Nomadland and Rocks lead nominations as BAFTA makes improvements on diversity

Nomadland and Rocks lead the way for this year’s BAFTA nominations, with their filmmakers among a record four women shortlisted in the best director category.

In the acting categories, following #BAFTAsSoWhite criticism over last year’s shortlists, some 16 of the 24 nominees are from black, Asian and minority ethnic groups (BAME), including British stars Riz Ahmed, Wunmi Mosaku and Daniel Kaluuya.

The shortlist for the big award, for best film, features The Father, The Mauritanian, Promising Young Woman and The Trial Of The Chicago 7, as well as Nomadland.

This year’s nominations come after BAFTA announced a major shake-up of its awards following criticism over a lack of diversity, pledging to try and “create a level playing field”. In 2020, all the nominated actors were white and there were no women filmmakers shortlisted for best director or best film.

Nomadland and Rocks both have seven nominations, while The Father, Mank, Minari and Promising Young Woman each have six.

The nods for Rocks – a British coming-of-age film starring a group of young women who had never acted before, which is also directed, written and produced by women – include leading actress for Bukky Bakray, supporting actress for Kosar Ali, outstanding British film and best director for Sarah Gavron.

Nomadland, which stars Oscar-winner Frances McDormand as a woman travelling in a van on a journey through the American West and has already won several gongs so far this awards season, is nominated in the best film category, with a leading actress nomination for McDormand and best director for Chloe Zhao.

The other female directors nominated are Shannon Murphy (Babyteeth) and Jasmila Žbanić (Quo Vadis, Aida?), with Thomas Vinterberg (Another Round) and Lee Isaac Chung (Minari) also in the running.

In the leading actress category, Radha Blank (The Forty-Year-Old Version), Vanessa Kirby (Pieces Of A Woman), and Alfre Woodard (Clemency) are up against Bakray, McDormand and Mosaku.

As expected, there is a posthumous nomination for the late Chadwick Boseman, who died of cancer in August, in the leading actor category, for his role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Other actors up for the award are Ahmed (Sound Of Metal), Adarsh Gourav (The White Tiger), Anthony Hopkins (The Father), Mads Mikkelsen (Another Round) and Tahar Rahim (The Mauritanian).

In the supporting categories, Niamh Algar (Calm With Horses), Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm), Dominique Fishback (Judas And The Black Messiah), Ashley Madekwe (County Lines) and Yuh-Jung Youn (Minari) are up against Rocks’ Ali; Barry Keoghan (Calm With Horses), Alan Kim (Minari), Leslie Odom Jr (One Night In Miami), Clarke Peters (Da 5 Bloods) and Paul Raci (Sound Of Metal) are in the running alongside Kaluuya (Judas And The Black Messiah).

The nominees for the EE Rising Star Award for up-and-coming talent were announced earlier in March, with Bakray, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Morfydd Clark and Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù on the shortlist.

This year’s virtual BAFTA ceremony will be broadcast from the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday 11 April.

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