There is no end to the speculation of who will win either a BAFTA or an Oscar. While Bafta winners are a strong indicator of Oscar winners, this hasn’t always been the case.

With both lists of nominees now released, the guessing game of who will be taking home little gold men and bronze masks has begun. The nominations have not been without controversy however, this year in particular about the lack of diversity.  As a member of BAFTA, I received a survey about diversity last week. Although the timing coincides with current conversations around diversity, the survey had been previously announced as in the works by our Chairman at last year’s AGM.  BAFTA has always monitored diversity in its committees, juries and new member applications, but this is the first time they have sent out a survey to the whole membership. And as you’ll see from the nomination comparison below, BAFTA did choose differently in certain of these areas, in particular with Idris Elba and Benicio Del Toro in the supporting category for their performances in “Beasts of No Nation” and “Sicario” respectively.

Over the last few years, the BAFTA awards have increased in status and prominence during awards season.  Back in 2001, BAFTA moved their awards ceremony to be before the Oscars and then in 2012, made a major voting change which has been favourably received both within and outside of the industry.  The American Academy had specific branches choose the nominees in their related categories, then the entire body vote for the winner. Bafta did the reverse until 2012: the entire body chose the nominees, and specific branches chose the winner. Since this voting change for Bafta, nominations and awards have lined up much more closely with the American Academy.

Over the 69 years of shared history between the two academies, Bafta has made some bold choices, departing from its American counterpart’s less than time tested choices. Naturally, there are the times when Bafta has chosen Queen and Country over candidates from across the pond, but we’ll be looking at the times when Bafta made the strictly better choice, at least in my opinion, nationality aside.  

But first a side-by-side comparison of the nominees for both Bafta and Oscars.  

      Baftas                                                                Oscars

There are some categories that Bafta has that obviously wouldn’t be among the Oscars, and the Oscars features some categories unmentioned by Bafta. The most notable being Bafta’s British nominations for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer and for Outstanding British Film. But the Oscars also has its own distinguishing categories such as Best Score, or Best Live Action Short Film. These categories are below:

While there are no comparisons for Original Score or Outstanding British Film, the Oscars and Baftas have differed on some of their comparable categories. Some notable digressions from the past:

2005

There are always opinions and surprises, both by what is included and by what is left out. For instance, I do think it is surprising that with 10 slots open “Carol” was left off the shortlist for an Oscar. However, back in 2005 Bafta saw a breakthrough film that was culturally more significant than box-office gold and gave the best film award to Ang Lee’s influential “Brokeback Mountain” over the pop culture smash hit Titanic.

2014

“Carol” is again seeing its Bafta nod not crossing the pond to get an Oscars nod. Perhaps the refreshing point of view from George Miller for “Mad Max: Road Fury” or Lenny Abrahamson’s “Room” swayed the American Academy away from Bafta choices like Todd Haynes for “Carol” or Steven Spielberg for “Bridge of Spies.” Regardless, Bafta also departed from the Oscars last year when it awarded Richard Linklater the award for his groundbreaking “Boyhood.” Iñárritu’s “Birdman” was equally revolutionary, so it’s clear that it came down to style or even emotion for both Academies.  The debate after the winners are announced is almost as interesting.

1992

This year’s Best Actor nominations line up exactly for both Academies. However, back in 1992 Bafta chose to award Robert Downey, Jr. for his performance as Charlie Chaplin. Downey’s acting cemented his career rise as a serious star. Meanwhile, Al Pacino’s turn as a blind former-officer in “Scent of a Woman” seemed to be coasting along on a star already born, and his award win felt like the Academy was finally apologizing for snubbing his work so many times before.

1998

The Best Actress category for the Oscars this year has the usual discussion around what is a ‘Best Actress/Actor’ performance versus what is a ‘Best Supporting Actress/Actor’ performance, having moved Rooney Mara to the Supporting category (allowing a split in two categories with the other star, something the distributors push to arrange), despite being what many feel is a co-lead in “Carol.” Back in 1998, Bafta saw Cate Blanchett’s powerful performance In Elizabeth and awarded the Best Actress award to her. Paltrow as Viola de Lessepps in ‘Shakespeare in Love’ which was a ground breaking performance for her, played a cooped up royal perfectly too. And the Oscar award reflected the national backing, although both films were distinctly British in content.

1993

The nominees for the Bafta Best Actor in a Supporting role this year are significantly more diverse than its American cousin. In fact as previously noted, the Oscars are feeling quite a bit of heat this year with #OscarsSoWhite as a trending hashtag on social media, highlighting the Academy’s lack of diversity in its nominee list. In 1993, the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor went to Tommy Lee Jones for his role in “The Fugitive.” Although a tremendous actor and enjoyable as U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard, I don’t think Jones performance quite compares to Fiennes’s bonechilling turn as the terrible Amon Göeth in “Schindler’s List.”

1993

Long the butt of many jokes, Marisa Tomei’s Best Support Actress win for ‘My Cousin Vinny’ has been fraught with rumors ever since Jack Parlance announced it. A stunning actress with the chops to play comedic and dramatic roles with great nuance and power, Marisa Tomei’s abilities are undeniable. However, in 1993 Miranda Richardson gave a performance of a lifetime as Ingrid Fleming in ‘Damage’. Richardson brought heft and explosive talent to the role of Ingrid.

While Bafta and the Oscars tend to vote rather similarly, given the history of divergence I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some upsets at this year’s events and further focus on diversity. Either way, both nights are guaranteed highly enjoyable with laughs, tears, and maybe even a shock or two.  For those of us who love great stories and cinema – let me know who you think should win in the comments or tweet at me @hampstead17.