Why is Emilia Perez controversial and will Karla Sofia Gascon attend the Baftas?
The film follows four women in Mexico as they pursue happiness.
Bafta-nominated French musical Emilia Perez has seen both high praise and controversy since its release last year.
From being the toast of awards season, to an apology from star Karla Sofia Gascon for a number of tweets that she posted prior to the film’s release, here is a run-through of what to know about the Spanish-language movie:
– What is it about?
The film follows four women in Mexico as they each pursue happiness, and sees fearsome cartel leader (Gascon) enlist Rita (Zoe Saldana), an unappreciated lawyer, to help fake her death so she can live as her true self, Emilia.
The film uses song, dance and bold visuals to tell its story, and features original songs written by French singer-songwriter Camille and composer Clement Ducol.
– Who are the stars of the film?
The film stars the first transgender actress to be nominated for a Golden Globe and to win the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, Gascon, singer and Only Murders In the Building actress Gomez as the crime boss’s wife Jessi, and Saldana, who plays Neytiri in James Cameron’s Avatar film series and alien assassin Gamora in the Guardians Of The Galaxy franchise.
Mexican actress Adriana Paz features as Epifania, a love interest of Emilia whose husband is among the missing people in Mexico, and Zero Dark Thirty actor Edgar Ramirez plays Jessi’s former lover.
– What is the controversy around the film?
Emilia Perez has faced criticism from those in the Mexican film industry for focusing on the country’s drug problems and for its few cast members from the country.
In an interview with US outlet Deadline, director Jacques Audiard said he was “shocked” by criticism, and claimed the movie’s critics either “haven’t seen the film properly or they haven’t seen it at all and are acting in bad faith”.
Gascon has also faced criticism for a number of tweets between 2019 and 2024, which saw her make comments about Islam, the death of George Floyd and diversity at the Oscars.
After the tweets were brought to light, the actress apologised and maintained that she had not been “racist” in Instagram posts.
Audiard told Deadline the remarks were “absolutely hateful” and said they made it “very hard” for him to think back to his “exceptional” time working with her.
After his interview, Gascon announced she would “let the work talk for itself”, and said she was “hoping my silence will allow the film to be appreciated for what it is”.
Gascon has not attended recent awards ceremonies the film has featured in, with the latest being Spain’s Goya Awards, and she is not expected to appear at the Bafta Film Awards.
The movie has also faced criticism from the transgender community, with US LGBT+ organisation Glaad issuing a statement on its website saying the film featured “a profoundly retrograde portrayal of a trans woman” and was “a step backward for trans representation”.
Emilia Perez sees Gascon’s character transition from man to woman in order to aid her disappearance, after she had experienced gender dysphoria during her childhood.
– What has it won so far?
Emilia Perez won the Jury Prize and best actress, which was shared by its four female leads, at the Cannes Film Festival.
At the Golden Globes, the operatic musical was the big winner of the night with four gongs, among them best motion picture for a musical or comedy, best non-English language film, Saldana taking home best supporting actress for a motion picture, and Camille, Ducol and Audiard winning best original song.
The awards also saw Gascon nominated for best actress for a motion picture musical or comedy, becoming the first trans woman to be nominated for the gong.
– What has it been nominated for?
Emilia Perez is the most-nominated film at the 2025 Oscars with 13 nods including twice for original song, best actress for Gascon, best supporting actress for Saldana, and best director for Audiard.
The film is also the second-most nominated movie at this year’s Bafta Film Awards, with 11 nods including a leading actress nomination for Gascon, while co-stars Gomez and Saldana will go head to head in the supporting actress category.
Gascon, Saldana and the cast have also been nominated for Screen Actors Guild Awards.
– What have critics said?
Kevin Maher, from The Times, rated the film five stars out of five and said “this mad musical is one of the year’s best films”, while Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian rated the film three out of five stars, describing it as a “slightly bizarre yet watchable musical”.
The movie was included in UK publication Sight And Sound’s 50 best films of 2024 list and also featured in Time magazine’s top 10 films of the year.
