The BAFTA Film Awards

Tomorrow is the British Academy Film Awards; a chance to look back at the very best of film over the past year, and while the event is nowhere near as big or grand as the rival American Oscars, it does give us a chance to put on a little party of our own and celebrate the best of current and rising British talent.

This year sees many a talent including a few of those who lost out on nominations at the Oscars. Actors such as Ben Affleck, who was so unfairly overlooked in both the Best Director and Best Actor category for his superb work on Argo has been deservedly nominated for two awards. French actress Marion Cotillard who won her first Bafta and Oscar a few years ago in La Vie En Rose has been awarded a Best Actress nomination for her beautiful performance in Rust and Bone. While the Bond film of the century Skyfall has cropped up in several categories, including a Best Supporting Actress nod for national treasure Judi Dench.

In the Rising Star category, which is voted for by the public, we have a brilliant group of upcoming talent. Elizabeth Olsen who gave a stunning performance in the weird and wonderful Martha Marcy May Marlene. Andrea Riseborough who has been very busy in the last 12 months including being the standout performance in Madonna’s disappointing W.E. Juno Temple who first shot to fame in Atonement and St Trinian’s has proved to be an actress great guts cropping up in the gritty Killer Joe and blockbuster The Dark Knight Rises. Suraj gave a wonderful first performance in Ang Lee’s Life of Pi, won to watch out for. Then finally there’s Swedish actress Alicia Vikander, who starred in not one but two beautiful costume dramas in 2012.

It’s an exciting mixture of talent, and one that might see a few surprises. Here are the leading film and acting nominations:

BEST FILM 

Argo

Les Miserables

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Zero Dark Thirty

BEST BRITISH FILM 

Anna Karenina

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Les Miserables

Seven Psychopaths

Skyfall

BEST ACTRESS

Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)

Marion Cotillard (Rust and Bone)

Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)

Helen Mirren (Hitchcock)

Emmanuelle Riva (Amour)

BEST ACTOR

Ben Affleck (Argo)

Bradley cooper (Silver Linings Playbook)

Daniel day Lewis (Lincoln)

Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables)

Joaquin Phoenix (The Master)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Adams (The Master)

Helen Hunt (The Sessions)

Sally Field (Lincoln)

Judi Dench (Skyfall)

Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Javier Bardem (Skyfall)

Alan Arkin (Argo)

Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master)

Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln)

Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)

BEST DIRECTOR

Michael Haneke (Amour)

Ben Affleck (Argo)

Quentin Tarantino (Django Unchained)

Ang Lee (Life of Pi)

Kathryn Bigelow – (Zero Dark Thirty)

RISING STAR AWARD

Elizabeth Olsen

Andrea Riseborough

Suraj Sharma

Juno Temple

Alicia Vikander

The BAFTA’s will be presented by Stephen Fry and is shown on BBC1 at 9pm. Full list of nominees here: www.awards.bafta.org/award/2013/film