The nominations have been announced for the Orange British Academy Film Awards 2010, and the MEDIA-funded An Education dominates the selection, with eight nominations across the categories. The film's distribution outside the UK has been supported by the MEDIA Programme. It is shortlisted for the Best Film, Outstanding British Film, Director, Adapted Screenplay and Make Up & Hair awards. Carey Mulligan is nominated for both the Leading Actress and Orange Rising Star Award for her role in the film, and Alfred Molina is nominated for Supporting Actor for his role.

The nominations for Best Film are:

• Avatar, directed by James Cameron
• An Education, directed by Lone Scherfig
• The Hurt Locker, directed by Kathryn Bigelow
• Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire, directed by Lee Daniels
• Up in the Air, directed by Jason Reitman.

Alongside An Education's multiple nominations, three of the five films shortlisted for the Outstanding British Film award have received support from the MEDIA Programme. The nominations are:

• An Education, directed by Lone Scherfig
• Fish Tank, directed by Andrea Arnold
• In the Loop, directed by Armando Iannucci
• Moon, directed by Duncan Jones
• Nowhere Boy, directed by Sam Taylor Wood.

An Education, Fish Tank and Nowhere Boy all received support from the MEDIA Programme for their distribution outside the UK. Fish Tank has to date received over €500,000 support to strengthen its theatrical release in 13 territories across Europe, as well as support from the i2i Audiovisual scheme.

In addition, all the films shortlisted for the Film Not in the English Language award have been supported by the MEDIA Programme. The nominations are:

• Los Abrazos Rotos (Broken Embraces), directed by Pedro Almodóvar
• Coco avant Chanel (Coco Before Chanel), directed by Anne Fontaine
• Låt den rätte komma in (Let the Right One In), directed by Tomas Alfredson
• Un prophète (A Prophet), directed by Jacques Audiard
• Das weisse Band (The White Ribbon), directed by Michael Haneke.

Over 40% of the MEDIA Programme's budget is dedicated to helping audiences see European films from outside their home territory, and these films are excellent examples of this funding in practice. Los Abrazos Rotos (Broken Embraces) has received over €2 million in support from the MEDIA Programme for its release across Europe. Das weisse Band (The White Ribbon) has received over €1.2 million to aid its distribution in 21 territories and Un prophète (A Prophet) has received over €1 million to bolster its theatrical release across Europe. In the UK, Optimum Releasing was awarded €100,000 to support the film's release in UK cinemas. Coco avant Chanel (Coco Before Chanel) and Låt den rätte komma in (Let the Right One In) have also received support from the MEDIA Programme's distribution schemes.

A full list of the shortlisted films is available on the BAFTA website. Winners of the Orange British Academy Film Awards will be announced at the awards ceremony at the Royal Opera House, London, on 21 February 2010.