John Crowley's Brooklyn, the popular adaptation of Colm Tóibín's novel, has received an impressive six Bafta nominations.
The producers may be mildly disappointed that they did not score a best picture nomination from the British Academy of Film and Television, but they can console themselves with a mention in the best British film category.
Brooklyn, made in co-operation with the BBC, was one of two Irish co-productions in the domestic race. Yorgos Lanthimos's The Lobster, an absurdist comedy starring Colin Farrell, is also up for best British film.
Lenny Abrahamson's Room, an Irish and Canadian co-production for Dublin-based Element Pictures, picked up two important nominations: current Oscar favourite Brie Larson is mentioned for best actress; Emma Donoghue, who adapted her own novel concerning a mother and child detained in a garden shed, is on the shortlist for best adapted screenplay.
The Irish Film Board, currently riding an unprecedented wave of success, was involved in the production of all three Irish films. Kerry man Michael Fassbender is mentioned in the best actor race for Steve Jobs.
Returning host
The good news was delivered on Friday morning by returning host Stephen Fry and rising actor Gugu Mbatha-Raw. Two lush American films set in the postwar period topped the nomination charts. Todd Haynes's Carol, tale of a lesbian romance in 1950s New York, and Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies, a cold war drama starring Tom Hanks, both scored nine mentions.
Alejandro González Iñárritu's The Revenant, an epic tale of revenge from the frontier, came second with eight nods, including a best actor nomination for presumptive favourite Leonardo DiCaprio.
Mad Max Fury Road, the dark horse in this year's awards season, secured seven nominations in technical categories. Tom Courtenay and Charlotte Rampling stars of ecstatically received British film 45 Years, were both unexpectedly passed over. That film only scored a nomination for best British film.
About 10 per cent of the Oscar electorate also gets to cast a ballot at Bafta. Today's results are, thus, seen as reliable pointers to next Thursday's Oscar nominations. The US academy nominates between five and 10 releases for best picture, whereas the British academy nominates just five, and most Oscar punters still expect Brooklyn and Room to figure in the big race. Saoirse Ronan, star of Brooklyn, is seen as second-favourite to Larson at both Bafta and the Oscars.
On Sunday, awards season moves on to the boozy, irreverent bash that is the Golden Globes. Room is up for best drama picture, but will need wind in its sails to get past The Revenant and Tom McCarthy's Spotlight. After charming TV viewers with appearances on chat shows such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Ronan is well positioned to grab a Globe. The year of the Irish continues.
The full list of nominees are as follows:
Best film
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Carol
The Revenant
Spotlight
Outstanding British Film
45 Years
Amy
Brooklyn
The Danish Girl
Ex Machina
The Lobster
Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer
Alex Garland (Director) Ex Machina
Debbie Tucker Green (Writer/Director) Second Coming
Naji Abu Nowar (Writer/Director), Rupert Lloyd (Producer) Theeb
Sean McAllister (Director/Producer), Elhum Shakerifar (Producer) A Syrian Love Story
Stephen Fingleton (Writer/Director) The Survivalist
Film not in the English Language
The Assassin - Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Force Majeure - Ruben Östlund
Theeb - Naji Abu Nowar, Rupert Lloyd
Timbuktu - Abderrahmane Sissako
Wild Tales - Damián Szifron
Documentary
Amy - Asif Kapadia, James Gay-Rees
Cartel Land - Matthew Heineman, Tom Yellin
He Named Me Malala - Davis Guggenheim, Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald
Listen To Me Marlon - Stevan Riley, John Battsek, George Chignell, RJ Cutler
Sherpa - Jennifer Peedom, Bridget Ikin, John Smithson
Animated Film
Inside Out - Pete Docter
Minions - Pierre Coffin, Kyle Balda
Shaun The Sheep Movie - Mark Burton, Richard Starzak
