Papal thriller 'Conclave' leads BAFTA nominations

Papal thriller "Conclave" led nominations for the BAFTA Film Awards on Wednesday, with music-themed and horror productions also faring well at Britain's top movie honours.

"Conclave", about scheming cardinals deciding who to elect as the next pope, secured 12 nods including for best film, director for Edward Berger and leading actor for Ralph Fiennes, whose character, the dean of the College of Cardinals, has to oversee proceedings.

Isabella Rossellini was nominated for best supporting actress for playing a nun in the movie, which is based on the novel by British writer Robert Harris.

Berger's last film, a German remake of anti-war classic "All Quiet on the Western Front", swept the 2023 BAFTA awards with a historic seven wins.

"Emilia Perez", which mixes the diverse genres of musical, crime and comedy, followed "Conclave" on Wednesday with 11 nominations.

The Spanish-language film stars Zoe Saldana as a lawyer who helps a drug cartel leader, played by Karla Sofia Gascon, fake his death and transition from a man to a woman.

Gascon got a leading actress nomination, while Saldana and singer-actor Selena Gomez, who plays the drug lord's wife, were recognised in the supporting actress category,

Considered one of the top contenders at this year's awards season, "Emilia Perez" also received nods for best film and director for French filmmaker Jacques Audiard.

Fellow musical "Wicked", the hit box office adaptation of the stage show, and Bob Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown", in which Timothee Chalamet portrays the singer's rise to fame in the 1960s, were also recognised, with seven and six nominations respectively.

Adding to the music theme, "Kneecap" about the rise of Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap also got six nods.

"A Complete Unknown" will also compete at the February 16 ceremony for the top prize of best film, along with "The Brutalist", in which Adrien Brody portrays a Hungarian immigrant seeking to rebuild his life in the United States after World War Two.

"Anora", about a young exotic dancer who becomes involved with the son of a Russian oligarch, completes the list.

All of the best film contenders are directed by men, none of them British.

"The 42 films nominated today span a fantastically broad spectrum of genres with enormous breadth in creative expression," BAFTA CEO Jane Millichip said in a statement.

"From the most intimate character pieces to epic societal commentaries via genre-bending dramas, musicals and comedies. The film industry has delivered in spades once again."

Both Chalamet and Brody, who won a Golden Globe this month, were nominated for leading actor, alongside Colman Domingo for prison drama "Sing Sing" and surprise inclusions Hugh Grant, for playing a serial killer in horror "Heretic", and Sebastian Stan, for his portrayal of a young Donald Trump in "The Apprentice".

Gascon's rivals for leading actress include surprise Golden Globe winner Demi Moore for body horror "The Substance", which received five nominations in total, including for Coralie Fargeat, the only woman to make the best director category, which also did not include British filmmakers.

Gothic horror "Nosferatu" also received five nominations, in a boost for the genre.

The leading actress category includes Cynthia Erivo for "Wicked", Mikey Madison for "Anora", Saoirse Ronan for playing a woman dealing her with addiction in "The Outrun", and Marianne Jean-Baptiste, who won critical acclaim for her performance in Mike Leigh's drama "Hard Truths".

More than half of the acting contenders - 14 out of 24 - are first time BAFTA Film Awards nominees.