Baftas: George VI versus the Neds - and the Neds didn't stand a chance

BRITISH film The King's Speech and its leading actor Colin Firth look set to dominate at the prestigious Bafta awards after leading the field in nominations, which were published yesterday.

The award-winning Scottish film Neds, whose Scottish premiere was last night in Glasgow, faced disappointment after it failed to make the awards' shortlist.

Less than 48 hours after winning best actor for his portrayal of the stammering King George VI in the US Golden Globe Awards, Firth's nomination for best actor was among 14 The King's Speech received for the British top film honours, including his co-stars Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush, who were nominated for best supporting actress and actor.

Of the other titles in the race for best film, its nearest rival, the ballet drama "Black Swan", garnered 12.

The psychological thriller Inception, starring Leo DiCaprio, received nine nominations, while The Coen brothers' remake of the classic John Wayne Western True Grit received eight.

The Social Network, about the early days of Facebook, one of the films most widely tipped for Oscars glory this year, won six nominations.

The Baftas are followed closely by other award nominations as the season gets into full swing. While they have only a patchy record in identifying future Oscar winners, last year they handed war drama The Hurt Locker six awards, a pattern that was repeated a month later in the Academy Awards.

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Despite having won the San Sebastian's awards for best actor and best film and receiving critical acclaim, Neds - the story of an intelligent teenager growing up in 1970s Glasgow as he is drawn into the local gang culture - failed to make it on to the Bafta radar.

A member of the Bafta voting panel expressed surprise that it failed to make the short-list, but said that the geography of the awards' voting base meant Neds may have been a turn-off to them. They added: "A large chunk of the Bafta voters are southern-based, and would have a real problem with the strong Glasgow accents used in Neds. And in the early voting stages, it seemed as if there were certainly more opportunities to see films like Inception, Made in Dagenham and The King's Speech on a big screen than Neds.

"It seems astonishing to me that Neds got overlooked so completely, but The King's Speech is the kind of genteel, warm, fuzzy, flag-flying film that Bafta-voters would love."

Peter Mullan, who wrote, directed and starred in Neds, said he was not disappointed by the no-show.He said: "No offence to the Bafta, but I never expected to get anything from them, so I'm not at all disappointed."

Bafta deputy chairman David Parfitt said this year's nominations showed that Britain was "punching above its weight" in the film world. "It's a very good year for the Brits," he said. "Even some of the American films that are nominated have British directors.

"British film has always punched above its weight in the film world. British film is always quite well represented in the Oscars as well as the Baftas."

The winners will be announced at a ceremony in London, on 13 February.