The Bafta nominations for 2019 are in, just four weeks before the ceremony kicks off in London.
But while it’s widely known that the Baftas are the big ones this side of the pond, what does Bafta actually stand for?
The awards are known as ‘the Baftas’ but this is an abbreviation of The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).
It is an independent arts charity and as well as the annual awards ceremonies, it has a programme of events to assist with learning and charitable events.
Bafta was formed in 1947 as the British Film Academy.
It was introduced by a group of directors and other key players in the film industry in Britain.
The first film awards ceremony took place two years later in May 1949, honouring the films Odd Man Out, The World Is Rich and The Best Years Of Our Lives, which were released in 1947 and 1948.
The BFA became the Society of Film and Television Arts in 1958 when it merged with the Guild of Television Producers and Directors, which was formed in 1953.
The Society’s first-ever meeting was held in Buckingham Palace with the Duke of Edinburgh present.
Nearly two decades later, in 1976, members of the Royal Family – Queen Elizabeth II, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Princess Royal and The Earl Mountbatten of Burma – opened the Society’s headquarters at 195 Piccadilly, London, and it later became formally known as the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the title it retains today.
The Bafta awards had traditionally always happened during April or May of each year but this changed to February in 2002 so it could precede the Oscars, which is now the final big awards ceremony of the film season.
It was held at the Odeon in Leicester Square from 2000 to 2008, when it moved to the Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden. Since 2017, its new home has been the Royal Albert Hall in London’s Kensington.
For a film to qualify for a Bafta nomination, it must be released in a UK cinema at least seven days before the corresponding Bafta awards.
The bronze mask trophy on a marble base was designed by American sculptor Mitzi Cunliffe.
Nominations for this year’s ceremony –which is the 72nd in the organisation’s history – were revealed today.
Olivia Colman’s royal saga The Favourite leads the race with 12 nominations, while A Star Is Born, Bohemian Rhapsody, Roma and First Man all have seven.
2019 Bafta nominations
BAFTA Award for Best Film:
BlacKkKlansman
The Favourite
Green Book
Roma
A Star Is Born
BAFTA Award for Best British Film:
Beast
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
McQueen
Stan & Ollie
You Were Never Really Here
BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film:
Isle Of Dogs
Spider Man: In To The Spider Verse
Incredibles 2
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role:
Bradley Cooper
Christian Bale
Rami Malek
Steve Coogan
Viggo Mortensen
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role:
Glenn Close
Lady Gaga
Melissa McCarthy
Olivia Colman
Viola Davis
Up Next
BAFTA Award for Best Direction:
Spike Lee
Yorgos Lanthimos
Bradley Cooper
Pawel Pawlikowski
Alfonso Cuaron
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role:
Adam Driver
Mahershala Ali
Richard E. Grant
Sam Rockwell
Timothée Chalamet
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role:
Amy Adams
Claire Foy
Emma Stone
Margot Robbie
Rachel Weisz
BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay:
Cold War
The Favourite
Green Book
Roma
Vice
BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay:
BlacKkKlansman
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
First Man
If Beale Street Could Talk
A Star Is Born
BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language:
Capernaum
Cold War
Dogman
Roma
Shoplifters
BAFTA Award for Best Documentary:
Free Solo
McQueen
RBG
They Shall Not Grow Old
Three Identical Strangers
BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography:
Bohemian Rhapsody
Cold War
The Favourite
First Man
Roma
BAFTA Award for Best Sound:
Bohemian Rhapsody
First Man
Mission: Impossible Fall Out
A Quiet Place
A Star Is Born
BAFTA Award for Best Film Music:
BlackKklansmen
If Beale St Could Talk
Isle Of Dogs
Mary Poppins Returns
A Star Is Born
BAFTA Award for Best Production Design:
Crimes Of Grindelwald
The Favourite
First Man
Mary Poppins Returns
Roma
Up Next
BAFTA Award for Best Costume Design:
Ballad Of Buster Scruggs
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
Mary Poppins Returns
Roma
BAFTA Award for Best Editing:
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
First Man
Roma
Vice
BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer:
Apostasy – Daniel Kokotajio
Beast – Michael Pearce
A Cambodian Spring – Chris Kelly
Pili – Leanne Welham
Ray and Liz – Richard Billingham
BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects:
Avengers: Infinity War
Black Panther
Crimes Of Grindelwald
First Man
Ready Player One
BAFTA Award for Best Makeup and Hair:
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Favourite
Mary Queen Of Scots
Stan and Ollie
Vice
MORE : Olivia Colman and Glenn Close head to head in Bafta betting as A Star is Born also tipped for success