Award Central News

This is the first time the foreign-language nominees have been announced ahead of the other BAFTA nominations, which will be revealed Jan. 16.

This follows the introduction of the chapter voting for the first time this year in the foreign-language category. Previously, the nominees were decided by a general membership vote, with a jury then choosing the winner.

Under the new procedure, the foreign-language chapter voted for the nominees, and the entire membership will now vote for the winner. By announcing the nominees early, BAFTA is hoping to give voters more time to see all the contenders by the final voting deadline Feb. 4.

All five of this year’s foreign-language nominees sent DVD screeners to BAFTA members.

With only two rounds of voting, the foreign-language award differs from most of the other BAFTA categories, which have three rounds.

Voting in round one closed Jan. 3. This will decide the long lists of 15 contenders in each section, which will be emailed to BAFTA voters by 6 p.m. Friday. In the second round, which closes Jan. 14, members will chose the five nominees from these longlists.

The third round will decide the winners. The BAFTA ceremony takes place Feb. 10 at the Royal Opera House in London.