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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Lisa McLoughlin

Baftas 2024: The ultimate guide to the UK film awards ceremony from hosts to performers

Get ready for Britain’s star-studded spectacle of the year as the 77th Academy Film Awards gears up for an unforgettable night on Sunday.

Former Doctor Who star David Tennant will be at the helm, hosting the event live from the Royal Festival Hall in London.

All eyes will be on Christopher Nolan’s gripping biopic Oppenheimer, leading the pack as the favourite to clinch the Best Film prize, boasting an impressive 13 nominations in total.

Dive in below to catch all the excitement and essential details about this year's Baftas ceremony.

When are the 2024 Baftas?

The 2024 Baftas will take place on Sunday, February 18th, from 7pm and will celebrate the best UK and world films of 2023.

Where are the awards being held?

The Bafta Awards bid adieu to the Royal Albert Hall after six splendid years and found a new abode at the prestigious Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in 2023.

The awards ceremony will continue to dazzle audiences at the landmark venue for the 2024 installment.

Who is presenting the Baftas?

TV and film star David Tennant, 52, is the master of ceremonies on the night - and will be joined by a whole host of A-list guest presenters.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Baftas have lined up former England footballer David Beckham and Grammy winner Dua Lipa to hand out statues alongside Hollywood luminaries such as Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Hugh Grant, and Gillian Anderson.

Joining this illustrious lineup are Andrew Scott, Bryce Dallas Howard, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Daisy Edgar Jones, Daryl McCormack, Keegan-Michael Key, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Lily Collins, Marisa Abela, Rebecca Ferguson, Sheila Atim, and Taylor Russell, ensuring a night filled with glitz and glamour.

Who is performing?

Bafta has confirmed that Sophie Ellis-Bextor will grace the stage to perform her iconic 2001 hit, Murder on the Dancefloor, which recently surged back into the charts after Barry Keoghan’s memorable scene in Saltburn.

Additionally, THR reported that Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham is gearing up to deliver a captivating musical performance.

Who is nominated for a 2024 Bafta?

Cillian Murphy is in the running to be named best actor at this year’s Baftas with his nuclear bomb biopic Oppenheimer dominating the nominations.

He faces competition from fellow Irishman Barry Keoghan for his turn in Saltburn, as well as Bradley Cooper who is nominated for Maestro. The shortlist is completed by Rustin’s Colman Domingo, Paul Giamatti in The Holdovers and Teo Yoo in Past Lives.

Barry Keoghan ahs been nominated for his role in Saltburn (Courtesy of Prime)

The success of Oppenheimer’s box office rival Barbie is also recognised with Margot Robbie nominated for leading actress along with Carey Mulligan in Maestro, The Color Purple’s Fantasia Barrino, Sandra Huller in Anatomy of a Fall, Rye Lane’s Vivian Oparah and Emma Stone for Poor Things.

Huller is also nominated for supporting actress for The Zone of Interest with competition coming from Oppenheimer’s Emily Blunt, Danielle Brooks for The Color Purple, Claire Foy in All of Us Strangers, Saltburn’s Rosamund Pike and Da’Vine Joy Randolph for The Holdovers.

Ryan Gosling gets a nod for his role as Ken in the Barbie film with a nomination for supporting actor, along with Dominic Sessa for The Holdovers, Paul Mescal for All of Us Strangers, Saltburn’s Jacob Elordi, Robert Downey Jr. for Oppenheimer and Robert De Niro who is recognised for the Killers Of The Flower Moon.

Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott in All Of Us Strangers (Parisa Taghizadeh)

Martin Scorsese’s epic crime drama is also hoping to be named Best Film, with competition coming from Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers, Poor Things as well as Oppenheimer.

Poor Things is in the running for outstanding British Film, with other nominees including Ridley Scott’s historical epic Napoleon, Ken Loach’s The Old Oak, Wonka, The Zone of Interest, All Of Us Strangers, How to have Sex, Rye Lane, Scrapper and Saltburn.

Rye Lane’s Vivian Oparah

The ceremony’s only public-voted category – rising star award – will be hotly contested by Jacob Elordi, Ayo Edebiri, Mia McKenna-Bruce, Sophie Wilde and Phoebe Dynevor.

Apart from the usual nods, there are two very special recognitions being handed out this year - June Givanni will honored with the outstanding British contribution to cinema award.

Samantha Morton, acclaimed for her roles in The Whale and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, will be bestowed with the prestigious Bafta Fellowship, the highest honour presented by the academy.

You can read the full list of nominations here.

What were the biggest snubs?

Irish actor Andrew Scott had been widely tipped for recognition for his moving performance in the drama All Of Us Strangers - but ultimately missed out on a best lead actor nomination.

Barbie filmmaker Greta Gerwig was a conspicuous omission from the best director category. The film also didn’t make the cut in the best film category, despite nods for stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling and for Gerwig’s screenplay, which she wrote with husband Noah Baumbach.

Director Scorsese was also not recognised for Killers Of The Flower Moon. There were also snubs for stars Leonard DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone.

Filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, whose film Poor Things received 11 nominations including best film, was also snubbed alongside Past Lives director Celine Song.

Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo star in Poor Things (Atsushi Nishijima/Searchlight Pictures/(PA)

American Fiction actor Jeffrey Wright was missing from the list, as were Mark Ruffalo and Willem Dafoe, who have been lauded for their supporting performances in Poor Things.

British film One Life, which stars Sir Anthony Hopkins as a stockbroker who helped save 669 children from the Nazis in World War II, was entirely overlooked, as was drama May December, and Nyad, a biopic about swimmer Diana Nyad starring Annette Bening and Jodie Foster.

What were the biggest surprises?

Among the noticeable absences were also some unforeseen nods. Notably, Fantasia Barrino secured a Best Actress nomination for her role in The Color Purple.

Furthermore, Barry Keoghan, Rosamund Pike, and Jacob Elordi from Saltburn each earned nominations for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Supporting Actor, respectively.

Andrew Haigh's nomination for Best Director for All of Us Strangers also stands out, considering the absence of other high-profile directors in the category.

How can I watch the Baftas live in the UK?

The ceremony will be broadcast on BBC One from 7pm before wrapping up by 9pm.

For those in the UK who may have missed the awards, it will be available to stream on BBC iPlayer also.

Viewers in Australia, the US, South Africa and Scandinavia can watch it on BritBox.

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