'Conclave' leads race for British BAFTA film awards as thoughts focus on fires in LA

LONDON (AP) — Papal thriller “ Conclave,” which stars Ralph Fiennes as a cardinal overseeing the election of a new pope, leads the race — just — for the British Academy Film Awards, with nominations in 12 categories, one more than the genre-busting musical “ Emilia Perez.”

But with the wildfires in Los Angeles over the past week fresh in the minds of everyone in the movie industry, Wednesday's announcement of the latest BAFTA nominations was restrained.

“Before we begin, on behalf of everyone at BAFTA, our thoughts are with colleagues, friends and peers and all those affected by the devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area,” actor Will Sharpe said before he and fellow actor Mia McKenna-Bruce announced the nominations.

BAFTA chair Sara Putt would not say whether the fires may impact the ceremony, which is due to take place Feb. 16 at the Royal Festival Hall in London, hosted by Scottish actor David Tennant.

“The ceremony is a month away. It would be inappropriate and far too early to say anything about that,” Putt told The Associated Press.

The five films nominated for the best film award were “ Conclave,” “ Emilia Perez,” the 215-minute postwar epic ” The Brutalist,” the Palme d’Or-winning comedy/drama “ Anora ″ and the Bob Dylan biopic “ A Complete Unknown.”

“The Brutalist” had nine nominations, including leading actor for Adrien Brody, who faces stiff competition from Fiennes and Timothee Chalamet, who plays the young Dylan in “A Complete Unknown.”

The other actors nominated are Hugh Grant for his creepy role in the horror film “ Heretic,” Colman Domingo in real-life prison drama “ Sing Sing ” and Sebastian Stan for his portrayal of a real estate mogul — a certain Donald Trump — in “ The Apprentice.”

“Anora,” the sci-fi epic “Dune: Part Two” and “Wicked” each received seven nominations. “A Complete Unknown” received six nominations, as did “Kneecap,” the Irish-language hip-hop drama.

The prizes — officially called the EE BAFTA Film Awards — are Britain’s equivalent of Hollywood’s Academy Awards and will be watched closely for hints of who may win at the Oscars on March 3.

Putt praised the variety in the nominations, noting that six different genres were represented on the best film list.

“There’s some really exciting stories in there and just a real glorious range of film-making this year,” she said.

She also highlighted that 14 of the 24 nominations in the acting categories were first-timers, and that whoever takes the best actress award will be a first-time BAFTA winner.

Demi Moore has a chance, with a nomination for lead actress for her role in the body horror film “ The Substance.”

Other notable nominations for best supporting actress were Selena Gomez and Ariana Grande for their roles in “Emilia Perez” and the musical “Wicked.”

Like other major movie awards, Britain's film academy has introduced changes in recent years to increase diversity. In 2020, no women were nominated as best director for the seventh year running, and all 20 nominees in the lead and supporting performer categories were white.

The voting process was changed to add a longlist round in the selection before the final nominees are voted on by the academy’s 8,000-strong membership of industry professionals.

One notable absentee from Wednesday's shortlist was Denzel Washington, who had featured on the longlist released last month, and who had been nominated for his role as a bisexual scheming owner of gladiators in Ridley Scott’s “ Gladiator II.”

Edward Berger, the German-born director of “Conclave,” expressed his joy at the number of nominations received, including one for himself, but acknowledged the “strange” time to be celebrating when everyone’s thoughts are with the people of Los Angeles.

“To feel their strength is very, very inspiring,” he said.