BAFTA Shocker! Snubs & Surprises Include No Lily Gladstone And No Martin Scorsese Or Greta Gerwig In Best Director

BAFTA revealed a lively film nominations list this morning full of talking points.

Among major surprises were the omissions of Killers Of The Flower Moon actress Lily Gladstone, who last week won a Golden Globe for her performance, and Martin Scorsese and Barbie director Greta Gerwig from the director categories.

Killers Of The Flower Moon still scored an impressive nine nominations — though Leonardo DiCaprio did not make the cut — but Barbie fared less well. After garnering nine Golden Globe noms, Warner Bros’ box office juggernaut made the cut in only five BAFTA categories. It was an omission from score and sound categories despite gaining praise for its songs and audio.

The picture is perhaps slightly less surprising given the context of a push BAFTA has made in recent years to foreground a greater diversity of content, including more British films. The organization has faced criticism from some that its film nominees in recent years have too closely mirrored the Oscars and haven’t been “British” enough. Three of the six best director nominees are European, which will please some. Suffice to say, Gladstone and Scorsese (and probably Gerwig) are highly likely to hear their names called out come Oscar nomination day. Check back in later for our interview with BAFTA exec Anna Higgs in which she addresses attempts at creating a “level playing field”.

DGA and Golden Globes nominee Yorgos Lanthimos was a shock omission to some in the Best Director category after such universal acclaim for Poor Things.

Among movies that failed to ignite with voters were May December and Nyad, which received zero nominations between them, and Michael Mann’s big budget Ferrari, which only got one nomination (Sound). Napoleon got four nominations but no acting, director or cinematography nods (something we already knew from the longlist).

Past Lives scored three nominations after being long-listed for six, but wasn’t present in Best Director or Best Film. Saltburn saw its 11 long-list nominations reduced to five.

Among mild surprises were Sandra Hüller getting nominations in both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories, a hugely impressive feat. The latter coming for her turn in The Zone Of Interest.

The omission of Aki Kaurismäki’s celebrated Fallen Leaves in the Best Film Not In The English Language category will raise some eyebrows, while the inclusion in the same category of 20 Days In Mariupol is a rare feat for a documentary, and a pleasant surprise for its filmmakers given that it is also in the Best Documentary category.