BAFTA Nominations

So us Brits, in an attempt to break up America's monopoly on the big film awards ceremonies, have announced the nominations for this year's BAFTAS. Now people will tell you that these mean something, and I say guff to that. They say that it's a key awards ceremony in the run-up to the Oscars. It's not really, it's just a waste of time. Don't believe me? Well look at those nominations.

Now don't get me wrong, most of these films are pretty damn good. But look at the way that it's split up. There are nominations for films like In Bruges, WALL.E, Hunger, Waltz With Bashir and Man On Wire, a group of diverse films that have been very well received. An awards ceremony prepared to honour these films should be considered daring, but sadly the BAFTAS have taken the cowardly route. You see none of them are up for Best Film, but rather sit in categories best described as "Best Film That's Foreign, Animated or British and isn't Slumdog Millionaire". This is an awards that has a best film category that seems not to consider anything that isn't "worthy" filmmaking. Again, this isn't an attack on the actual films nominated for the category but the simple fact is that the list is boring, predictable and more than likely will be the same list as the Oscars. It tends to be the case with the BAFTAS hence them moving it to before the Oscars, not to be a yardstick, but to cover up how predictable and pointless the whole shebang is.

Of course the fact that they are then willing to celebrate the other titles I listed shows up this fact all the more so. WALL.E was easily one of the best films of last year, but it's a cartoon, you know, for kids, so best animated film is the best it can do. Sadly this really may be a predictor for the Oscars where Pixar and others have suffered from choosing not to film real people but operate in an art form that seems to be deemed less than worthy by awards panels, sitting just above comedy and horror in the pecking order. Waltz With Bashir is by all accounts another worthy nominee which has to make do with the animated slap in the face, but then gets a second for being nominated in the "Best Film Not In The English Language" category. Great wording there, what was foreign deemed offensive or something? Because let's be honest they're all foreign films (to us) and I doubt many Welsh language movies end up in this category because if they're any good they'll go in the biggest cop out of the lot, Outstanding British Film.

Apart from Slumdog millionaire, which was rightly considered in the Best Film category, all the other films probably came no where near even making that list, begging the question; what is the point of a British film awards ceremony that doesn't have a bit of a bias towards homegrown films. The Oscars does, and isn't this supposed to be ours? Nope, instead the British films get a separate category that doesn't even look to distinguish the thing as the Best film made hear, just an outstanding one. It's like giving the filmmaker a condescending pat on the head and saying "good try there son, maybe one day you'll get to make a Hollywood movie". Slumdog is a genuinely terrific film, but why is it nominated in both categories? It suggests that it'll lose to one of the less hyper-kinetic, i.e. old git friendly, movies like The Reader in best film then pick up the British award, look out for this happening with Waltz With Bashir too. It's good that less well known films like Hunger and Man On Wire are getting some recognition, but again why not give them top billing if they're that outstanding. And In Bruges, pity it as it's way too sweary and offensive for best film so we'll honour a genuinely fantastic British film in the proper way, bu ignoring it. It probably won't win a film category but McDonagh deserves best original screenplay and it deserves an acting award, although don't put money on Brendan Gleeson winning in Best Supporting Actor thanks to the likes of Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Heath Ledger being in there. Of course he and Colin Farrell are joint leads so he's in the wrong category anyway.

And then there's the kick in the teeth, the final insult. After me moaning about BAFTA not promoting British film well enough I realise they actually have had a stab at it. Look at the last film in the Outstanding British category. Mamma Mia! Mamma fucking Mia! Why is this arseing piece of unmitigated anal leakage there? Because it's the most successful British film ever. Why? Because sad, middle aged women love ABBA. It's also British in that wonderful way where most of the funding and distribution actually comes from elsewhere. So well done BAFTA for nominating it, I suppose as your way of pointing out that everything in the world of British filmmaking is rosy thanks to the ridiculous amount of money this shitting thing took. This piece of industry back slapping is the final proof that BAFTA has got its priorities all wrong.