An erratic awards season has already produced a series of twists and turns ahead of next week’s Oscar nominations.

The BAFTA Film Awards have now contributed to the fun in their own bonkers way with their nominees for 2021.

After years of criticism over their lack of diverse contenders, the British film group have unveiled a highly assorted nominations list, with 16 of the 24 acting nominees coming from ethnic minority groups.

Joint-leaders of this year’s slate are the recent Golden Globe-winning drama Nomadland, and more surprisingly, the indie British drama Rocks with seven nods each.

Nomadland finds itself in contention for the prestigious Best Film prize where it competes against fellow Oscar contenders The Father, Promising Young Woman and The Trial of the Chicago 7 as well as the factual drama The Mauritanian.

Additionally, filmmaker Chloé Zhao is acknowledged for both her writing and directing while, seasoned star Frances McDormand earns a Leading Actress nod.

As for Rocks, the 2019 release is shortlisted in a ten-film line-up for Outstanding British Film alongside the likes of The Father, The Mauritanian and Promising Young Woman.

Filmmaker Sarah Gavron joins Zhao in a female-dominated Best Director category that also includes surprise nominees Shannon Murphy (Babyteeth) and Jasmila Žbanić (Quo Vadis, Aida?).

Furthermore, Rocks starlets Bukky Bakray and Kosar Ali are two out of a remarkable 21 actors to receive their first BAFTA nominations in the diverse acting categories.

Bakray is placed in a bold Leading Actress line-up that includes Oscar candidate Vanessa Kirby (Pieces of a Woman), and unlikely contenders Radha Blank (The Forty-Year-Old Version), Wunmi Mosaku (His House) and Alfre Woodard (Clemency).

Elsewhere, the late Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) and British veteran Sir Anthony Hopkins (The Father) are shortlisted in a stellar Leading Actor category alongside Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal), Mads Mikkelsen (Another Round), Tahar Rahim (The Mauritanian) and Indian star Adarsh Gourav (The White Tiger).

The Supporting Actress field sees Oscar contenders Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm) and Yuh-jung Youn (Minari) contest the category alongside shock inclusions Niamh Algar (Calm With Horses), Dominique Fishback (Judas and the Black Messiah) and Ashley Madekwe (County Lines).

Meanwhile, eight-year-old Alan Kim (Minari) is looking to become the youngest winner in BAFTA history after earning a Supporting Actor nod for his turn in the family drama Minari.

However, his competition includes Oscar candidates Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah) and Leslie Odom Jr. (One Night in Miami…) as well as Paul Raci (Sound of Metal) and surprise inclusions Barry Keoghan (Calm With Horses) and Clark Peters (Da 5 Bloods).

All these wild acting nominations have resulted in a number of huge snubs ahead of next week’s Oscar announcement with major players Glenn Close (Hillbilly Elegy), Sacha Baron Cohen (The Trial of the Chicago 7), Olivia Colman (The Father), Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Jodie Foster (The Mauritanian), Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman), Gary Oldman (Mank) and Amanda Seyfried (Mank) all left out.

Additionally, Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman), David Fincher (Mank), Regina King (One Night in Miami…) and Aaron Sorkin (The Trial of the Chicago 7) are among the high-profile directors to be overlooked this year.

In other notable fields, the rest of the expanded Outstanding British Film field includes the factual drama The Dig and the horror Saint Maud as well as indie efforts Calm with Horses, His House, Limbo and Mogul Mowgli.

Additionally, Pixar duo Onward and Soul compete in the Animated Film category alongside the Irish animation Wolfwalkers while Denmark’s Another Round is among the international contenders heavily favoured to win Best Film Not in the English Language.

As previously announced, the public-voted EE Rising Star Award will be contested between five British starlets in the aforementioned Bukky Bakray (Rocks) as well as Kingsley Ben-Adir, Morfydd Clark, Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù and Conrad Khan.

In a change of tradition, the 74th BAFTA Film Awards will be held on 10 and 11 April at London’s Royal Albert Hall, with the winners announced at a ceremony without a live audience.

