Papal thriller 'Conclave' leads BAFTA nominations, 'Emilia Perez' follows

AWARDS-BAFTA-NOMINATIONS:Papal thriller 'Conclave' leads BAFTA nominations, 'Emilia Perez' follows

-Papal thriller “Conclave” led nominations for the 2025 BAFTA Film Awards on Wednesday, with music-themed productions also faring well at Britain's top movie honours.

“Conclave”, about scheming cardinals deciding who to elect as the next pope, secured 12 nods including for best film, director and leading actor for Ralph Fiennes, whose character, the dean of the College of Cardinals, has to oversee proceedings.

Isabella Rossellini who plays a nun in the movie, based on the novel by British writer Robert Harris, was nominated for best supporting actress.

“Emilia Perez”, which mixes the diverse genres of musical, crime and comedy, followed with 11 nominations. The Spanish-language film stars Zoe Saldana as a lawyer who helps a drug cartel leader, played by Karla Sofia Gascon, fake his death and transition from a man to a woman.

Gascon got a leading actress nomination, while Saldana and singer-actor Selena Gomez, who plays the drug lord's wife, were recognised in the supporting actress category,

"Emilia Perez", considered one of the top contenders at this year's awards season, also received a best director nod for French filmmaker Jacques Audiard and was nominated for best film.

Fellow musical "Wicked", an adaptation of the stage show, and Bob Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown" were also recognised, with seven and six nominations respectively.

"A Complete Unknown" will also compete for the awards' top prize - best film - with "The Brutalist", about a Hungarian immigrant who flees the horrors of World War Two to rebuild his life in the United States, also in the running.

"Anora", about a young exotic dancer who becomes involved with the son of a Russian oligarch, completes the list

The BAFTA Film Awards will be handed out on Feb. 16 at a ceremony in London.