The British Academy of Film and Television Arts announced their always informative Longlists early this morning and it was good and bad news for a number of Oscar contenders. While the BAFTA Awards always have their own distinctly United Kingdom-based favorites, the organization has a genuine overlap with AMPAS members. The BAFTA choices should always be looked at as the direction AMPAS members may be heading with their individual Oscar votes. This year, the good news was in the “All Quiet On the Western Front” and “The Banshees of Inisherin” camps which led all films with 15 and 14 mentions respectively. If you’re campaigning “Babylon,” “Empire of Light” or “Women Talking”? Well, there is genuine cause for concern.
READ MORE: “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “The Fablemans” and “Hacks” make AFI’s Top 10 Film and Television lists of 2023
Unlike the Oscars, BAFTA still only nominates five nominees for its Best Film honor. The longlists for each category can be anywhere from eight to 15 mentions. Conveniently, the Best Film category has an Oscar-friendly 10. The films that made the cut included “Aftersun,” “All Quiet on the Western Front” “Banshees,” “Elvis,” “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” “The Fablemans,” “Living,” “TAR,” “Top Gun: Maverick,” and “Triangle of “Sadness.”
In terms of Oscars, “Babylon,” “Women Talking,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio” and “RRR” not getting mentioned here was not ideal for those films’ Best Picture nomination chances. Moreover, “Avatar: The Way of Water” looks like a major snub but according to sources was added to the screening portal incredibly late. Director James Cameron also missed out on a Directing nomination.
While “Aftersun” and “Living” have a shot at a Best Picture nomination, the inclusion of “All Quiet on the Western Front” and “Triangle of Sadness” are the true standouts. “All Quiet” was supposed to just be an International Film player and maybe crack the Sound category. Instead, it tied “Wakanda Forever” with the most Oscar shortlist mentions and topped BAFTAs longlists. To say it’s a likely Best Picture nominee now is a bit of an understatement.
The other film to watch out for is “Triangle of Sadness.” While the Palme d’Or winner didn’t have any Oscar shortlist mentions it did have seven BAFTA mentions including three in the acting categories (Harris Dickinson, Dolly De Leon, Woody Harrelson). Then again, Ruben Ostlund missed out in the Directing category, but maybe that’s more a likeability issue more than anything else.
The longlists have different and complicated qualifications for each category. Intended to encourage diverse contenders, the result is a mix of member votes and jury selections that are often, to be frank, hard to fathom. The overall nominations are determined by a second round of voting which begins now and ends on January 13. The official nominations will be announced on Tuesday, Jan 17.
The full longlist with notable inclusions and snubs is as follows:
BEST FILM
• Aftersun
• All Quiet on the Western Front
• The Banshees of Inisherin
• Elvis
• Everything Everywhere All At Once
• The Fabelmans
• Living
• Tár
• Top Gun: Maverick
• Triangle of Sadness
Note: “Women Talking,” “RRR,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” were genuinely snubbed. Good news for “Triangle of Sadness” and “Aftersun,” which still have a shot.
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
• Aftersun
• The Banshees of Inisherin
• Blue Jean
• Brian And Charles
• Emily
• Empire of Light
• Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
• Lady Chatterley’s Lover
• Living
• The Lost King
• Mrs Harris Goes To Paris
• Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical
• See How They Run
• The Swimmers
• The Wonder
Note: “See How They Run‘s” inclusion shows just how rough a year it was for this category.
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
• Aftersun
• Blue Jean
• Donna
• Electric Malady
• Emily
• Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
• Nothing Compares
• Rebellion
• See How They Run
• Wayfinder
Note: They can just give this award to “Aftersun’s” Charlotte Wells now.
FILM NOT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE
• All Quiet on the Western Front
• Argentina, 1985
• Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths
• Close
• Corsage
• Decision To Leave
• EO
• Holy Spider
• The Quiet Girl
• RRR
Note: No genuine snubs here whatsoever.
DOCUMENTARY
• All That Breathes
• All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
• A Bunch Of Amateurs
• Fire of Love
• The Ghost of Richard Harris
• Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song
• Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues
• McEnroe
• Moonage Daydream
• Navalny
Note: “All That Breathes,” “All The Beauty,” “Fire of Love,” “Hallelujah,” “Moonage Dream,” and “Navalny” all made the Oscar shortlist for this category. Five of those six are likely your Oscar nominees.
ANIMATED FILM
• The Amazing Maurice
• The Bad Guys
• Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
• Lightyear
• Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
• Minions: The Rise of Gru
• Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
• Turning Red
Note: Such a rough year that “Lightyear” made the cut.
Production & Release Details
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