The British Academy of Film and Television Arts announced their 2016 nominees this morning at their headquarters in London. The Revenant by Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu (pictured left) follows Carol and Bridges of Spies for most nominations, with eight total.
The Revenant was nominated for Best Film, Director, Leading Actor, Cinematography -the fourth BAFTA nomination for Mexican DP Emmanuel Lubezki, who has won three times-, Original Music, Editing, Make-Up & Hair and Sound.
The film is the story of legendary frontiersman Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) who is left on his own after a brutal bear attack to survive. Grief-stricken and fueled by vengeance, Glass treks through the wintry terrain to track down John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), the former confidant who betrayed and abandoned him.
This is not Iñárritu’s first time at the BAFTA’s. Last year his film Birdman received 10 nominations, which included nominations for Best Film, Director and Original Screenplay. He was also been previously nominated for his films Babel and Biutiful and he won Best Film Not in the English Language in 2002 with Amores Perros.
Also nominated is crowd-favorite and Academy Award nominee Wild Tales / Relatos salvajes (pictured right). Argentine director Damián Szifron’s black comedy is composed of six standalone shorts united by a common theme of violence and vengeance.
Puerto Rican actor Benicio del Toro has also nabbed a nomination Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film Sicario by Denis Villeneuve.
Mexican-American production Cartel Land received a nomination for Best Documentary. Filmmaker Matthew Heinemann immerses himself in the world of the cartel following Dr. Jose Mireles, a small-town physician known as "El Doctor,” who leads the Autodefensas, a citizen uprising, against the violent Knights Templar drug cartel that has wreaked havoc on the Michoacán region for years.
The 69th edition of the BAFTA Awards will take place on February 14, 2016 at the Royal Opera House in London.
