BAFTA Awards 2016: Bridge Of Spice, Carol, Amy lead the nominations

Steven Spielberg's Cold War drama Bridge of Spies and Todd Haynes' 1950s-set lesbian romance Carol dominate the nomination list of 69th annual BAFTA Awards this year by securing nine nominations apiece. British filmmaker of Indian origin Asif Kapadia has also joined the race to grab the award after bagging two nominations for his documentary Amy.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) unveiled the nominations for its film awards at its headquarters here on Friday.

The list of nominees was revealed by BAFTA's chair Anne Morrison, actor and BAFTA awards presenter Stephen Fry and actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw. The awards ceremony will take place on February 14 at the Royal Opera House, London, read a statement on BAFTA's website.

Leonardo DiCaprio's The Revenant trails behind with eight nominations, followed by a surprise entry of Mad Max: Fury Road, which has garnered seven nominations.

Bridge of Spies, which spins a tale inspired by true events that occurred during the height of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the US, got nominated in the following categories: Best Film, Best Director, Original Screenplay, Original Music, Cinematography, Editing, Production Design and Sound.

Bridge of Spies, a Spielberg and Reliance Entertainment Film production, features Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Noah Schnapp, John Scott Shepherd, Amy Ryan, Sebastian Koch, Alan Alda, Austin Stowell, Mikhail Gorevoy, Will Roger. Rylance is nominated for Best Supporting Actor.

Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara-starrer Carol, which talks about a relationship between two women of different age groups, finds a mention in the following categories: Best Film, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design and Best Make Up And Hair.

Blanchett is nominated for Best Leading Actress, while Mara is nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

The Revenant received nominations for Best Film, Best Director for Alejandro G Inarritu, Best Original Music, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Make Up And Hair and Sound, while DiCaprio will be contending for the Best Leading Actor award for the film.

Mad Max: Fury Road is nominated in the following categories: Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Make Up & Hair, Sound and Special Visual Effects.

Kapadia's British documentary Amy, based on the life and death of singer Amy Winehouse, is in the contention Best Outstanding British Film and Best Documentary.

In the Best Outstanding British Film category, it is competing with 45 Years, The Danish Girl, Brooklyn, The Lobster and Ex Machina.

The biopic is pitted against Cartel Land, He Named Me Malala, Listen to Me Marlon and Sherpa in the Best Documentary category.

Other films to find a spot in the Best Film category include The Big Short and Spotlight.

After his win in 2015 for The Theory of Everything, Eddie Redmayne got lucky again, being nominated for the second year in a row for a BAFTA Best Actor award, for his role in The Danish Girl, in which he plays a transgender artist.

Also, in the Best Actor category is Bryan Cranston (Trumbo), Matt Damon (The Martian) and Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs).

The Best Actress category features names like Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl), Brie Larson (Room), Dame Maggie Smith (The Lady In The Van) and Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyna) among the nominees.

The Big Short, The Danish Girl and Ex Machinaa got five nominations and Star Wars: The Force Awakens four nominations.

The Hateful Eight, Inside Out, Spotlight, aceEx Machina and Bridge of Spies are all up for Best Original Screenplay.

-- IANS