The BAFTAs announce their most diverse lineup of nominees ever

Last year, the #BAFTAsSoWhite hashtag scorched across Twitter when the British Academy for Film and Television Arts, dubbed the “British Oscars,” didn’t have a single non-white acting nominee for 2020 and all of the nominated directors were men. Now, after a seven-month overhaul of their membership and voting procedures, the 2021 BAFTA nominees have been announced, and it is the most diverse and gender-inclusive list in the award show’s history.

Now, there are four non-white nominees in each of the acting categories, and four women have been nominated for best director – the most in BAFTA history. Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland and Sarah Gavron’s Rocks lead the nominations with seven nods each, and both received Best Director nods. Other best director nods go to Thomas Vinterberg (Another Round), Shannon Murphy (Babyteeth), Lee Isaac Chung (Minari), and Jasmila Žbanić (Quo Vadis, Aida?).

In performance, 16 of the 24 actors nominated are from under-represented groups. Newcomer Bukky Bakray, the 18-year-old lead star of Rocks, had received her very first BAFTA nod for Lead Actress, which is also her very first film role ever. She is joined by Radha Blank (The Forty-Year-Old Version), Vanessa Kirby (Pieces of a Woman), Frances McDormand (Nomadland), Wunmi Mosaku (His House) and Alfre Woodard (Clemency).

Lead Actor nominees are Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal), the late Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Adarsh Gourav (The White Tiger), Anthony Hopkins (The Father), Mads Mikkelsen (Another Round) and Tahar Rahim (The Mauritanian).

Outstanding British Film nominees include Calm With Horses, The Dig, The Father, His House, Limbo, The Mauritanian, Mogul Mowgli, Promising Young Woman, Rocks, and Saint Maud.

The news of the nominations has sent previously-overlooked or underrepresented performers into a tizzy, including Ashley Madekwe who tweeted pure gibberish in excitement after learning of her Best Supporting Actress nom.

Radha Blank also tweeted her sheer surprise at her Leading Actress nom.

First time Supporting Actress nominee Dominque Fishback tweeted her utter shock and is still processing the news.

The announcement of the overhaul and re-evaluation of the voting and membership proceedings within BAFTA after the #BAFTAsSoWhite firestorm last year has been met with wide acclaim. The Vice-Chair of Directors UK, Susanna White, who has also won a BAFTA, told Deadline, “Today’s BAFTA film nominations are really refreshing; for the first time they feel like a true meritocracy. In contrast to what we have seen in the past, this list isn’t about films that have had the most money spent on their campaigns – this is about the BAFTA membership recognizing craft and talent across the board.”

Chair of BAFTA, Krishnendu Majumdar, also told Deadline, “After last year’s nominations, we started the BAFTA Review process with the intention of levelling the playing field and introduced​ a range of measures to ensure that all entered films were seen by our members and judged on merit. We hope today you can see some of those changes reflected in the breadth and depth of those nominated and we congratulate all our nominees.”

BEFORE YOU GO: The best looks from the 2021 Critics Choice red carpet

[video_embed id='2155897']BEFORE YOU GO: The best looks from the 2021 Critics Choice red carpet [/video_embed]