Conclave, The Brutalist and Anora battle for best film at BAFTA awards

But many now consider Anora, about an exotic dancer who gets involved with a Russian oligarch’s son, a strong contender after it and director Sean Baker triumphed at the Critics Choice Awards, as well as the Producers and Directors Guild of America Awards ahead of next month’s Academy Awards.

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“Everyone just assumed The Brutalist … was going to win everywhere but … (now) it feels like the momentum is behind Anora and in awards season, it’s all about momentum,” Digital Spy movies editor Ian Sandwell told Reuters. Completing the best film list are Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown and Spanish-language musical crime movie Emilia Perez.

“There’s certainly no frontrunner this year like there has been (before) and it’s also been moving around a lot,” Tim Richards, founder and CEO of cinema operator Vue, said. “I actually think that ‘The Brutalist’ will most likely win best film but it’s a hard call between …The Brutalist and Conclave.”

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Many pundits consider the best director race to be between Baker; Edward Berger, for Conclave, who made history at the 2023 awards when his German remake of All Quiet on the Western Front won seven prizes; and Brady Corbet for The Brutalist. Its star Adrien Brody is the favourite to win leading actor after picking awards elsewhere.

For leading actress, the frontrunners are Demi Moore, who has been repeatedly honoured for her performance in body horror The Substance, and Briton Marianne Jean-Baptiste for her critically acclaimed portrayal of a woman struggling with depression in Hard Truths.

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Emilia Perez, which stars Zoe Saldana as a lawyer who helps a Mexican cartel leader, played by Karla Sofia Gascon, fake his death and transition from a man to a woman, follows Conclave with 11 nominations. It had been an early awards frontrunner but its campaign lost steam following controversy surrounding Gascon, who has apologised for past social media posts denigrating Muslims and other groups and said she would go silent to help the movie ahead of the Oscars.

Both Gascon and Saldana are nominated in the leading and supporting actress categories respectively, and the latter is widely expected to win after her triumphs at other awards ceremonies. Gascon is not expected at the BAFTAs. Another anticipated winner is Kieran Culkin for his supporting role in dramedy A Real Pain. “He’s been winning everywhere ever since this awards race has started,” Sandwell said. “So for anyone but him to win would be a massive surprise.”