The BAFTAs, an awards ceremony held on February 19, can give a taste of the possible Oscar winners. “In the West nothing new” is thus a big favorite. But is it a reliable indicator?
[Updated February 20, 2023 at 12:02 p.m.] It’s hard to know in advance which films can triumph at the Oscars, as the awards ceremony has accustomed us to surprises. However, there are certain indicators in order to know the possible winners, and the award ceremonies which precede the high mass of Hollywood are part of it. Among them are the BAFTAs (British Academy of Film and Television Arts), whose 2023 edition was held this Sunday, February 19. In the West Nothing New emerged as the big winner, taking home Best Picture and Best Director statuettes. Cate Blanchette won the BAFTA for Best Actress for Tar, and Austin Butler won Best Actor for Elvis. Conversely, Everything Everywhere all at once only won Best Editing.
What to ensure a triumph at the Oscars? Nothing is less sure. While award shows, like the BAFTAs or the Golden Globes, may provide some insight into the favorites of the awards season, the Oscars have given us plenty of surprises in recent years. First, because the BAFTAs largely reward the best of British cinema, obscuring a section represented at the Oscars. Also, there are differences in award-winning films in recent years between the BAFTAs and the Oscars. Last year, The Power of the Dog won the BAFTA for Best Picture, while Coda received the Academy Award. Ditto in 2020, where Parasite left with the Oscar for best film while the BAFTAs rewarded 1917. Conversely, the Bafta for Best Actor was awarded to the same actors who received the equivalent Oscar since the year 2020 , while we note a change on the side of the actresses in 2022, since Jessica Chastain, winner of the Oscar that year was not nominated for the Bafta.
It’s harder to draw a similar parallel with the Golden Globes, which distinguishes drama from comedy, but note that the “Best Drama” category followed the BAFTA awards in 2022 and 2020, deviating significantly from the preferences displayed during Oscars. In 2023, they presented their award to Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans. Anyway, it will be necessary to wait until March 13, date of the 95th ceremony rewarding the best of Hollywood cinema, to be fixed on the list.
Nominations for the 95th Academy Awards, honoring Hollywood cinema, were announced on January 24. Some feature films are already favorites, such as Everything, everywhere all at once (which stands out as the front-runner with 11 nominations), Les Banshees d’Inisherin and Nothing new in the West (9 nominations each) , Elvis (8 nominations) or The Fabelmans (7 nominations) which dominate in number of citations.
Academy Award for Best Picture