2021 EE BAFTAs: Nomadland strengthens Oscar grip with four prizes

This past weekend saw BAFTA reveal their list of winners ahead of the conclusion of a long and hectic awards season.

For the first time in their history, the British film awards group opted to split this year’s (virtual) ceremony across two nights, with Nomadland continuing its path towards Oscar glory.

The indie drama, which follows a widow travelling through the American West in her van as a nomad, overcame stern competition from the likes of The Father, Promising Young Woman and The Trial of the Chicago 7 to land the coveted Best Film prize.

Though it remains the heavy favourite to dominate the Oscars later this month, it is worth noting that the last six winners of BAFTA’s top prize have all failed to go on and win the Best Picture accolade.

Additionally, Chinese filmmaker Chloé Zhao picked up yet another Best Director award for her work on the film, while absent star Frances McDormand secured her second Leading Actress win in four years for her performance as widowed nomad Fern.

Finally, the film’s fourth prize was awarded to Joshua James Richards for his cinematography.

Elsewhere, the provocative thriller Promising Young Woman bagged two key wins, including a Best Original Screenplay success for actress-turned-filmmaker Emerald Fennell.

Furthermore, the thriller also clinched the coveted Outstanding British Film accolade ahead of nine other contenders.

Meanwhile, British veteran Sir Anthony Hopkins made history by becoming the oldest man to win Leading Actor for his powerful performance as dementia sufferer Anthony in the drama The Father.

This was his third big-screen success at BAFTA and came at the expense of deceased Oscar frontrunner Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom).

In addition to that triumph, The Father also picked up a Best Adapted Screenplay win for co-writers Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller.

 

Elsewhere, the supporting categories produced a couple of unsurprising results as British star Daniel Kaluuya continued his journey towards a gold statuette by landing Best Supporting Actor for his lauded portrayal of Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton in the factual drama Judas and the Black Messiah.

After a crucial victory during last week’s Screen Actors Guild Awards, Korean veteran Yuh-jung Youn nabbed the Best Supporting Actress prize for her role as caring grandmother Soon-ja in the family drama Minari.

Meanwhile, three films were the recipients of two gongs apiece as the Pixar animation Soul secured Best Animated Film as well as Best Original Music for musical collaborators Jon Batiste, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

Additionally, the music-based drama Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom prevailed in the Best Costume Design and Makeup & Hair categories, while the drama Sound of Metal took home wins for Best Editing and Best Sound.

The other films to land prizes over the weekend included Rocks (Best Casting), Mank (Best Production Design), Tenet (Best Special Visual Effects), Another Round (Best Film Not in the English Language), My Octopus Teacher (Best Documentary) and His House (Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer).

The EE Rising Star Award was presented to Hackney-born starlet Bukky Bakray for her breakthrough performance in the indie drama Rocks. Her win came at the expense of other British nominees, including Ben Kingsley-Adir and Morfydd Clark.

Meanwhile, British actor and filmmaker Noel Clarke was the recipient of the BAFTA for Outstanding British Contribution To Cinema for his various works, which include the Hood trilogy (2006-16).

Finally, multi-award-winning director Ang Lee was the recipient of this year’s BAFTA Fellowship for his exceptional career behind the camera with acclaimed films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Life of Pi (2012).

Despite coming into this year’s ceremony with multiple nominations, the likes of Calm with Horses, The Dig, The Mauritanian, News of the World and Oscar favourite The Trial of the Chicago 7 all came away empty-handed.

The full list of BAFTA winners are…

BEST FILM
NOMADLAND

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

BEST DIRECTOR
Chloé Zhao, NOMADLAND

BEST LEADING ACTRESS
Frances McDormand, NOMADLAND

BEST LEADING ACTOR
Anthony Hopkins, THE FATHER

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Yuh-jung Youn, MINARI

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Daniel Kaluuya, JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
THE FATHER (Christopher Hampton & Florian Zeller)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN (Emerald Fennell)

BEST CASTING
ROCKS (Lucy Pardee)

BEST EDITING
SOUND OF METAL

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
NOMADLAND

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
MANK

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

BEST MAKEUP & HAIR
MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM

BEST SOUND
SOUND OF METAL

BEST SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
TENET

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC
SOUL (Jon Batiste, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
SOUL

BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
ANOTHER ROUND (Denmark)

BEST DOCUMENTARY
MY OCTOPUS TEACHER

BEST BRITISH SHORT FILM
THE PRESENT

BEST BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
HIS HOUSE, Remi Weekes (Writer/Director)

EE RISING STAR AWARD
Bukky Bakray

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO BRITISH CINEMA
Noel Clarke

BAFTA FELLOWSHIP
Ang Lee

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