In a year where wildfires in Los Angeles have unsettled the awards season calendar, the BAFTAs have gallantly refused to be derailed. Today’s BAFTA Nominations 2025 announcement offers a rich tapestry of big hitters, dark horses, and a smattering of snubs likely to keep film lovers talking well into February.
The Frontrunners
If one film is soaking up most of the limelight, it’s Conclave—a papal thriller that scored a resounding 12 nominations, confirming the industry’s appetite for high-stakes ecclesiastical drama. Hot on its heels, the crime-musical Emilia Pérez earned 11 nods, its inventive mixture of gangster grit and show-stopping numbers clearly striking the right chord with voters. Director Jacques Audiard’s flair for cinematic daring has again hit home.
The Best Film Lineup
The category for Best Film has a distinctly eclectic mix:
- Anora (Sean Baker)
- The Brutalist (Brady Corbet)
- A Complete Unknown (James Mangold, also recognized for Adapted Screenplay)
- Conclave (Edward Berger)
- Emilia Pérez (Jacques Audiard)
Few eyebrows were raised about these five, though the omission of big-budget musical Wicked surprised more than a few onlookers, especially given its popularity stateside.
Directors and Leading Lights
Among directors, we see the likes of Edward Berger (Conclave) and Carolie Fargeat (The Substance). In a pleasant coup for sci-fi fans, Denis Villeneuve is nominated for Dune: Part Two, which captured seven nods overall. Leading Actor contenders include Adrien Brody (The Brutalist), Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown), Colman Domingo (Sing Sing), Ralph Fiennes (Conclave), Hugh Grant (Heretic), and Sebastian Stan (The Apprentice). Grant’s mention marks his fourth BAFTA film nod, a full three decades after his first for Four Weddings and a Funeral.
A Milestone for Representation
In Leading Actress, we find Cynthia Erivo (Wicked), Demi Moore (The Substance), Mikey Madison (Anora), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Hard Truths), Saoirse Ronan (The Outrun), and Karla Sofía Gascón (Emilia Pérez). Gascón’s nomination is a watershed moment: She becomes the first openly transgender actress to compete for a BAFTA Film Award—just months after making similar history at the Golden Globes. Ronan, meanwhile, secures her seventh BAFTA nomination before turning 31, showcasing once again her remarkable consistency.
Surprises, Snubs, and Everything in Between
No awards season is complete without the unexpected. Luca Guadagnino’s Queer and Challengers—both Golden Globe favorites—were shut out entirely, while Paddington in Peru failed to charm BAFTA voters, despite commercial success. There’s also a continued puzzle around Denzel Washington’s perpetual absence from BAFTA shortlists, despite a record of Oscar glory.
Still, it’s not all heartbreak. British indie gem Kneecap soared with six nominations, and brand-new Children’s and Family Film category recognized titles such as Flow and Kensuke’s Kingdom. The documentary field sees Daughters building momentum, while in the non-English language category, I’m Still Here claimed a spot but left its Golden Globe-winning star Fernanda Torres without an acting nod.
A Celebration on the Horizon
All eyes now turn to February 16, when David Tennant will host the ceremony at London’s Royal Festival Hall. The event airs on BBC1 in the UK and streams on BritBox in North America. Despite the uncertainties swirling around Los Angeles at present, the BAFTAs promise a spirited—if not unpredictable—celebration of cinematic achievement.
