2021 BAFTA Nominees Announced with most Diverse Nominations in Film History
The nominees for the 2021 BAFTAs were unveiled earlier this week. Film fans predict who will come away with the most wins in what is set to be the most diverse awards ceremony in film and television history.
The film industry, and film and television award shows in particular, have long faced criticism for their lack of acknowledgement, and sometimes blatant disregard, for the work of those actors/writers/directors from minority groups.
Despite some huge wins for these communities in recent years, with films such as “Get Out (2017)” and “Parasite (2019)”, many still claim these award shows and the people that organise them have a prejudice towards these groups. The 2021 BAFTAs are rewriting the script on Hollywood.
16 of the 24 acting nominees this year are coming from ethnic minority groups. Of these include, Daniel Kaluuya, who received huge acclaim for his role as Chris Washington in the previously mentioned Horror-Drama, “Get Out”. His latest film, “Judas and the Black Messiah” has a total of 4 nominations, making it one of the most commended films at the ceremony.
The film has seen unprecedented success due to the topical nature of the film’s story and how it links to a recent rise in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
On top of this, 4 out of the 6 nominees for directing are women, making a stark difference from last years’ BAFTAs where not a single nominee for directing was a woman. Director Chloe Zhao seems to be the fan favourite to win, and seeing as her film “Nomadland” has been nominated for 7 awards, it’s safe to say she’s walking away with at least one trophy in hand.
But nothing is certain yet, and since the ceremony is still a month away, we’ll have to stick with guessing for now…