Film And TV
27 Jan 26

Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal score BAFTA nominations

Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal in Hamnet.

Hamnet has received a record breaking number of BAFTA nominations for a female-directed film, with 11 in total.

Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal have both received BAFTA nominations for their performances in Hamnet.

The two starred alongside one another in Chloe Zhao's critically acclaimed adaptation of Coleraine-novelist Maggie O'Farrell's 2020 novel of the same name. Buckley received her nomination in the Best Leading Actress category, while Mescal was nominated for Best Supporting Actor.

Last week, Buckley received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role, and has already won a Golden Globe and Critic's Choice Award for her performance in the film.

Both Zhao and O'Farrell have received BAFTA nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay, with Zhao additionally being nominated for Best Director. In total, Hamnet has received a record-breaking amount of BAFTA nominations for a female-directed film, with 11 in total.

The film revolves around the family life of playwright William Shakespeare, namely the premature death of his son Hamnet, which is often cited as inspiration for his tragic play Hamlet.

"[...] the thing that really defines Shakespeare, one of the most important reasons he's endured for so long, is that he continually defies definition," O'Farrell said to Hot Press at the film's Irish premiere in December."His themes and his plays are adaptable to every single time and every single theory, in a sense, so it seems fitting for the film to be relevant now."

The film is currently available to see in cinemas across Ireland.

Another Irishman acknowledged by the awards is Dublin-native Richard Baneham, nominated for Best Special Visual Effects for Avatar Fire and Ash.