Britain could enjoy a bumper number of wins at Sunday’s Bafta film awards, despite only a handful of Britons in contention for the main trophies.
Just four of the 20 acting nominations have gone to homegrown talent – the lowest level for several years.
Taron Egerton (for the film Rocketman) and Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes) are both up for best actor, Anthony Hopkins (The Two Popes) is nominated for best supporting actor and Florence Pugh (Little Women) gets a nod for best supporting actress.
But even if all of them miss out, there are still plenty of chances for British success.
Sam Mendes is favourite to win best director for his First World War epic, 1917.
Roger Deakins is tipped to win best cinematography for his work on the same movie.
1917 – a joint production between the UK and US – is also up for best film, along with another UK co-production, Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood.
British film A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon has been nominated for best animation, and there are two British productions in the best documentary category: Diego Maradona, and For Sama (a co-production with the US and Syria).
For Sama has also been nominated for best film not in the English language.
A host of British talent has been recognised in the craft and technical categories.
Three of the five nominations for best make-up and hair are British: Naomi Donne (for 1917), Jeremy Woodhead (Judy) and Lizzie Yianni Georgiou (Rocketman).
There are two British nods for best costume design: Sandy Powell (The Irishman) and Jacqueline Durran (Little Women).
In the sound category, four of the five nominations include Britons, as do two of the five nominations for special visual effects.
An award for best casting will be presented for the first time this year, and three of the five nominees are British: Sarah Crowe (for The Personal History Of David Copperfield), Nina Gold (The Two Popes) and Victoria Thomas (Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood).
Finally, two of the five individuals nominated for the rising star award are British: Jack Lowden and Micheal Ward.
There were 13 British wins at last year’s Bafta film awards, including the five separate categories that are reserved exclusively for British achievement.
The 2020 Bafta film awards will be shown on BBC One on Sunday February 2 at 9pm.