Full List of BAFTA NOMINEES 2025:
BEST FILM
- ANORA Alex Coco, Samantha Quan, Sean Baker
- THE BRUTALIST
- A COMPLETE UNKNOWN Fred Berger, Alex Heineman, James Mangold
- CONCLAVE Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell, Michael A. Jackman
- EMILIA PÉREZ
LEADING ACTRESS
- CYNTHIA ERIVO Wicked
- KARLA SOFÍA GASCÓN Emilia Pérez
- MARIANNE JEAN-BAPTISTE Hard Truths
- MIKEY MADISON Anora
- DEMI MOORE The Substance
- SAOIRSE RONAN The Outrun
LEADING ACTOR
- ADRIEN BRODY The Brutalist
- TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET A Complete Unknown
- COLMAN DOMINGO Sing Sing
- RALPH FIENNES Conclave
- HUGH GRANT Heretic
- SEBASTIAN STAN The Apprentice
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- SELENA GOMEZ Emilia Pérez
- ARIANA GRANDE Wicked
- FELICITY JONES The Brutalist
- JAMIE LEE CURTIS The Last Showgirl
- ISABELLA ROSSELLINI Conclave
- ZOE SALDAÑA Emilia Pérez
SUPPORTING ACTOR
- YURA BORISOV Anora
- KIERAN CULKIN A Real Pain
- CLARENCE MACLIN Sing Sing
- EDWARD NORTON A Complete Unknown
- GUY PEARCE The Brutalist
- JEREMY STRONG The Apprentice
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
- BIRD Andrea Arnold, Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell, Lee Groombridge
- BLITZ Steve McQueen, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Anita Overland
- CONCLAVE Edward Berger, Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell, Michael A. Jackman, Peter Straughan
- GLADIATOR II Ridley Scott, Douglas Wick, Lucy Fisher, Michael Pruss, David Scarpa, Peter Craig
- HARD TRUTHS Mike Leigh, Georgina Lowe
- KNEECAP Rich Peppiatt, Trevor Birney, Jack Tarling, Naoise Ó Cairealláin, Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, JJ Ó Dochartaigh
- LEE Ellen Kuras, Kate Solomon, Kate Winslet, Liz Hannah, Marion Hume, John Collee, Lem Dobbs
- LOVE LIES BLEEDING Rose Glass, Andrea Cornwell, Oliver Kassman, Wereonika Tofilska
- THE OUTRUN Nora Fingscheidt, Sarah Brocklehurst, Dominic Norris, Jack Lowden, Saoirse Ronan, Amy Liptrot
- WALLACE AND GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham, Richard Beek, Mark Burton
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
- HOARD Luna Carmoon (Director, Writer)
- KNEECAP Rich Peppiatt (Director, Writer)
- MONKEY MAN Dev Patel (Director)
- SANTOSH Sandhya Suri (Director, Writer), James Bowsher (Producer), Balthazar de Ganay (Producer) [also produced by Alan McAlex, Mike Goodridge]
- SISTER MIDNIGHT Karan Kandhari (Director, Writer)
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
- ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT Payal Kapadia, Thomas Hakim
- EMILIA PÉREZ Jacques Audiard,
- I’M STILL HERE (AINDA ESTOU AQUI) Walter Salles,
- KNEECAP Rich Peppiatt, Trevor Birney
- THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG Mohammad Rasoulof, Amin Sadraei
DOCUMENTARY
- BLACK BOX DIARIES Shiori Ito, Hanna Aqvilin, Eric Nyari
- DAUGHTERS Natalie Rae, Angela Patton,
- NO OTHER LAND Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor
- SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY Ian Bonhôte, Peter Ettedgui, Lizzie Gilliett, Robert Ford
- WILL & HARPER Josh Greenbaum, Rafael Marmor, Christopher Leggett, Will Ferrell, Jessica Elbaum
ANIMATED FILM
- FLOW Gints Siibalodis, Matīss Kaža
- INSIDE OUT 2 Kelsey Mann, Mark Nielsen
- WALLACE AND GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham, Richard Beek
- THE WILD ROBOT Chris Sanders, Jeff Hermann
CHILDREN’S & FAMILY FILM
- FLOW Gints Siibalodis, Matīss Kaža
- KENSUKE’S KINGDOM Kirk Hendry, Neil Boyle, Camilla Deakin
- WALLACE AND GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham, Richard Beek
- THE WILD ROBOT Chris Sanders, Jeff Hermann
DIRECTOR
- ANORA Sean Baker
- THE BRUTALIST Brady Corbet
- CONCLAVE Edward Berger
- DUNE: PART TWO Denis Villeneuve
- EMILIA PÉREZ Jacques Audiard
- THE SUBSTANCE Coralie Fargeat
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
- ANORA Written by Sean Baker
- THE BRUTALIST Written by Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold
- KNEECAP Writer Rich Peppiatt, Story by Rich Peppiatt, Naoise Ó Cairealláin, Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, JJ Ó Dochartaigh
- A REAL PAIN Written by Jesse Eisenberg
- THE SUBSTANCE Written by Coralie Fargeat
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
