Our panel of anonymous awards voters consider the Bafta and Oscar nominations, including the films and performances they are disappointed were left out.
Producer 1, female, Bafta voter
What pleased or surprised or disappointed you about the Bafta nominations?
Kneecap, which I adore, is nominated in six different categories. I’m also happy both Anora and Conclave are on the best film list. I thought Mikey Madison’s performance was electric in Anora. And I loved the journey Sean Baker took us on, even though [the film] was a tad long.
For Conclave I enjoyed the tension and intrigue that Edward Berger managed to build, the cinematography, the humour.
I was late to Back To Black and I’m disappointed it didn’t make any list. I liked the slice of Amy Winehouse’s life the film depicted, that it didn’t dwell on her being a drug addict but showed her journey towards that. Marisa Abela did a great job, both in her impersonation and singing.
What do you make of the Oscar nominations by comparison?
I am disappointed Kneecap didn’t make a single nomination. It is lighter fare than what was chosen this year, so perhaps that’s the reason.
Composer, male, Bafta and Ampas voter
What pleased or surprised or disappointed you about the Bafta nominations?
For score, it doesn’t feel like there’s a dead-cert frontrunner this year. I really love Daniel Blumberg’s The Brutalist score, that’s my favourite one.
Overall, there’s a lot of films I’m very happy to see represented in the Baftas — films like Kneecap, Monkey Man, Bird and The Outrun.
Whereas the Oscars, I could have probably told you that list three months ago, based on the number of emails I got sent, and the number of events that were going on.
In the past, there’s definitely been a sense of the worthy Oscar-bait movie. This year feels a bit more exciting, and a lot of the movies don’t feel as Oscar-baity as they have over the past decade or so. The Substance is a brave, crazy piece of filmmaking. There’s the likes of Anora and Emilia Pérez. Even Conclave is a poppy kind of film — it’s got a great energy.
I think there has been some shit-stirring about AI on some dialect things around Adrien Brody in The Brutalist. AI is a big issue, but it’s become a catch-all term for anyone using a piece of technology — you could use a keyboard for a string sound, and someone could refer to it as AI.
What do you make of the Oscar nominations by comparison?
Wicked is nominated for score at Oscar, but not at Bafta which included Nosferatu instead. I think John Powell is a fantastic composer, but how many people in the Oscars are voting for that because of the Wicked songs which are pre-existing? It’s the same with Emilia Pérez. I suspect both films are getting nominations in the score category really for the songs.
Distribution executive, female, Bafta voter
What pleased or surprised or disappointed you about the Bafta nominations?
I was pleased to see foreign-language films being nominated in multiple categories, following on from Anatomy Of A Fall last year: Emilia Pérez and Kneecap are both deserving of their multiple nominations.
Equally, there was a good representation of new and creative storytelling with titles such as Conclave, The Substance and The Brutalist alongside the behemoth brands represented by Wicked, Dune: Part Two and Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.
What do you make of the Oscar nominations by comparison?
It was great to see Oscar nominations for The Substance, as horrors are generally overlooked in Hollywood. I was surprised however not to see nominations for Angelina Jolie [for Maria], Daniel Craig [for Queer] or Denzel Washington [for Gladiator II], particularly when all were touted as awards-worthy performances on the festival grapevine.
Talent agent, female, Bafta voter
What pleased or surprised or disappointed you about the Bafta nominations?
I was disappointed Daniel Craig was ignored — his performance [in Queer] was nuanced and different from anything we’ve seen him do before. He was in every frame and made the film totally believable.
I was pleased Babygirl didn’t get anything as this should not have ever been in the conversation. It felt clumsy and old-fashioned to me — I didn’t believe any of the characters other than that of Antonio Banderas.
What do you make of the Oscar nominations by comparison?
Marianne Jean-Baptiste [for Hard Truths] deserved a nomination — she gave the most powerful performance that is equal in stature to all the other nominees.
Sebastian Stan’s nomination [for The Apprentice] was surprising as it was a good performance but I wouldn’t say it was Oscar- or Bafta-worthy.
Bafta-nominated writer and director, male, Bafta voter
What pleased or surprised or disappointed you about the Bafta nominations?
I was pleased to see the love for Kneecap. Not just in the major categories but some of the technical categories like editing, which was a key element to the power of that film.
I was glad to see a classy horror with something to say, like The Substance, get some love. Coralie Fargeat deserved her director nomination — such boldness.
And I’m glad Jamie Lee Curtis sneaked in for The Last Showgirl. She has earned her renaissance in recent years.
A category rather than film gripe: do we really need 10 options for outstanding British film? It feels like a grab-bag that degrades the value of getting a nomination, as has happened to best picture in the US in recent years. I remember when being in that select five films had true value. If not five for outstanding British film… how about seven?
What do you make of the Oscar nominations by comparison?
I was disappointed Edward Berger was overlooked for director. Conclave is a supremely well-directed film. Even more egregious to my eyes was Conclave losing a cinematography nomination to Maria, effectively. Both are well-shot films, but I have a handful of indelible cinematic images from Conclave in my head — a film that’s essentially about a bunch of guys talking in rooms, so far from a slam-dunk for visual value on paper — while I don’t have a single stand-out image from Maria in my head.
I would have liked Kneecap to bag a best international feature nomination and Heretic for original screenplay, but even after the recent diversifying initiatives, we know US Academy voters can still be a conservative-leaning bunch.
Producer 3, male, Bafta voter
What pleased or surprised or disappointed you about the Bafta nominations?
I was pleased with the healthy mix of independent, original and smaller- budget films, alongside the bigger budget and established IP films, vying for the top awards. I was perhaps disappointed and surprised, given this issue is highlighted year on year, that for best film there were only films directed by men, with The Substance being a surprising omission — and only one female director, Coralie Fargeat, nominated for best director.
In outstanding British film, I was surprised to see Gladiator II included, given the broad consensus that it was a film that didn’t meet expectations. It feels therefore like a missed opportunity to include a more original and bold achievement, such as Hoard or Santosh. I was also surprised and disappointed The Substance wasn’t nominated for best cinematography.
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