(London) The movie In the west, nothing is newabout a young German soldier during the First World War, dominates the nominations for the Bafta, the British film awards, which will be presented on February 19 in London.
In the west, nothing is new totals fourteen nominations, including that of best film and best director for the German Edward Berger, according to the Bafta who announced their selection on Thursday.
The film thus equals Tiger and Dragon (2000) for the number of nominations for a film made in a language other than English.
“We Bafta members tell the public ‘you don’t have to be afraid of subtitles’,” Bafta president Krishnendu Majumdar told AFP.
It is an adaptation of a 1929 pacifist novel written by Erich Maria Remarque.
“A really interesting choice now” with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, said Jane Millichip, director general of the Bafta, to AFP, even if “the anti-war perspective is relevant at all times”.
It is one of the most influential examples of anti-militarist literature, translated into over 60 languages and sold over 50 million copies worldwide. This book had been burned during the Nazi auto-da-fé. The author, hunted in 1930 by the Nazis, had to go into exile in Switzerland, then in the United States.
Its adaptation to the cinema in 1930 by the American Lewis Milestone had then obtained the Oscar for best film and that of best director.
There is a “thirst for stories from all over the world”, continued the president of the Bafta, stressing that going to the cinema, the “common experience of seeing a film projected on a screen” is part of “our culture”. , of “our heritage”.
Irish tragicomedy The Banshees of Inisherin, who won three Golden Globes in Los Angeles on January 10, has been selected ten times, including in the best actor category for Colin Farrell. This film tells the abrupt end of a friendship on an imaginary island in the 1920s.
There are also ten nominations for Everything Everywhere all at once. Michelle Yeoh, already awarded a Golden Globe, appears in the best actress category for her portrayal in this film of a laundry owner immersed in parallel universes.
In this category, she will compete with Ana de Armas (Blonde hair), Emma Thompson (My dates with Leo), Cate Blanchett (Tar).
The biopic Elvis has nine nominations, including that of Austin Butler for best actor. He also received a Golden Globe for his portrayal of rock ‘n’ roll legend Elvis Presley.
The Bafta ceremony, like that of the Golden Globes, gives a taste of the Oscars, which are awarded in March in Los Angeles.
“The range of films recognized by our 7,500 voters, ranging from blockbusters to independent debuts, offers a unique British perspective on this year’s best films from around the world,” Krishnendu Majumdar boasted on Thursday.