BAFTA nominations are in, and Chloé Zhao’s “Nomadland” and Sarah Gavron’s “Rocks” lead the pack with seven nominations apiece. It’s a historic year for women directors: for the first time ever, four women have been nominated in the Director category. Zhao and Gavron are joined by Shannon Murphy and Jasmila Žbanić. The former is being recognized for “Babyteeth,” a coming-of-age drama about a seriously ill teenager, and the latter for “Quo Vadis, Aida?,” the story of a U.N. translator working in Srebrenica during the Bosnian War. The Oscar-shortlisted pic is the only woman-directed film in the running for the Film Not in the English Language BAFTA.
Two of the titles up for Best Film are helmed by women, “Nomadland,” a portrait of a 60-something woman who moves into her camper van in the aftermath of the Great Recession, and “Promising Young Woman,” Emerald Fennell’s revenge story about a former med student determined to teach sexual predators a lesson.
“Promising Young Woman,” “Rocks,” and Rose Glass’ “Saint Maud” are all in the running for Outstanding British Film. “Saint Maud” follows a religious hospice nurse who vows to save her dying patient’s soul.
“Rocks” and “Saint Maud” are also among the nominees for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer.
A tribute to the friendship between a man and an octopus, Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed’s “My Octopus Teacher” is the sole title with a woman director nominated for Documentary.
Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman” script scored a nod for Original Screenplay, and she’s joined by “Rocks” scribes Theresa Ikoko and Claire Wilson. The Adapted Screenplay category also features two woman-penned scripts: Zhao’s “Nomadland” and Moira Buffini’s archeological drama “The Dig.”
“Nomadland’s” Frances McDormand, “Clemency’s” Alfre Woodard, and “The Forty-Year-Old Version’s” Radha Blank are among the nominees in the Leading Actress category, and the supporting actress race includes “Minari’s” Youn Yuh-jung and “Judas and the Black Messiah’s” Dominique Fishback.
Zhao is the lone woman nominee in the Editing category.
People of color were completely shut out of the four major acting categories at last year’s BAFTA Awards, inspiring a #BAFTAsSoWhite hashtag to trend on social media. Zero women-directed titles were up for Best Film, and for the seventh year in a row, no women were recognized in the directing category. This year’s nominees mark a radical shift, and come on the heels of BAFTA announcing over 120 changes introduced to “urgently address a lack of diversity in the BAFTA Awards.”
The BAFTAs will take place April 11. Head over to The Hollywood Reporter to check out all of this year’s nominees.