In the meantime, the full list of BAFTA nominations are below (winner predictions in blue):

BEST FILM
THE FATHER
THE MAURITANIAN
NOMADLAND
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
CALM WITH HORSES
THE DIG
THE FATHER
HIS HOUSE
LIMBO
THE MAURITANIAN
MOGUL MOWGLI
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
ROCKS
SAINT MAUD

BEST DIRECTOR
Lee Isaac Chung, MINARI
Sarah Gavron, ROCKS
Shannon Murphy, BABYTEETH
Thomas Vinterberg, ANOTHER ROUND
Jasmila Žbanić, QUO VADIS, AIDA?
Chloé Zhao, NOMADLAND

BEST LEADING ACTRESS
Bukky Bakray, ROCKS
Radha Blank, THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION
Vanessa Kirby, PIECES OF A WOMAN
Frances McDormand, NOMADLAND
Wunmi Mosaku, HIS HOUSE
Alfre Woodard, CLEMENCY

BEST LEADING ACTOR
Riz Ahmed, SOUND OF METAL
Chadwick Boseman, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
Adarsh Gourav, THE WHITE TIGER
Anthony Hopkins, THE FATHER
Mads Mikkelsen, ANOTHER ROUND
Tahar Rahim, THE MAURITANIAN

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Niamh Algar, CALM WITH HORSES
Kosar Ali, ROCKS
Maria Bakalova, BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM
Dominique Fishback, JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
Ashley Madekwe, COUNTY LINES
Yuh-jung Youn, MINARI

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Daniel Kaluuya, JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
Barry Keoghan, CALM WITH HORSES
Alan Kim, MINARI
Leslie Odom Jr., ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI…
Clarke Peters, DA 5 BLOODS
Paul Raci, SOUND OF METAL

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
THE DIG (Moira Buffini)
THE FATHER (Christopher Hampton & Florian Zeller)
THE MAURITANIAN (Rory Haines, Sohrab Noshirvani & Michael Bronner)
NOMADLAND (Chloé Zhao)
THE WHITE TIGER (Ramin Bahrani)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
ANOTHER ROUND (Tobias Lindholm & Thomas Vinterberg)
MANK (Jack Fincher)
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN (Emerald Fennell)
ROCKS (Theresa Ikoko & Claire Wilson)
THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 (Aaron Sorkin)

BEST CASTING
CALM WITH HORSES (Shaheen Baig)
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH (Alexa L. Fogel)
MINARI (Julia Kim)
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN (Lindsay Graham-Ahanonu & Mary Vernieu)
ROCKS (Lucy Pardee)

BEST EDITING
THE FATHER
NOMADLAND
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
SOUND OF METAL
THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
MANK
THE MAURITANIAN
NEWS OF THE WORLD
NOMADLAND

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
THE DIG
THE FATHER
MANK
NEWS OF THE WORLD
REBECCA

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
AMMONITE
THE DIG
EMMA.
MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
MANK

BEST MAKEUP & HAIR
THE DIG
HILLBILLY ELEGY
MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
MANK
PINOCCHIO

BEST SOUND
GREYHOUND
NEWS OF THE WORLD
NOMADLAND
SOUL
SOUND OF METAL

BEST SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
GREYHOUND
THE MIDNIGHT SKY
MULAN
THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN
TENET

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC
MANK (Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross)
MINARI (Emile Mosseri)
NEWS OF THE WORLD (James Newton Howard)
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN (Anthony Willis)
SOUL (Jon Batiste, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
ONWARD
SOUL
WOLFWALKERS

BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
ANOTHER ROUND
DEAR COMRADES!
LES MISÉRABLES
MINARI
QUO VADIS, AIDA?

BEST DOCUMENTARY
COLLECTIVE
DAVID ATTENBOROUGH: A LIFE ON OUR PLANET
THE DISSIDENT
MY OCTOPUS TEACHER
THE SOCIAL DILEMMA

BEST BRITISH SHORT FILM
EYELASH
LIZARD
LUCKY BREAK
MISS CURVY
THE PRESENT

BEST BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
THE FIRE NEXT TIME
THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT
THE SONG OF A LOST BOY

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
HIS HOUSE, Remi Weekes (Writer/Director)
LIMBO, Ben Sharrock (Writer/Director) & Irune Gurtubai (Producer)
MOFFIE, Jack Sidey (Writer/Producer)
ROCKS, Theresa Ikoko and Claire Wilson (Writers)
SAINT MAUD, Rose Glass (Writer/Director) and Oliver Kassman (Producer)

EE RISING STAR AWARD
Bukky Bakray
Kingsley Ben-Adir
Morfydd Clark
Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù
Conrad Khan