Which movie has been nominated for the most Baftas?

Posted On February 16, 2024February 16, 2024

The British Academy Film Awards come around every year to celebrate the best British and international contributions to the cinematic medium. While many consider the American counterpart, the Oscars, to be the most significant film award ceremony of the year, one cannot count out the Baftas as an important piece of cinema history.

Beginning in 1947, the Academy was founded by David Lean, Charles Laughton and Michael Powell, as well as several other key figures in the British film industry, and since its inception, the award ceremony has offered out prizes that have honoured the brilliance of countless masterpiece works of cinema.

When it comes to the most successful movie of all time at the Baftas, though, at least in terms of nominations, it looks as though the British Academy were blown away by an epic historical biographical film of 1982 that explores the life of one of the most important Indian figures of all time.

Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi, a co-production between India and the United Kingdom, with a screenplay from John Briley, sees Ben Kingsley play Mahatma Gandhi, a significant figure in the Indian independence movement of the 20th century who sought freedom from the longstanding British reign.

The film focuses on the lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist and non-violent political ethicist Gandhi, beginning with his being thrown off a South African train in 1893 for being in a whites-only carriage and ending with his 1948 assassination and funeral while exploring his predominantly Hindu faith.

Gandhi was a resounding success and was heralded for being an accurate portrayal of its titular figure as well as the turbulent political events that surrounded his life. Kingsley’s performance was also championed, and the film was a great commercial venture, grossing $127.8million from a $22m budget.

Attenborough’s film became the most nominated work of cinema in the history of the Baftas, earning 12 nods, including ‘Best Screenplay’, ‘Best Cinematography’, ‘Best Costume Design’ and ‘Best Score’, winning ‘Best Film’, ‘Best Direction’ for Attenborough’ and ‘Best Actor’ for Kingsley in the process.

Gandhi was similarly received at the Academy Awards, where it won ‘Best Picture’, ‘Best Director’ for Attenborough’, ‘Best Actor’ for Kingsley’, as well as five more wins and three nominations. The film has gone down not only as a brilliant piece of historical cinema but also as one of the most significant works of film in the history of the Baftas.

Check out the trailer for Gandhi below.