different the Bafta nominations are from the Oscar nominations? I actually love the idea the Baftas are differentiating themselves from the Oscars. [But] I just find the Bafta process and the nominations a little incoherent. Juried categories often throw up very subjective nominations and that defeats the fact the Baftas have always been voted on by the membership. It also feels like we are moving even further away from British cinema, so that performances by great British actors like Andrew Garfield and Olivia Colman are neglected. I have no answers as to how Bafta can or should evolve, but it needs to feel like there is clarity in the nominations and I didn’t feel that this year.

What makes a ‘best’ film for you? How do you decide what to vote for in this category? The best film for me is the film that’s the most cinematic and the most sublime. It doesn’t need to be a huge spectacle, but a film that wears its cinematic ambitions on its sleeve, that uses all the tools of the medium, all the ingenuity of the creators and all the brilliance of the actors to create an experience for the audience that you can only get in cinemas. Parasite was that to me, or Dunkirk, The Social Network and 12 Years A Slave. 

Director, female, Bafta and Ampas voter

Do you care how different the Bafta nominations are from the Oscar nominations? I am pleased the Oscar and Bafta nominations are different, and as a result throwing focus onto a more diverse group of films. In past years it has sometimes felt the ceremonies are replicating one another. The director categories are markedly different this year with more women in the Bafta list and more focus on European directors. I am pleased to see Aleem Khan, Julia Ducournau and Audrey Diwan being celebrated. There were so many strong performances this year, and between the Baftas and Oscars a lot of them are nominated.

What makes a ‘best’ film for you? How do you decide what to vote for in this category? A film like no other, that is truly cinematic and somehow speaks to the time we are in.

Producer 1, female, Bafta voter

Do you care how different the Bafta nominations are from the Oscar nominations? It’s important the Bafta nominations are different from the Oscar list. Previously, when just a couple of films have swept the board in both countries, mainly due to the number of voters never actually watching most films, it has felt dull, predictable and non-inclusive.

What makes a ‘best’ film for you? How do you decide what to vote for in this category? The full range of direction, cinematography, music, editing, the actors and story. That elusive holy grail where everything works in harmony. I don’t care about genre but if a film picks up awards for writer, director and actors, it should by right be up there for best film.

Casting director, female, Bafta voter

Do you care how different the Bafta nominations are from the Oscar nominations? I enjoy the Bafta and Oscar nominations having variation. For too long it’s felt like the Baftas were the UK Oscars. I’ve always loved learning the nominations and winners of the French Césars and Spanish Goyas and seeing what films resonated in these countries each year. Having juries at the Baftas is allowing us to move away from the most popularist choices and glean what films the British industry has responded to. For me, the Oscars feel like Hollywood celebrating Hollywood, which they have every right to do. But I don’t necessarily think some of the actors nominated are being nominated for their performances. I think they are being nominated because they are admired.

What makes a ‘best’ film for you? How do you decide what to vote for in this category? I think about not only the film I enjoyed the most but where all the elements work together — a piece of work that has something to say and transports me to their world. A film that is not only relevant now but will stand the test of time.

Festival executive, male, Bafta voter

Do you care how different the Bafta nominations are from the Oscar nominations? I love that the Bafta nominations are so different from the Oscars. There are two schools of thought: one is that the Oscars have gone for the big names in hopefully a post-pandemic year and encouraging the studios to go big with a ceremony that I’m expecting to be glitzy; the other is that the Baftas have kept good on making their awards encompass a wide breadth of films and reward talent that would often have been overlooked in other years.

The biggest difference is in the best director category, where the Baftas have gone for new and bold filmmakers while the Oscars have gone for tried and tested. I embrace this difference. I think the Oscars have got the list that is more genuine, but for sheer balls and being a disrupter, the Baftas get my approval. At least now, the awards season is not just a procession to the Oscars, which is what turned viewers off by the time the Academy Awards came around.

What makes a ‘best’ film for you?  What makes a best film for me is what I liked the most, how much value a film will have for the cinema business, and then what I think contains the best craft in terms of visuals, sound and editing. This year is far from my favourite crop of movies so the decision is harder.

