Sawt Falasteen - BAFTAs: Rival films eye victory over scandal-hit 'Emilia Perez'

Until last month, French director Jaques Audiard's surreal musical, which got the second-most BAFTA nominations and had already won big at Cannes and the Golden Globes, was expected to be a frontrunner at the British film awards.

But old racist and Islamophobic tweets by lead actor Karla Sofia Gascon surfaced at the end of January, crashing the campaign for "Emilia Perez" and shaking up the race days before the London ceremony, just weeks before the Oscars.

Demi Moore, Timothee Chalamet and Ariana Grande are among the stars set to attend the glitzy night hosted by "Doctor Who" and "Good Omens" star David Tennant, which will set the tone for Hollywood's biggest night on March 2.

However, Prince William, the president of the BAFTA, and his wife Princess Catherine will skip the event at London's Royal Festival Hall, Kensington Palace confirmed.

British cinema will be in the spotlight, with "Bird" by Andrea Arnold, "Blitz" by Steve McQueen, "Gladiator II" by Ridley Scott, and the new "Wallace and Gromit" all nominated in a dedicated category.

- Different -

An underdog success story already awarded at Sundance, "Kneecap", a docu-drama about an audacious trio of Northern Irish rappers, could also cause a stir in the six categories where it is nominated.

But "Conclave" is leading the pack with 12 nominations, unlike the Oscars and Golden Globe shortlists which favoured "Emilia Perez" and "The Brutalist".

The BAFTAs -- the biggest night of the year for the British film industry -- regularly diverge from the films favoured by the Academy Awards in Los Angeles.

This year, the BAFTA has thrown its weight behind the papal drama "Conclave" by German-born director Edward Berger, who won big in London two years ago with "All Quiet on the Western Front".

Set in the Vatican, the star-studded film about the horse-trading that takes place after the death of a pope could be a crowning moment for veteran British actor Ralph Fiennes, who is eyeing his first ever BAFTA for best actor.

But "The Brutalist", a three-hour epic about a Holocaust-survivor and architect portrayed by Adrien Brody, promises to be formidable competition in nine categories.

They will compete for the best film award with the Palme d'Or winner "Anora", the Bob Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown", and "Emilia Perez", which tells the story of a Mexican drug lord's transition to a woman.

- Spanning genres -

All hope is not lost for the Spanish-language musical, as BAFTA academy members began voting before the tweets resurfaced. Since then, Gascon has missed multiple award ceremonies and was reportedly dropped from distributor Netflix's publicity campaign.

But even before the social media controversy, "Emilia Perez", nominated for a whopping 13 Oscars, garnered criticism for its depictions of Mexico, as well as its use of artificial intelligence during production -- the same criticism levied on contender "The Brutalist".

The controversies could further unsettle an already unpredictable awards season with a highly competitive international crop of movies spanning multiple genres, with no clear-cut winners.

Musical "Wicked", horror film "The Substance" and science fiction "Dune: Part II" are also heavyweight contenders across categories.

France's Coralie Fargeat is the only woman nominated in the directing category for "The Substance".

Her horror film starring Demi Moore is about the pressures women face to maintain bodily perfection as they age, and it won best screenplay at Cannes.

Moore, who won the best actress award at the Golden Globes, will be competing for the BAFTA title against Gascon, Cynthia Erivo ("Wicked"), Marianne Jean-Baptiste ("Hard Truths"), Mikey Madison ("Anora") and Saoirse Ronan ("The Outrun").

The leading actor award will see Brody and Fiennes pitted against Timothee Chalamet ("A Complete Unknown"), Colman Domingo ("Sing Sing"), Hugh Grant ("Heretic") and Sebastian Stan ("The Apprentice").

In the supporting actress category, US pop singer Grande is nominated for "Wicked" alongside Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldana (both "Emilia Perez"), Felicity Jones ("The Brutalist"), Jamie Lee Curtis ("The Last Showgirl") and Isabella Rossellini ("Conclave").

Q.Jaber--SF-PST