LONDON, UK—Finally, we have some surprises in Awards Season. I’m sorry I hate predictability, and the 2025 British Academy of Film and Theatre Arts have delivered some surprises that are sure to have plenty buzzing as we get closer to Oscar, which transpires on Sunday, March 2. With that said, “Emilia Perez,” hate to say it, but its chances for Best Director, Best Actress and Best Picture are dunzo. The musical came into the BAFTA ceremony alongside the religious thriller “Conclave” with a multitude of nominations, but its big victor was for Supporting Actress which went to Zoe Saldana.
Yes, the musical’s star Karla Sofia Gascon may have tanked the movie’s chances in those other categories, but Saldana’s performance is still strong enough to where she has virtually dominated this awards season. We’ll see if she can keep this up with the Screen Actor’s Guild Awards this week. Adrien Brody’s turn in “The Brutalist” might be way too powerful for Ralph Fiennes “Conclave” and Timothee Chalamet “A Complete Unknown” to topple, as he picked up the BAFTA for Leading Actor.
If there was a ceremony where I suspected that Fiennes may have a chance it was BAFTA. However, never say never, because I remember when Olivia Colman won Best Actress over Glenn Close, which no one expected at the Oscars. Stunners can indeed happen. However, there was a stunner with Mikey Madison winning the BAFTA for Leading Actress beating out perennial favorite Demi Moore for “The Substance.” Madison’s win could be a sign that Moore’s chance at Oscar is not as clearcut as we expect.
Another interesting race was Director, as Brady Corbet won for “The Brutalist” over Sean Baker who just earned accolades from the PGA, WGA and DGA for “Anora.” I know many thought the race was a given for Jacques Audiard for “Emilia Perez” once awards season started, but after that film’s star had old tweets surface it killed Audiard’s chances I think and Baker swooped in with victories last week making him the frontrunner, but its looking like Corbet could be a serious contender for Oscar with his BAFTA win.
Supporting Actor was another cakewalk for Kieran Culkin for “A Real Pain.” If Culkin DOESN’T win the SAG and Oscar I will indeed be flabbergasted; it’s almost like Saldana not winning for Supporting Actress at this point. The other big surprise, but not for me is “Conclave” taking home the prize for Best Film. It is hands down my favorite movie of the year, but it hasn’t seen much love, so its victory here proves “Anora” may not be given that Oscar for Best Picture after victories last week at the Producer’s Guild of America and Director’s Guild of America.
“Conclave” next to “Wicked” is the most entertaining of all the films nominated for Best Picture. Yes, “Wicked” should get more love, but the musical really has to wallop you to walk away with awards success. “Wicked” is fun, but it’s not “Chicago.” “Conclave” also won BAFTAs for Outstanding British Film, Editing and Adapted Screenplay. Another interesting development was Jesse Eisenberg winning Original Screenplay for “A Real Pain” over Sean Baker for “Anora.” On Saturday, Baker was honored by the Writer’s Guild of America with the prize for Best Screenplay.
“The Brutalist” also picked up awards for Cinematography and Score. While “Wicked” walked away with the BAFTA for Costume Design and Production Design, while “The Substance” won for Make Up & Hair. “Dune: Part Two” picked up 2 BAFTA Awards, one for Sound and the other for Special Visual Effects.
There was plenty and I mean plenty to talk about thanks to BAFTA which has shaken the Awards Race. There is only one more awards show before Oscar Sunday, and that is the Screen Actors Guild Awards that might definitely tell us where voters are leading when it comes to the acting races. We might also have an indicator if “Conclave” is a bigger threat to “Anora’s” Best Picture chances or if its vice versa.
