Projection Room: It’s BAFTA time.

It is that glorious time of year once again where film fans come together to predict the big awards. Now, I know the Golden Globes have happened, but personally I take them as a pinch of salt after The Martian (of all films) won an award for being the best ‘musical or comedy’. So, this morning, the BAFTA nominations came out, and I’m going to try and predict as many as I can. Strap in folks, this is going to be a fun one.

Best Film/Best Director

Either La La Land or Arrival could do it for me- and even though I haven’t seen La La Land yet (that will change when it opens in the UK on Friday), the response from other critics and the fact that it won 7 Golden Globes earlier this week is attracting me to the hype. Arrival, well, it’s my Film of the Year.

Screenplays

So with this year’s original screenplay contenders, it is really hard to pick the nominees apart- but with the Golden Globes in the bag, the smart money is on La La Land to make it a double. For the adapted screenplay category, Eric Heisserer’s work on Arrival could clinch it, but with Nocturnal Animals and Hacksaw Ridge in the pack too, it is all to play for.

Best Performances

Leading roles first, and for the men, it’s a done deal for Ryan Gosling in La La Land. From the trailers and clips I’ve seen so far, this might be his best film to date, and coming off the back of his brilliant work in The Nice Guys last year, now is the right time. For the women, my money is on Amy Adams to take home the gold for Arrival, however, with Emma Stone attracting a considerable amount of attention for La La Land, it could be another case where it is all to play for. 

In the supporting role category, I haven’t seen many of the nominated films, but Hugh Grant’s nomination for Florence Foster Jenkins is rightfully deserved- however, once again, it’s a strong list this year for this goliath combination of categories.

Technical Categories (Sound/Cinematography/Editing/Visual Effects)

Arrival should dominate these categories (especially cinematography, just looking at this still from the trailer makes me drool), but with a huge list of nominees across the 7 technical awards, this year’s minor awards are damn near impossible to separate- so we will have to see on the night.

Animated Film

I always love this category- and this year it could be one of two films. Zootropolis is the favourite, and quite rightly so, but I will be just as happy if Finding Dory wins it. Both of them are outstanding, and when all is said and done, it’s a tight race for this award.

The EE Rising Star Award

This one’s voted for by you, the general public, and it is obvious who will win it based on how many fans he gained after donning the Spider-Man suit in Captain America: Civil War. Tom Holland has had a stunning year on the big screen, and if he wins on February 12th, it will be the perfect way to build hype for July’s Spider-Man Homecoming.

I’ve not been able to predict every category due to time constraints, but keep checking back here until the night of the awards on February 12th, as I will be updating these predictions as I see more of the nominated films and also as the Oscar nominations are unveiled.