Director
The Big Short - Adam McKay
Bridge of Spies - Steven Spielberg
Carol - Todd Haynes
The Martian - Ridley Scott
The Revenant - Alejandro G Iñárritu
Original Screenplay
BRIDGE OF SPIES Matthew Charman, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
EX MACHINA Alex Garland
THE HATEFUL EIGHT Quentin Tarantino
INSIDE OUT Josh Cooley, Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve
SPOTLIGHT Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
THE BIG SHORT Adam McKay, Charles Randolph
BROOKLYN Nick Hornby
CAROL Phyllis Nagy
ROOM Emma Donoghue
STEVE JOBS Aaron Sorkin
LEADING ACTOR
BRYAN CRANSTON Trumbo
EDDIE REDMAYNE The Danish Girl
LEONARDO DICAPRIO The Revenant
MATT DAMON The Martian
MICHAEL FASSBENDER Steve Jobs
LEADING ACTRESS
ALICIA VIKANDER The Danish Girl
BRIE LARSON Room
CATE BLANCHETT Carol
MAGGIE SMITH The Lady in the Van
SAOIRSE RONAN Brooklyn
SUPPORTING ACTOR
BENICIO DEL TORO Sicario
CHRISTIAN BALE The Big Short
IDRIS ELBA Beasts of No Nation
MARK RUFFALO Spotlight
MARK RYLANCE Bridge of Spies
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
ALICIA VIKANDER Ex Machina
JENNIFER JASON LEIGH The Hateful Eight
JULIE WALTERS Brooklyn
KATE WINSLET Steve Jobs
ROONEY MARA Carol
ORIGINAL MUSIC
BRIDGE OF SPIES Thomas Newman
THE HATEFUL EIGHT Ennio Morricone
THE REVENANT Ryuichi Sakamoto, Carsten Nicolai
SICARIO Jóhann Jóhannsson
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS John Williams
CINEMATOGRAPHY
BRIDGE OF SPIES Janusz Kaminski
CAROL Ed Lachman
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD John Seale
THE REVENANT Emmanuel Lubezki
SICARIO Roger Deakins
EDITING
THE BIG SHORT Hank Corwin
BRIDGE OF SPIES Michael Kahn
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Margaret Sixel
THE MARTIAN Pietro Scalia
THE REVENANT Stephen Mirrione
PRODUCTION DESIGN
BRIDGE OF SPIES Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo
CAROL Judy Becker, Heather Loeffler
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Colin Gibson, Lisa Thompson
THE MARTIAN Arthur Max, Celia Bobak
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS Rick Carter, Darren Gilford, Lee Sandales
COSTUME DESIGN
BROOKLYN Odile Dicks-Mireaux
CAROL Sandy Powell
CINDERELLA Sandy Powell
THE DANISH GIRL Paco Delgado
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Jenny Beavan
MAKE UP & HAIR
BROOKLYN Morna Ferguson, Lorraine Glynn
CAROL Jerry DeCarlo, Patricia Regan
THE DANISH GIRL Jan Sewell
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Lesley Vanderwalt, Damian Martin
THE REVENANT Sian Grigg, Duncan Jarman, Robert Pandini
SOUND
BRIDGE OF SPIES Drew Kunin, Richard Hymns, Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Scott Hecker, Chris Jenkins, Mark Mangini, Ben Osmo, Gregg Rudloff, David White
THE MARTIAN Paul Massey, Mac Ruth, Oliver Tarney, Mark Taylor
THE REVENANT Lon Bender, Chris Duesterdiek, Martin Hernandez, Frank A. Montaño, Jon Taylor, Randy Thom
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS David Acord, Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio, Matthew Wood, Stuart Wilson
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
ANT-MAN Jake Morrison, Greg Steele, Dan Sudick, Alex Wuttke
EX MACHINA Mark Ardington, Sara Bennett, Paul Norris, Andrew Whitehurst
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Andrew Jackson, Dan Oliver, Tom Wood, Andy Williams
THE MARTIAN Chris Lawrence, Tim Ledbury, Richard Stammers, Steven Warner
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS Chris Corbould, Roger Guyett, Paul Kavanagh, Neal Scanlan
BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
EDMOND Nina Gantz, Emilie Jouffroy
MANOMAN Simon Cartwright, Kamilla Kristiane Hodol
PROLOGUE Richard Williams, Imogen Sutton
BRITISH SHORT FILM
ELEPHANT Nick Helm, Alex Moody, Esther Smith
MINING POEMS OR ODES Callum Rice, Jack Cocker
OPERATOR Caroline Bartleet, Rebecca Morgan
OVER Jörn Threlfall, Jeremy Bannister
SAMUEL-613 Billy Lumby, Cheyenne Conway
THE EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
BEL POWLEY
BRIE LARSON
DAKOTA JOHNSON
JOHN BOYEGA
TARON EGERTON
