'La La Land' leads BAFTA Awards with 11 nominations, while 'Arrival' and 'Nocturnal Animals' surprise with 9 each

It's always tough to judge how the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards, known commonly as the BAFTAs, affect the Oscar race. They're known as the "British Oscars," but they can often feature different eligible nominees and a completely different voting body. They haven't been all that consistent in terms of predicting the Best Picture winner on a year-to-year basis, and I can easily see them choosing something like I, Daniel Blake, a topical, distinctly British film, over La La Land, the current Oscar front-runner. That being said, they're another one of the big awards shows, and earlier today, the British Academy announced their nominees for the best of the year. Check them out below!

Best Film

Image courtesy of Lionsgate

Arrival
I, Daniel Blake
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

Outstanding British Film

American Honey
Denial
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
I, Daniel Blake
Notes on Blindness
Under the Shadow

Best Director

Denis Villeneuve, Arrival
Ken Loach, I, Daniel Blake
Damien Chazelle, La La Land
Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea
Tom Ford, Nocturnal Animals

Best Leading Actress

Image courtesy of Fox Searchlight

Amy Adams, Arrival
Emily Blunt, The Girl on the Train
Emma Stone, La La Land
Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins
Natalie Portman, Jackie

Best Leading Actor

Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nocturnal Animals
Ryan Gosling, La La Land
Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic

Best Supporting Actor

Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Nocturnal Animals
Dev Patel, Lion
Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
Hugh Grant, Florence Foster Jenkins
Mahershala Ali, Moonlight

Best Supporting Actress

Image courtesy of Roadside Attractions

Hayley Squires, I, Daniel Blake
Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea
Naomie Harris, Moonlight
Nicole Kidman, Lion
Viola Davis, Fences

Best Adapted Screenplay

Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
Hidden Figures
Lion
Nocturnal Animals

Best Original Screenplay

Hell or High Water
I, Daniel Blake
La La Land
Manchester by the Sea
Moonlight

Best Documentary

Image courtesy of Netflix

13th
The Beatles: Eight Days a Week- The Touring Years
The Eagle Huntress
Notes on Blindness
Weiner

Outstanding Debut

The Girl with All the Gifts
The Hard Stop
Notes on Blindness
The Pass
Under the Shadow

Film Not in the English Language

Dheepan
Julieta
Mustang
Son of Saul
Toni Erdmann

Best Animated Film

Image courtesy of Focus Features

Finding Dory
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
Zootropolis

Best Cinematography

Arrival
Hell or High Water
La La Land
Lion
Nocturnal Animals

Best Editing

Arrival
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land
Nocturnal Animals
Manchester by the Sea

Best Make Up and Hair

Image courtesy of Lionsgate

Florence Foster Jenkins
Doctor Strange
Hacksaw Ridge
Nocturnal Animals
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Best Costume Design

Allied
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Florence Foster Jenkins
Jackie
La La Land

Best Special Visual Effects

Arrival
Doctor Strange
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
The Jungle Book
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Best Production Design

Image courtesy of Focus Features

Doctor Strange
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Hail, Caesar!
La La Land
Nocturnal Animals

Best Original Music

Arrival
Jackie
La La Land
Lion
Nocturnal Animals

Best Sound

Arrival
Deepwater Horizon
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Hacksaw Ridge
La La Land

Damien Chazelle's La La Land has excelled with large voting bodies, and the modern movie musical did great with the BAFTAs, snagging an impressive 11 nominations. But after the spectacular showing by the film at the Golden Globes on Sunday, this wasn't necessarily a surprise. However, the strength of Arrival and Nocturnal Animals was quite surprising, as both films earned 9 nominations. Arrival is in prime shape for a Best Picture nomination next week, while Tom Ford's film has shown occasional signs of strength during the course of the awards season. Does that translate to a Best Picture nod? Not necessarily. Nocturnal Animals has played much better overseas than it has in the US, garnering universal acclaim at the Venice Film Festival before drawing mixed reviews at TIFF. Mix in the strong showing with the BAFTAs and the HFPA, and you have a film that seems to be doing best with foreign groups.

I, Daniel Blake is another film that will certainly not come close to an Oscar nomination next week, and the strong performance by Warner Bros.' Fantastic Beasts is mostly an indication of its British origins. Overall, unless Arrival and Nocturnal Animals suddenly become dominant forces when the Oscar nominations are announced, I can't imagine that this year's BAFTAs will have a huge impact on the overall race.

The BAFTA Awards will be held on February 12, 2017.

Poster courtesy of Lionsgate