"No Other Choice" Fails to Make Final BAFTA Nominee List, Misses Out After Oscars Setback

Fell Short of Final Nominees in Foreign Language Film Category
Blocked by Same Lineup as U.S. Academy Awards
"Bugonia" Earns Five Nominations Including Best Director

Director Park Chan-wook's film "No Other Choice" has failed to make the final shortlist at the British Academy, following its earlier omission from the U.S. Academy Awards. According to the list of nominees for the 79th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) announced by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) on the 27th (local time), the film did not make it into the five final nominees for the Foreign Language Film category. Although it was included in the previously announced shortlist of ten films, it did not pass the final hurdle.

The final nominees in this category are "It Was Just an Accident" (Iran) by Jafar Panahi, "Sentimental Value" (Norway) by Joachim Trier, "Secret Agent" (Brazil), "Sirat" (Spain/France), and "The Voice of Hind" (Tunisia/France). This is the same lineup as the nominees for the International Feature Film category at this year's Academy Awards in the United States. Director Park previously made history as the first Korean film to win in this category with "The Handmaiden" in 2018.

The disappointment of missing out on the final nomination was somewhat eased by the success of a Hollywood adaptation based on a Korean film. "Bugonia," directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and a remake of Jang Joon-hwan's masterpiece "Save the Green Planet!," received attention after being nominated in five categories, including Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. This demonstrated the power of K-Content intellectual property (IP) to succeed globally through reinterpretation. On the other hand, the Netflix animation "K-Pop Demon Hunters" was excluded from the nominees for failing to meet the local theatrical release requirements.

The strongest contender at this year's BAFTA is "One Battle After Another" directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The film received the most nominations, with 14 across 13 categories (including two for Best Supporting Actor), such as Best Picture and Best Actor/Actress. "Sinners," directed by Ryan Coogler, followed with nominations in 13 categories, while "Marty Supreme" was nominated in 11 categories.

The 79th BAFTA Awards, often called the "British Oscars," will be held on February 22 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London.