Edith Bowman on BAFTA surprises and the TV tech behind your favourite films
From the big screen to your little screen
BAFTA buzz is well underway, positively locust-level with Sunday’s Award Ceremony getting everyone from cinephiles to celebrities gearing up for a night of big speeches, big outfits, and big fuel for your Monday morning office small-talk.
It’s been a glut year for movies, with record breaking nominations for Sinners, a stacked number of noms for One Battle After Another, Marty Supreme, Hamnet, and more. Unlike some years - most years in fact - there isn’t just one movie leading the pack in terms of buzz, with so many copper-bottomed crackers battling it out for the little trophies.
In times like these you need some expert opinions, so we caught up with broadcaster Edith Bowman, and Samsung home cinema expert Zeena Hill to get their take on this year's nominations, as well as exploring the tech and developments behind the movie magic.
Biggest surprises this year
Some films get teased for years before making it to the big screen, some sneak up on you and capture your heart. Alongside the films you love, there are always the snubs that shock you.
“Lynne Ramsay [the director behind Die My Love] is an extraordinary filmmaker, she completely throws her whole being into her films,” Bowman shared.
“Jennifer Lawrence should have been up for best actress. Jennifer Lawrence is the biggest surprise for me, a massive omission, I think, for best female. You can feel how much she put into that film, but I think the problem with Jen is she makes it look careless and effortless so people almost take her for granted. So that was the biggest surprise for me across the board.”
Female filmmakers are the rising stars
![HAMNET - Official Trailer [HD] - Only In Theaters This Thanksgiving - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/xYcgQMxQwmk/maxresdefault.jpg)
Talking about record breakers, it’s been a standout year for female filmmakers with Chloe Zhao, Lynne Ramsay, Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Kaouther Ben Hania and more all shining.
“Hamnet, I thought was incredible,” Bowman reflected. “Just female filmmakers, they're just doing great things, I think. Chloe [Zhao] tapped into something that I think an audience kind of physically feels in that film.”
The most underrated movie moments
When we think about big awards, we tend to think about the big kahunas: best actor, best actress, best supporting, and best director. As Bowman pointed out, there is so much more to admire:
“It's great to see things like F1 up there as well, you know, in terms of for the commitment to sound and things – we're so quick to jump on actors and directors and I think we forget about all these beautiful, brilliant artisans behind the screen: art, direction, costume design, sound, composers, it's amazing.
"And so many of them are British as well, which is great – we've got a very high standard of filmmaking, talent behind the camera in this country, which is to be celebrated.”
The tech behind the watch
Picking up from the appreciation of the artisans behind the screen, Zeena Hill, Director of Marketing for Samsung Home Entertainment & Appliances, explained how the increase in streaming has changed how we view movies – and how tech is attempting to keep up.
“When you think about it from a technology perspective, there're some films which are a movie – you know picture quality, cinematography and sound are all crucial.
"F1 for example, we were thinking from a technology perspective, you've got your lovely TV, but we've also got sound bars, you've got all this tech trying to bring this immersive viewing to the fore,” she explained.
“Frankenstein, One Battle After Another, and Sinners – they're all up for all those three,” she continued.
“I think that's quite unusual because there's always usually a frontrunner, that sort of sweeps the cinematography and sound [categories].”
Cinema versus streaming – according to the experts
For those not already in the know, Samsung is the official screen of BAFTA. Whilst most will just think this is a simple logo swap on both sides, it’s a lot more than that — how modern technology is adapting to create the cinema-experience for everyday streamers.
“Cinema and streaming have always coexisted,” Zeena reflected. “I think we're both sort of pushing each other from innovation.”
“I love nothing better than going to watch films [in the cinema]. When I saw One Battle After Another at Odeon in Leicester Square it was immersive,” Edith added.
“But then, through the technology that Samsung have created, it’s kind of the closest that I'm going to get to feeling and seeing it on my Samsung TV because of the quality within it, that and the sound quality.”
It's not just about new films
Sure, BAFTA noms and award season is exciting, soaking up all the new films, but you always go back to your favourites. One of the best parts of TV technology is that it’s not just about making the new stuff better, it backdates to augment some of the old classics.
“I call it an invisible benefit,” Zeena laughed.
“If you're watching, say, a Scorsese movie from 20 years ago you know, we've now got the technology where we can just make that look as amazing as possible, via upscaling.
"It's not making it look weird in terms of colours, but it's just upscaling. So 20 years later, you're still enjoying the amazing craftsmanship, the actors, the picture just looks as brilliant as possible,” she explained.
AI is coming for our jobs, AI is drinking a gallon of water per usage – whilst not myths, Zeena is keen to remind us that AI is a spectrum, and whilst its presence and advancement is has developed significantly, it has been around for a while. Especially when it comes to optimising the inbuilt technology.
“You used to have to sit there and touch your remote control 52 times, changing volume, brightness, searching for the right thing. Now, if you're sitting in front of the TV, you don't need to do that because you've got AI sound, AI Picture, so it's just doing it in the background.
"You're not there adjusting the colour, just switching into AI film mode or AI sport mode… it just makes your life easier,” she explained.
For Zeena and Edith, it means rediscovering old favourites with their families (and not having their kids complain about the awful quality and them being "old").
What can we expect for next year?
No one can predict what's going to happen in the next year, even with big films like Avengers: Doomsday and Devil Wears Prada 2 making their way to cinemas in 2026. For Edith, there's one film already making its mark
"I know Wuthering Heights is out, and I freaking love that film so much. That's going to be nominated next year, even though it's out tomorrow before the show BAFTAs, it has to be up for awards next year because Emerald Fennell is genius and goddess."
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