After last year's awards season tackled incessant cinema closures and release date pushbacks, in 2022, we get to look back at a year that saw theatres stay open, and where audiences could consistently enjoy the experience of seeing great films on the big screen again.
That big screen experience was vital for 2022's most BAFTA-nominated film, Denis Villeneuve's Dune. After an agonising wait, the much-anticipated adaptation of Frank Herbert's sci-fi epic finally arrived in cinemas late last year, receiving acclaim from critics and audiences alike for its wondrous world-building, Denis' directorial vision, and, of course, the space bagpipes. Dune topped Empire's list of the best films of 2021, and has now scored a cracking 11 BAFTA nominations, including Best Film, Adapted Screenplay, Score (for the GOAT Hans Zimmer), Cinematography (for Greig Fraser) and a number of noms in the technical categories.
Next highest nominated is the legendary Jane Campion's sweeping, simmering Western The Power Of The Dog, which received 8 nominations and is streaming on Netflix now. It joins Dune in the Best Film category, as well as a Best Leading Actor nod for Benedict Cumberbatch, two Best Supporting Actor noms for Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee (also up for the public-voted EE Rising Star Award), and a director nod for Campion herself.
Other big hitters were Kenneth Branagh's semi-autobiographical Belfast, which received 6 nominations, as well as Paul Thomas Anderson's 70s-set young romance Licorice Pizza, Daniel Craig's farewell to 007 No Time To Die, and Steven Spielberg's musical debut West Side Story, all of which scored 5 nominations each.
Films not in the English language did well – Renate Reinsve got a Best Leading Actress nod for romantic drama The Worst Person In The World, and Julia Ducournau popped up in the Best Director category for Titane, as did Ryûsuke Hamaguchi for Drive My Car.
There are some notable omissions, though – there's no recognition for Andrew Garfield for his turn as Jonathan Larson in Netflix's Tick, Tick... BOOM!, Kristen Stewart for embodying the people's princess in Spencer, or Denzel for Joel Coen's The Tragedy Of Macbeth. And, despite Dune being the most nominated film, Denis Villeneuve isn't included in the Best Director category.
The list is a (mostly) strong follow-up to 2021's rich and diverse list, covering a good spread of the films that made the past 12 months a standout one for cinema. Tune in on 13 March to see who bags the biggest gongs – and check out the full list of nominees below.
The Full List Of Nominees:
Best Film
Belfast
Don't Look Up
Dune
Licorice Pizza
The Power Of The Dog
Outstanding British Film
After Love
Ali & Ava
Belfast
Boiling Point
Cyrano
Everybody's Talking About Jamie
House Of Gucci
Last Night In Soho
No Time To Die
Passing
Best Leading Actress
Lady Gaga – House Of Gucci
Alana Haim – Licorice Pizza
Emilia Jones – CODA
Renate Reinsve – The Worst Person In The World
Joanna Scanlan – After Love
Tessa Thompson – Passing
Best Leading Actor
Adeel Akhtar – Ali & Ava
Mahershala Ali – Swan Song
Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power Of The Dog
Leonardo DiCaprio – Don't Look Up
Stephen Graham – Boiling Point
Will Smith – King Richard
Best Supporting Actress
Caitríona Balfe – Belfast
Jessie Buckley – The Lost Daughter
Ariana DeBose – West Side Story
Ann Dowd – Mass
Aunjanue Ellis – King Richard
Ruth Negga – Passing
Best Supporting Actor
Mike Faist – West Side Story
Ciarán Hinds – Belfast
Troy Kotsur – CODA
Woody Norman – C'mon C'mon
Jesse Plemons – The Power Of The Dog
Kodi Smit-McPhee – The Power Of The Dog
Best Director
Aleem Khan – After Love
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi – Drive My Car
Audrey Diwan – Happening
Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza
Jane Campion – The Power Of The Dog
Julia Ducournau – Titane
Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director Or Producer
After Love – Aleem Khan (writer/director)
Boiling Point – James Cummings (writer) and Hester Ruoff (producer)
The Harder They Fall – Jeymes Samuel (writer/director)
Keyboard Fantasies – Posy Dixon (writer/director) and Liv Proctor (producer)
Passing – Rebecca Hall (writer/director)
Film Not In The English Language
Drive My Car
The Hand Of God
Parallel Mothers
Petite Maman
The Worst Person In The World
Best Documentary
Becoming Costeau
Cow
Flee
The Rescue
Summer Of Soul (Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
Best Animated Film
Encanto
Flee
Luca
The Mitchells Vs. The Machines
Best Original Screenplay
Being The Ricardos – Aaron Sorkin
Belfast – Kenneth Branagh
Don't Look Up – Adam McKay
King Richard – Zach Baylin
Licorice Pizza – Paul Thomas Anderson
Best Adapted Screenplay
CODA - Siân Heder
Drive My Car – Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Dune - Eric Roth, John Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve
The Lost Daughter – Maggie Gyllenhaal
The Power Of The Dog – Jane Campion
Best Original Score
Being The Ricardos – Daniel Pemberton
Don't Look Up – Nicholas Britell
Dune - Hans Zimmer
The French Dispatch – Alexandre Desplat
The Power Of The Dog – Johnny Greenwood
Best Cinematography
Dune – Greig Fraser
Nightmare Alley – Dan Laustsen
No Time To Die – Linus Sandgren
The Power Of The Dog – Ari Wegner
The Tragedy Of Macbeth – Bruno Delbonnel
Best Costume Design
Cruella – Jenny Beavan
Cyrano – Massimo Cantini Parrini
Dune – Robert Morgan & Jacqueline West
The French Dispatch – Milena Canonero
Nightmare Alley – Luis Sequeira
Best Editing
Belfast – Úna Ní Dhonghaíle
Dune – Joe Walker
Licorice Pizza – Andy Jurgensen
No Time To Die – Tom Cross, Elliot Graham
Summer Of Soul (Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) – Joshua L. Pearson
Best Production Design
Cyrano – Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
Dune – Patrice Vermette, Zsuzsanna Sipos
The French Dispatch – Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo
Nightmare Alley – Tamara Deverell, Shane Vieau
West Side Story – Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo
Best Makeup And Hair
Cruella – Nadia Stacey, Naomi Donne
Cyrano – Alessandro Bertolazzi, Siân Miller
Dune – Love Larson, Donal Mowat
The Eyes Of Tammy Faye – Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram, Justin Raleigh
House Of Gucci – Frederic Aspiras, Jane Carboni, Giuliano Mariana, Sarah Nicole Tanno
Best Sound
Dune – Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Doug Hemphill, Theo Green, Ron Bartlett
Last Night In Soho – Colin Nicolson, Julian Slater, Tim Cavagin, Dan Morgan
No Time To Die – James Harrison, Simon Hayes, Paul Massey, Oliver Tarney, Mark Taylor
A Quiet Place Part II – Erik Aadahl, Michael Barosky, Brandon Proctor, Ethan Van Der Ryn
West Side Story – Brian Chumney, Tod Maitland, Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom
Best Special Visual Effects
Dune – Brian Connor, Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Gerd Nefzer
Free Guy – Swen Gillberg, Brian Grill, Nikos Kalaitzidis, Daniel Sudick
Ghostbusters: Afterlife – Aharon Bourland, Sheena Duggal, Pier Lefebvre, Alessandro Ongaro
The Matrix Resurrections – Tom Debenham, Hew J Evans, Dan Glass, J. D. Schwaim
No Time To Die – Mark Bokowski, Chris Corbould, Joel Green, Charlie Noble
Best Casting
Boiling Point – Carolyn McLeod
Dune – Francine Maisler
The Hand Of God – Massimo Appolloni, Annamaria Sambucco
King Richard – Rich Delia, Avy Kaufman
West Side Story – Cindy Tolan
Best British Short Film
The Black Cop
Femme
The Palace
Stuffed
Three Meetings Of The Extraordinary Committee
Best British Short Animation
Affairs Of The Art
Do Not Feed The Pigeons
Night Of The Living Dread
EE Rising Star Award (voted for by the public)
Ariana DeBose
Harris Dickinson
Lashana Lynch
Millicent Simmonds
Kodi Smit-McPhee