I still do not think a Netflix film should win the Oscars, even if I think Netflix have done more for helping diversity and creating change in cinema than any studio has done. If it was not for Netflix, I don’t think Drive My Car would be up for best picture, even though Netflix have nothing to do with that film. Successes like Squid Game have changed the rules on subtitled fare. Nonetheless, I’m still in favour of studio films and movies that are going to come out in the cinema. Originality is also key, which is why I prefer Belfast to West Side Story. The Oscars have to be seen to look forward and not to what we’ve now discovered is a less than pristine past.

Then I’m thinking of things such as impact on the audience, what’s likely to stand the test of time, and whether the director is deserving, so here I’m thinking Jane Campion deserves to have a best picture winner more than Kenneth Branagh this time around.

So all my tests have produced mixed results. But ultimately I think the main criteria is what I liked more, and that will still have me voting for Belfast over The Power Of The Dog.

Production executive, female, Bafta voter

Do you care how different the Bafta nominations are from the Oscar nominations? They are different organisations with different membership and a different agenda. You would expect Bafta to showcase British talent more and that’s why it has specifically British categories to make sure this happens. If the nominations end up being similar then so be it, but I felt that until recently the mindset was that Bafta was a predictor of the Oscars and I don’t think that’s what it should be. The recent changes implemented to address inclusion and diversity seem to have already changed this mindset and I think this is a welcomed consequence.

What makes a ‘best’ film’for you? For me it’s a film that is the whole package, great storytelling, great execution across the board by the director and their technical team, great acting, a film whose emotional and cultural impact l feel will be remembered over the years. While I usually like most of the nominated films, there’s only a small handful of films every year I feel meet that level of excellence across the board.

 

Word from the US

US-based Ampas voters weigh in on the Oscar nominations

Producer, female, Ampas voter

What do you make of the Oscar nominations? Any pleasant surprises or disappointing omissions? I was very pleasantly surprised by the Drive My Car nominations. I was expecting only best international feature for the film. It’s gratifying to see the Academy as a whole still has some taste. Jessie Buckley [best supporting actress for The Lost Daughter] and Jesse Plemons [best supporting actor for The Power Of The Dog] were also nice surprises. Their performances were subtler, so it’s nice to see the actors branch branching out from their usual preferences for obvious or even over-the-top performances. It was also nice to see a couple of scrappier docs and international features with limited marketing budgets among the nominations. It gives one hope that money can’t buy all the votes.

What makes a ‘best film’ for you? How do you decide what to vote for in this category? Originality — I don’t like to see the same movies over and over again dressed in different ways. The best film also needs to be both thought-­provoking and emotionally evocative.

Producer, male, Ampas voter

What do you make of the Oscar nominations? Any pleasant surprises or disappointing omissions? In best picture, I would say that all have their flaws in one way or the other. Most are too long for one thing. Top choices for me would be Dune, Licorice Pizza, Belfast, West Side Story and The Power Of The Dog. Drive My Car? Drive me to run to the toilet after three long hours! Watching a Japanese version of Uncle Vanya being rehearsed? Could have cut out all that and stuck with the interesting story with his wife and the driver.

With the actors, I get why Benedict Cumberbatch was nominated although I found him over the top and one note. Will Smith, of course — a customised script for scene stealing. I’m surprised to see Denzel [Washington] there for a weird piece of casting, in my view. Your grandfather as Macbeth?

Jessica Chastain for The Eyes Of Tammy Faye? A bad movie and she has done better earlier in her career. Glad to see Kristen Stewart get some love though. So happy to see Jessie Buckley get her proper due — the best part of that rather unfocused film [The Lost Daughter]. Aunjanue Ellis made that character in King Richard come to life so well in spite of the lack of screen time. I really missed Caitriona Balfe on the supporting actress list [for Belfast].

What makes a ‘best film’ for you? How do you decide what to vote for in this category? Emotional connection is primary for me. Great, structured storytelling that makes you lean in for the ending, with characters that don’t seem to fit into easy boxes. Scope is nice but not essential, if you can nail that.

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