2011 BAFTA Predictions

Two film award ceremonies in one night is too much even for me, but I have to do this. I have just posted the entry with my analysis and predictions for tonight's Goya Awards, but I cannot start preparations for the simultaneous broadcasting spree without offering my choices for tonight's Bafta Awards. After all, my personal highlight of this year's film award season will come when the name of the 2010 best supporting actress Bafta recipient is announced. If Lesley Manville is recognised for her extraordinary performance in Mike Leigh's Another Year I'll be the happiest man on earth. I'm aware that right now Helena Bonham Carter is the frontrunner for her role in The King's Speech, but I cannot lose my faith in a moment like this. Champagne is ready and I'll drink it either way, but victory tastes always so much sweeter...

Here are my predictions for the 2010 Bafta Awards.

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Interview: Bafta nominee and Oscar contender Lesley Manville

Imitation of Life voted Lesley Manville best actress of 2010 for her performance in Mike Leigh's Another Year. I first saw the film in the Sarajevo Film Festival, where I had the opportunity to talk with Lesley Manville about the film, her longtime collaboration with Mike Leigh and the Oscar buzz generated by her extraordinary performance. Here's an extract of the interview:

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Best Films of 2010

Together with roast turkey and the It's A Wonderful Life TV rerun, there is no more ubiquitous Christmas feature than the Best of the Year lists.

For the last weeks we have been hearing about award nominations, film magazines' 2010 top choices and critics' rankings, but it's high time to announce the only list I am going to be fully satisfied with: my own

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Review: Another Year, a film by Mike Leigh

The object of Another Year, Mike Leigh’s latest film, is to make the viewer care about the joys and sorrows in the lives of a group of late-middle-aged friends and, for a film with no great deal of plot in the classical sense, Leigh’s endeavour is quiet an achievement. Weeks after you have seen the picture, its characters are still freshly and poignantly etched on your memory.

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The Ghost Writer leads European Film Awards with 7 Nominations

The excessive discretion with which the European Film Academy announces, hands out and publicises its annual Awards may be a token of good taste but hardly the best strategy for a trophy whose main goal is to increase the visibility of European film production.

The relative immaturity of the awards, the geographical instability of the location where the ceremony is held and the grimness of a show that is erratically broadcasted through Europe are all factors that have contributed to the lack of allure the Awards still have for the general audience.

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