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Netflix on course for best year ever at UK's BAFTA film awards

'Roma' is up for seven awards, including Best Film.

As the dust settles on the Golden Globes, streaming services are already gearing up for their best showing ever at the BAFTAs -- aka the UK's Oscars. Netflix is up for eight awards (up from three last year), mainly thanks to Alfonso Cuarón's deeply personal Mexican drama, Roma, which already snagged the Best Foreign Language Film gong at the Globes and is nominated in the BAFTA Best Film category.

Amazon also racked up four nominations for Polish romantic epic, Cold War, though it missed out on best picture. Coincidentally, both films are shot in black and white and set amidst the backdrop of turbulent political periods. In addition, Netflix's The Ballad of Buster Scruggs also picked up a nomination for Best Costume Design.

It's been a hard-fought battle to BAFTAs glory for streaming platforms in the past. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts only began considering the likes of Netflix and Amazon for film awards in 2016. Accolades followed for Amazon's Manchester by the Sea and Netflix's documentary 13th. Much like its US counterparts, the BAFTA's entry requirements state that a film must be released theatrically to a paying audience. Sure enough, Netflix made a big push to get its awards-tipped films into cinemas worldwide last year, among them Roma.

Nonetheless, it will be an uphill battle on the night for the streamers, with British film The Favourite leading the charge with 13 BAFTA nominations (including Best Film), while Bohemian Rhapsody, First Man, and A Star is Born trail with seven each. The BAFTAs will take place on February 10th, two weeks ahead of the Oscars.