The 2020 BAFTA nominations were released this morning, and the shortlists have caused a stir once again amidst accusations that they lack diversity.
Coming in at the top with 11 film nominations including best director, best film and a best actor is Todd Phillips’ Joker, despite it only winning a couple of Golden Globes on Sunday.
Joker is closely followed by Martin Scorsese‘s The Irishman and Quentin Tarantino‘s Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood, which received 10 nominations each.
The nominations for best actor include Leonardo DiCaprio, Adam Driver, Joaquin Phoenix, Taron Egerton and Jonathan Pryce, while Renée Zellweger, Scarlett Johansson, Saoirse Ronan, Jessie Buckley and Charlize Theron are all up for the best actress category.
The best film category will be a race between Joker, Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood, The Irishman, 1917 and Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite, with the same films all receiving nominations for best director.
Snubbed from this latter category is the Little Women director Greta Gerwig, who also failed to receive recognition for this well-acclaimed film at the Golden Globes, which has attracted criticism.
The Bafta’s have also been criticised for the lack of diversity in the acting categories. Actors of colour such as Cynthia Erivo, Jennifer Lopez, Eddie Murphy and The Farewell’s Awkwafina failed to gain recognition in any of the 20 major acting nominations.
In fact, the only category in the 2020 awards that has a diverse list of nominees is the EE rising star award, where Michael Ward, Kelvin Harrison Jr and Awkwafina were nominated.
Criticisms regarding the lack of diversity at the Bafta’s is no new thing, and a 2018 report revealed that 94% of all Bafta film award nominees have been white. As a result of this years nominations, the hashtag #BAFTAsSoWhite began trending on social media.
#Peace.Love.Baftas2020
