Carol leads 2016 BAFTA Awards nomination list

Lesbian romance drama Carol today led the 68th BAFTA Awards nominations with five nods including the best film and best actor for its lead star Cate Blanchett.

The movie that also topped this year’s Golden Globes nominations has other nods—Rooney Mara for the best supporting actor, Todd Hynes for the best director and Phyllis Nagy for the adapted screenplay.

The film is based on the novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith. The other two frontrunners are Tom Hanks-starrer historical drama-thriller Bridge of Spies and The Big Short, which garnered four nominations apiece, including the best film.

Steven Spielberg is nominated in the best director category for Bridge of Spies and besides Hynes, he will also face competition from last year’s Academy-winning director Alejandro G Inarritu (The Revenant), Adam McKay (The Big Short) and Ridley Scott (The Martian).

Other nominations for Bridge of Spies are in the best supporting actor category for Mark Rylance and the original screenplay for Matthew Charman, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen.

Also nominated in the best movie category are Leonardo DiCaprio’s The Revenant and Spotlight.

DiCaprio will fight it out with 2015 Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl), Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs), Matt Damon (The Martian) and Bryan Cranston (Trumbo). Besides Blanchett, nominations for the best actor include Brie Larson (Room), Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl), Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn) and Maggie Smith (Lady in the Van).

Best supporting actor nominations include Benicio Del Toro (Sicario), Christian Bale (The Big Short), Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation) and Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight).

Movies nominated for the outstanding British film award are 45 Years, Amy, Brooklyn, The Danish Girl, Ex Machina and The Lobster.

Amy is also nominated in the best documentary category, whose other contenders are Cartel Land, He named me Malala, Listen to me Marlon and Sherpa.

Inside Out, Minions and Shaun the Sheep form the nominations for the best animated film award.

The awards ceremony itself will take place on Feb 14, with Stephen Fry hosting.