愛污传媒

Skip to main content

'All Quiet on the Western Front' leads race for BAFTA awards

Bronze alloy masks lie in a foundry in West Drayton, Middlesex on Jan. 31, 2020, in anticipation of the next British Academy Film Awards ceremony. (Photo by Joel Ryan / Invision / AP, File) Bronze alloy masks lie in a foundry in West Drayton, Middlesex on Jan. 31, 2020, in anticipation of the next British Academy Film Awards ceremony. (Photo by Joel Ryan / Invision / AP, File)
Share
LONDON -

Visceral German-language war drama "All Quiet on the Western Front" got a field-leading 14 nominations on Thursday for the British Academy Film Awards, with genre-bending comedies "The Banshees of Inisherin" and "Everything Everywhere All At Once" each nominated in 10 categories.

"All Quiet," an unflinching adaptation of a classic antiwar novel about life and death in the First World War trenches, was a surprise front-runner, up for awards including best film and best director, for Edward Berger. Its tally of nominations is a joint record for a film not in the English language, equaling the 14 for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" in 2001.

Martin McDonagh's Irish tragicomedy "Banshees" has nominations including best picture, best director and best actor, for Colin Farrell. Nominations for madcap metaverse adventure "Everything Everywhere" include nods for co-directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert -- known jointly as "the Daniels" -- and a best-actress nomination for Michelle Yeoh.

Baz Lurhmann's flamboyant musical biopic "Elvis" is up for nine awards, including best picture.

The BAFTAs are Britain's equivalent of Hollywood's Academy Awards. The winners will be announced Feb. 19 during a ceremony at London's Royal Festival Hall hosted by actor Richard E. Grant.

The nominations help cement "Banshees" and "Everything Everywhere" as awards-season favourites, following momentum-building wins at the Golden Globes and multiple nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Awards,

The BAFTA best-picture nominees are "All Quiet on the Western Front," "The Banshees of Inisherin," "Elvis," "Everything Everywhere All at Once" and Todd Field's symphonic psychodrama "Tar."

The 10 nominees for outstanding British film, a separate category, include Charlotte Wells' 1990s family drama "Aftersun," Sam Mendes' semi-autobiographical "Empire of Light" and Sophie Hyde's smart sex comedy "Good Luck to You, Leo Grande."

Britain's film academy introduced changes to increase the awards' diversity in 2020, when no women were nominated as best director for the seventh year running and all 20 nominees in the lead and supporting performer categories were white.

The voting process was rejigged to add a "longlist" round in the voting before the selection of the final nominees that are voted on by the academy membership of several thousand industry professionals. For the best film prize, academy members choose a 15-film longlist that all members must watch before voting for the winner.

This year there are 11 female directors up for awards across all categories, including documentary and animated films. But just one of the main best-director nominees is female: Gina Prince-Bythewood for "The Woman King." The other nominees are Berger, McDonagh, Kwan/Scheinert, Field and Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook, for "Decision to Leave."

Unlike some awards, including U.K. music prizes the Brits, the BAFTAs have retained separate male and female acting categories, though that is under review.

Leading actress contenders are Yeoh; Cate Blanchett for "Tar": Viola Davis for "The Woman King"; Danielle Deadwyler for "Till"; Ana de Armas for "Blonde" and Emma Thompson for "Good Luck to You, Leo Grande."

The best-actor category pits Farrell against Austin Butler for "Elvis"; Brendan Fraser for "The Whale"; Daryl McCormack for "Good Luck to You, Leo Grande," Paul Mescal for "Aftersun" and Bill Nighy for "Living."

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

It's a dream for many Canadians, trying to save up enough money for a down payment on their very first home. That was also the dream for the Esmeralda family, a family of five with two dogs who currently live in a Scarborough apartment building.

Donations are quickly pouring in for the family of a young woman who was found dead inside a Walmart in Halifax last weekend.

A haunted house in the Ontario Town of Innisfil is causing a real scare for some people a week before Halloween.

Four people are dead and another is in hospital following a fiery crash in downtown Toronto that happened overnight on Lake Shore Boulevard.

Local Spotlight

He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.

A meteor lit up our region's sky last night 鈥 with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.

Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.

A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.

A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.

A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.

Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.

Looking for a scare with good intentions this Halloween season? The ghosts and ghouls of Eganville, Ont. invite families to tour the Haunted Walk at Lekbor Manor.

The image of a sleepy Saskatchewan small town with 'not a lot going on' is a well-known anecdote. However, one Saskatchewan company is hoping to change that 鈥 and allow communities both on and off the beaten path to share their stories and advertise what they have to offer.