Dress rehearsal less than a month before the Oscars.
The elite of the big screen are gathered this Sunday for the British film awards with the big favorite being Christopher Nolan's biopic on the father of the atomic bomb "Oppenheimer", for which Christopher Nolan was crowned best director, while "Anatomy of a fall” carries French hopes.
The Bafta evening started strong for Justine Triet's film, which has been accumulating awards since its Palme d'Or at Cannes, with the prize for best original screenplay.
His seven nominations have fueled expectations of a French success in Los Angeles on March 10, but he faces strong opponents on Sunday.
Like the other international awards, “Oppenheimer”, which brought in nearly a billion dollars, therefore started in a strong position with 13 nominations including that of best actor for the Irishman Cillian Murphy.
The portrait of J. Robert Oppenheimer, tortured physicist and scientific director of the Manhattan Project during the Second World War, therefore offers Christopher Nolan (“Inception”, “Interstellar”) his first Bafta as best director.
In front of him, two other Britons, Jonathan Glazer (“The Zone of Interest”) and Andrew Haigh (“Without Ever Knowing Us”) competed for the award, alongside Bradley Cooper (“Maestro”), Alexander Payne (“ The Holdovers") and Justine Triet, the only woman in the running.
Behind, “Poor Creatures”, the dark and zany comedy inspired by Frankenstein and signed Yorgos Lanthimos is nominated in 11 categories, including best actress for Emma Stone.
Prince William President
The American star arrived all smiles on the red carpet at the Royal Festival Hall in London, where Sandra Hüller, nominated for her roles in “Anatomy of a Fall” but also for “The Zone of Interest”, Paul Mescal “Without Ever Knowing Us” and “Maestro” actors Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan.
Scottish actor David Tennant, host of the ceremony, then kicked off the evening.
A regular at the event, Prince William, who has only spoken publicly once since the announcement of the cancer of his father, King Charles III, is also present and will meet several of the winners in his capacity as president Baftas.
His wife Kate remains recovering from her abdominal surgery in January.
Among the other contenders, Martin Scorsese's historical fresco "Killers of the Flower Moon" obtained nine nominations, as did "The Zone of Interest", a chilling film about the daily life of the family of the commander of the Nazi extermination camp in Auschwitz and winner of the Cannes Grand Prix.
5 nominations for “Barbie”
“Barbie”, the other commercial success of the summer directed by Greta Gerwig but shunned at the Oscars, is only in the running for five awards, including best actress for Margot Robbie.
“This year's selection is very exciting, and I think its key word is variety,” said Sara Putt, president of the Bafta, in January, who hopes that this wide range of films and genres “will encourage people to go At the movie theater ".
Over the years, the Baftas have rewarded fewer and fewer British actors: among the men, there is no representative from the United Kingdom for best role or best supporting role, a first since 1976.
Actresses from the United Kingdom are better represented, with Carey Mulligan (“Maestro”) and Vivian Oparah (“Rye Lane”) nominated for best actress, and Emily Blunt (“Oppenheimer”), Claire Foy (“Without Ever Knowing Us”) ") and Rosamund Pike ("Saltburn") in a supporting role.
The British revelation “How to have sex” by young director Molly Manning Walker, which questions the thrill of first encounters and the limits of consent, for its part received three nominations, after winning the Un certain regard prize at Cannes.