- A COMPLETE UNKNOWN Screenplay by James Mangold and Jay Cocks
- CONCLAVE Screenplay by Peter Straughan
- EMILIA PÉREZ Written by Jacques Audiard
- NICKEL BOYS Screenplay by RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes
- SING SING Screenplay by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Story by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence ‘Divine Eye’ Maclin, John ‘Divine G’ Whitfield
CASTING
ANORA Sean Baker, Samantha Quan
THE APPRENTICE Stephanie Gorin, Carmen Cuba
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN Yesi Ramirez
CONCLAVE Nina Gold, Martin Ware
KNEECAP Carla Stronge
CINEMATOGRAPHY
- THE BRUTALIST Lol Crawley
- CONCLAVE Stéphane Fontaine
- DUNE: PART TWO Greig Fraser
- EMILIA PÉREZ Paul Guilhaume
- NOSFERATU Jarin Blaschke
EDITING
- ANORA Sean Baker
- CONCLAVE Nick Emerson
- DUNE: PART TWO Joe Walker
- EMILIA PÉREZ Juliette Welfling
- KNEECAP Julian Ulrichs, Chris Gill
COSTUME DESIGN
- BLITZ Jacqueline Durran
- A COMPLETE UNKNOWN Arianne Phillips
- CONCLAVE Lisy Christl
- NOSFERATU Linda Muir
- WICKED Paul Tazewell
MAKE UP & HAIR
- DUNE: PART TWO Love Larson, Eva Von Bahr
- EMILIA PÉREZ Julia Floch Carbonel, Emmanuel Janvier, Jean-Christophe Spadaccini, Romain Marietti
- NOSFERATU David White, Traci Loader, Suzanne Stokes-Munton
- THE SUBSTANCE Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon, Frédérique Arguello, Marilyne Scarselli
- WICKED Frances Hannon, Laura Blount, Sarah Nuth
ORIGINAL SCORE
- THE BRUTALIST Daniel Blumberg
- CONCLAVE Volker Bertelmann
- EMILIA PÉREZ Camille, Clément Ducol
- NOSFERATU Robin Carolan
- THE WILD ROBOT Kris Bowers
PRODUCTION DESIGN
- THE BRUTALIST Judy Becker, Patricia Cuccia
- CONCLAVE Suzie Davies, Cynthia Sleiter
- DUNE: PART TWO Patrice Vermette, Shane Vieau
- NOSFERATU Craig Lathrop
- WICKED Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales
SOUND
- BLITZ John Casali, Paul Cotterell, James Harrison
- DUNE: PART TWO Ron Bartlett, Doug Hemphill, Gareth John, Richard King
- GLADIATOR II Stéphane Bucher, Matthew Collinge, Paul Massey Danny Sheehan
- THE SUBSTANCE Valérie Deloof, Victor Fleurant, Victor Praud, Stéphane Thiébaut, Emmanuelle Villard
- WICKED Robin Baynton, Simon Hayes, John Marquis, Andy Nelson, Nancy Nugent Title
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
- BETTER MAN Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft, Peter Stubbs
- DUNE: PART TWO Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Gerd Nefzer, Rhys Salcombe
- GLADIATOR II Mark Bakowski, Neil Corbould, Nikki Penny, Pietro Ponti
- KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Erik Winquist, Rodney Burke, Paul Story, Stephen Unterfranz
- WICKED Pablo Helman, Paul Corbould, Jonathan Fawkner, Anthony Smith
BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
- ADIÓS José Prats, Natalia Kyriacou, Bernardo Angeletti
- MOG’S CHRISTMAS Robin Shaw, Joanna Harrison, Camilla Deakin, Ruth Fielding
- WANDER TO WONDER Nina Gantz, Stienette Bosklopper, Simon Cartwright, Maarten Swart
BRITISH SHORT FILM
- THE FLOWERS STAND SILENTLY, WITNESSING Theo Panagopoulos, Marissa Keating
- MARION Joe Weiland, Finn Constantine, Marija Djikic
- MILK Miranda Stern, Ashionye Ogene
- ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS Franz Böhm, Ivan, Hayder Rothschild Hoozeer
- STOMACH BUG Matty Crawford, Karima Sammout-Kanellopoulou
EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
- MARISA ABELA
- JHARREL JEROME
- DAVID JONSSON
- MIKEY MADISON
- NABHAAN RIZWAN
FAQs
- When are the BAFTA Film Awards 2025 taking place?
They’ll be held on February 16 at London’s Royal Festival Hall, broadcast on BBC1 and streamed via BritBox in North America. - Which films lead the nomination count this year?
Conclave garnered 12 nominations, followed by Emilia Pérez with 11. - Who made BAFTA history with a groundbreaking nomination?
Karla Sofía Gascón, the first openly trans actress nominated for a BAFTA Film Award, recognized for her performance in Emilia Pérez. - Why was there surprise about ‘Wicked’ being left out?
Many expected this popular musical to land in the Best Film lineup, yet it missed both that category and Best Director. - Are there new BAFTA award categories this year?
Yes, BAFTA introduced a Children’s and Family Film category, honoring titles like Flow and Kensuke’s Kingdom.
