The event at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden is the biggest movie bash of the year in the UK and is seen as an accurate pointer for Oscar success.
One of the night's most intriguing contests sees Margaret Thatcher face screen siren Marilyn Monroe as the actresses who play two of the 20th century's most famous women go head-to-head.
Black-and-white silent film The Artist is the award frontrunner with 12 nominations, while Cold War thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy has 11 nods despite being shunned at the Golden Globes.
Meryl Streep looks set to continue her awards run, with a nod for best actress for her portrayal of the former prime minister in The Iron Lady.
She is up against Michelle Williams for her role as Monroe in My Week With Marilyn, and Tilda Swinton as the mother of a killer in We Need To Talk About Kevin.
Argentinian actress Berenice Bejo is also in the running for The Artist, alongside US star Viola Davis for The Help.
Streep said her nomination was "thrilling, thrilling news" and The Iron Lady is up for four prizes, including supporting actor for Jim Broadbent as Denis Thatcher.
The Artist cements its reputation as an awards heavyweight, competing for the top prizes of best film and director.
Its French director Michel Hazanavicius admitted he had been a "bit mad" to embark on a black-and-white silent film, but said he was "thrilled, delighted and honoured" to be recognised by Bafta voters.
Nominations for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy include best film, director, British film and leading actor for Gary Oldman.
Oldman's rivals at the awards include heart-throbs Brad Pitt for Moneyball and George Clooney for The Descendants.
Irish-German star Michael Fassbender is up for leading actor for Shame, the movie about sex addiction, and French actor Jean Dujardin is nominated for The Artist.
Hugo, Martin Scorsese's first children's film, has nine nominations, including best director.
My Week With Marilyn has six and The Help - set in the early 1960s racially-segregated American South - and War Horse are each nominated five times.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Artist compete for the top prize of best film with The Help, The Descendants and crime thriller Drive.
Drive's Carey Mulligan and My Week With Marilyn's Dame Judi Dench are among the rivals for supporting actress.
Kenneth Branagh is among the nominees for supporting actor for his portrayal of Laurence Olivier in the film about Monroe.
Scottish film-maker Lynne Ramsay is the only British name up for best director, for We Need To Talk About Kevin, against Scorsese for Hugo, and the filmmakers behind The Artist, Drive, and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
The British debut category this year sees Black Pond, the film featuring the return of disgraced actor Chris Langham, nominated.
It will be up against Attack The Block, which is Joe Cornish's comedy about an alien invasion on a council estate, Coriolanus, Ralph Fiennes's first-time film as a director, Submarine by The IT Crowd star Richard Ayoade, and Paddy Considine's Tyrannosaur.
George Harrison's widow Olivia was said to be "delighted" that George Harrison: Living In The Material World, which she helped to produce, was nominated in the documentary category.
The documentary, also directed by Scorsese, is in the running along with Senna, about the late Brazilian motor racing legend Ayrton Senna, and Project Nim, about a 1970 social experiment involving a chimp.
Hosted by Stephen Fry, the awards take place at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden tonight and are being shown on BBC1.
Two men certain of taking home a trophy are Scorsese, who will be awarded the Bafta Fellowship, and John Hurt who will receive the Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award.
But none of the Bafta nominees go away empty-handed. They all get a gift bag stuffed with top of the range goodies including a leather notebook, jet and silver cufflinks and a selection of beauty products.
They also get bottles of Disaronno liqueur and champagne to toast their success or drown their sorrows as appropriate.
AND THE NOMINEES ARE... the full list of nominations for the Bafta film awards:
Best Film:
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Help
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Outstanding British Film:
My Week With Marilyn
Senna
Shame
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
We Need To Talk About Kevin
Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer:
Attack The Block - Joe Cornish (director/writer)
Black Pond - Will Sharpe (director/writer), Tom Kingsley (director), Sarah Brocklehurst (producer)
Coriolanus - Ralph Fiennes (director)
Submarine - Richard Ayoade (director/writer)
Tyrannosaur - Paddy Considine (director), Diarmid Scrimshaw (producer)
Foreign language film:
Incendies
Pina
Potiche
A Separation
The Skin I Live In
Director:
The Artist - Michel Hazanavicius
Drive - Nicolas Winding Refn
Hugo - Martin Scorsese
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Tomas Alfredson
We Need To Talk About Kevin - Lynne Ramsay
Leading actor:
Brad Pitt - Moneyball
Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
George Clooney - The Descendants
Jean Dujardin - The Artist
Michael Fassbender - Shame
Leading actress:
Berenice Bejo - The Artist
Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams - My Week With Marilyn
Tilda Swinton - We Need To Talk About Kevin
Viola Davis - The Help
Supporting actor:
Christopher Plummer - Beginners
Jim Broadbent - The Iron Lady
Jonah Hill - Moneyball
Kenneth Branagh - My Week With Marilyn
Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Ides Of March
Supporting actress:
Carey Mulligan - Drive
Jessica Chastain - The Help
Judi Dench - My Week With Marilyn
Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids
Octavia Spencer - The Help
Documentary:
George Harrison: Living In The Material World
Project Nim
Senna
Animated film:
The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn
Arthur Christmas
Rango
Screenplay:
The Artist - Michel Hazanavicius
Bridesmaids - Annie Mumolo, Kristen Wiig
The Guard - John Michael McDonagh
The Iron Lady - Abi Morgan
Midnight In Paris - Woody Allen
Adapted screenplay:
The Descendants - Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
The Help - Tate Taylor
The Ides Of March - George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon
Moneyball - Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan
Original music:
The Artist
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse
Cinematography:
The Artist
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse
Editing:
The Artist
Drive
Hugo
Senna
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Production design:
The Artist
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse
Costume design:
The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Make-up and hair:
The Artist
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
The Iron Lady
My Week With Marilyn
Sound:
The Artist
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse
Special visual effects:
The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes
War Horse
Short animation:
Abuelas
Bobby Yeah
A Morning Stroll
Short film:
Chalk
Mwansa The Great
Only Sound Remains
Pitch Black Heist
Two And Two
The Orange Wednesdays Rising Star Award (previously announced, and voted by the public)
Adam Deacon
Chris Hemsworth
Chris O'Dowd
Eddie Redmayne
Tom Hiddleston
PA
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