Just a few hours to the much-anticipated 77th edition British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards celebrating the outstanding achievements in film over the past year. The ceremony will be held at the Royal Festival Hall in London’s Southbank Centre.
This year’s event promises diversity and recognition for outstanding talent. The Best Leading Actress category could see history being made, with a woman of color potentially winning for the first time. Fantasia Barrino for “The Color Purple,” and Vivian Oparah for “Rye Lane” are running up against Sandra Hüller for “Anatomy of a Fall,” Carey Mulligan for “Maestro,” Margot Robbie for “Barbie,” and Emma Stone for “Poor Things.”
Ayo Edebiri, Colman Domingo, Sophie Wilde, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Danielle Brooks are also among the nominees, with noteworthy entries such as Cord Jefferson’s “American Fiction” and Savannah Leaf’s “Earth Mama” also in the running.
Top contenders for the night are “Poor Things” and “Oppenheimer,” with Yorgos Lanthimos’ receiving 11 nominations and Christopher Nolan’s atom-bomb epic boasting 13 nominations. Other notable nominees include Bradley Cooper, Carey Mulligan, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Rosamund Pike, and Ryan Gosling.
The 77th BAFTA Awards produced by Penny Lane Entertainment boasts Doctor Who” star David Tennant as the host. It also promises a show-stopping performance by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, who will showcase her hit song “Murder on the Dancefloor.” Presenters like Andrew Scott, Cate Blanchett, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Idris Elba will add to the star-studded lineup.
According to BAFTA’s awards director Emma Baehr, viewers can expect “a few surprises still in store” for the event. Baehr speaking to Variety remarked,
“We want to keep people entertained, we want to keep people surprised, and so we always have a range of people coming to present. And with David, he’s the iconic British [star].”
The guest of honor, the President of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, Prince William, will attend the ceremony without his wife Kate, who is recovering from abdominal surgery.
The ceremony at London’s Royal Festival Hall is expected to be a glamorous prelude to the Hollywood Oscars coming up on March 10.
