‘The Kitchen’ could clean up at BAFTAs

The BAFTAs have a soft spot for home-grown talent. Earlier this year, “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” scored four bids at the British Academy Film Awards, including Best Actor (Daryl McCormack) and Best Actress (Emma Thompson). Before that, in 2022, Adeel Akhtar snuck into the Best Actor lineup for “Ali & Ava” and Joanna Scanlan won Best Actress for “After Love.”

This pattern of Brits recognizing Brits could bode well for Daniel Kaluuya this year, who makes his directorial debut with the new Netflix drama “The Kitchen.” The film depicts a dystopian London in which all social housing has been eliminated. The focus in the story are the residents of The Kitchen, a community that refuses to leave their homes despite their struggles. At the heart of the film is Kane Robinson‘s (also known as Kano) Izi, who takes Jedaiah Bannerman‘s young boy under his wing and tries to guide him after his mother dies. The film had its world premiere at the recent BFI London Film Festival. It is scheduled to release on Netflix later this year but there is no exact date just yet.

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Kaluuya co-writes the script with Joe Murtagh while he co-directs with Kibwe Tavares, who is also making his feature film directorial debut after making several shorts. Kaluuya and Tavares have carved out a slice of British social drama, one that feels timely and relevant to today despite being set in the future, but, also a story that never forgets to entertain. Robinson and Bannerman’s central performances lend the film weight and gravitas while the casting of former Premier League and Arsenal soccer player Ian Wright in a key role as Lord Kitchener (a de-facto leader-come-DJ) is, frankly, inspired. Wright is one of the best things about the movie.

“The Kitchen” may struggle to reach the heights of the Oscars as it is a very strong year with hugeeeee pictures such as “Oppenheimer,” Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Barbie,” and “Poor Things” all competing for the top prizes. However, “The Kitchen” could find greater reward on home territory, not least because there are two categories directly set up to reward British filmmakers at the BAFTAs.

The first is Best British Film, a category that nominates and awards movies made by British filmmakers and production companies. The winners of this category do, often, overlap and earn bids at the Oscars, as proven by the last six winners in this category: “The Banshees of Inisherin,” “Belfast,” “Promising Young Woman,” “1917,” “The Favourite,” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” However, the nominations lists each year are filled with smaller British dramas more at the level of “The Kitchen.” “The Wonder,” “The Swimmers,” and “Brian and Charles” were all nominated earlier this year; “Boiling Point,” “Ali & Ava,” and “After Love” were nominated in 2022; and “Calm With Horses,” “The Dig,” “His House,” “Limbo,” “Mogul Mowgli,” and “Rocks” were all nominated in 2021. “The Kitchen” would fit right into that.

The second category is Best Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer. Kaluuya and Murtagh could be nominated here and so, too, could Kaluuya and co-director Tavares. It’s very common that this category nominates existing stars, such as Kaluuya, who already have careers as actors, say, who have then gone on to turn their hand at writing or directing. Earlier this year, actress and comedian Katy Brand was nominated for her debut script for “Good Luck to You, Leo Grands.” In 2022, actress Rebecca Hall was nominated for her writing and directing debut for “Passing.” Also in 2022, singer and musician Jeymes Samuel won for his writing-directing debut for “The Harder They Fall.” And take a look at the 2012 lineup — Paddy Considine won for his directorial debut for “Tyrannosaur,” actor Will Sharpe was nominated for his directorial debut “Black Pond,” actor and comedian Richard Ayoade was nominated for directing “Submarine,” and Ralph Fiennes was nominated for directing “Coriolanus.” Kaluuya’s name would fit right in with these stars.

But “The Kitchen” might not necessarily be confined to these two categories. The BAFTAs often sacrifice an Oscar contender or two in favor of nominating a British star. In Best Director: Aleem Khan was nominated in 2022 for “After Love;” in 2021, Sarah Gavron was nominated for “Rocks;” and, in 2017, Ken Loach was nominated for “I, Daniel Blake.” In Best Actor: In 2022, Akhtar was nominated for “Ali & Ava” and Stephen Graham was nominated for “Boiling Point;” in 2019, Steve Coogan was nominated for “Stan & Ollie,” and, in 2018, Jamie Bell was nominated for “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool.” And in Best Original Screenplay: in 2021, Theresa Ikoko and Claire Wilson were nominated for “Rocks,” in 2017, Paul Laverty was nominated for “I, Daniel Blake;” and, in 2012, Abi Morgan was nominated for “The Iron Lady.”

It is these three categories, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Original Screenplay, that Kaluuya & Tavares, Robinson, and Kaluuya & Murtagh, respectively, could find some lack in their home country. Robinson and Tavares have never been nominated for any Oscars or BAFTAs but Murtagh was nominated for Best British Film at the 2021 BAFTAs for “Calm With Horses” (shared with Nick Rowland and Daniel Emmerson). Kaluuya, meanwhile, won the 2018 EE Rising Star Award at the BAFTAs while he was also nominated for Best Actor for “Get Out.” He won Best Supporting Actor in 2021 for “Judas and the Black Messiah.” He also has two Oscar nominations and one win: he was nominated in 2018 for Best Actor for “Get Out” and followed up his BAFTA win with an Oscar win for “Judas and the Black Messiah.”

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