Excitement mounts ahead of this year’s British Film Academy Awards. Here’s a primer of what to read before it all begins, what our coverage will consist of and some last minute predictions as to which movies will triumph.

First off, your reading list:

• The Observer has a report from Bafta’s lunch yesterday for lifetime achievement winner Helen Mirren, who has hit out against what she sees as a rising female body count on TV

• Xan Brooks gives his predictions and asks if Gravity is British enough (it’s up for Outstanding British Film on account of its UK backing, while 12 Years a Slave for instance, is excluded on account of being bankrolled in the US).

• Andrew Pulver explores exactly how Gravity has earned its Brit credentials and why we’re leading the pack in the SFX race.

• Full news on the predictions (remember: Gravity has one more than both Slave and Hustle)

• Full list of nominations

• Peter Bradshaw’s reaction to those nominations

Next, your timetable:

The Baftas are broadcast on BBC1 from 9-11pm GMT, with a half hour red carpet show from 8:30pm. Xan Brooks will liveblog the ceremony and we’d love if you could watchalong with him.

However, the ceremony itself actually happens from more like 7pm, with the red carpet kicking off proper at 5pm. So the fashion team will be on frock watch from around 5:30pm and, conscious of spoilers, we’ll be reporting on who’s won what from around 7pm. Here’s Ben Beaumont-Thomas, joining fellow news hound Mark Brown in the Royal Opera House press room.

And, finally, the films themselves:

We think that the red tape which prevents 12 Years a Slave from being nominated for outstanding British film may work in its favour. In all but a technicality, this is a British film, and a fantastically good one. The idea it’s been robbed in this category - and that momentum has slightly faded from its Oscars push - may ensure it sweeps the board tonight. We predict wins in best film, best director, best actor (remember, McConnaughey isn’t even nommed), best supporting actor and actress and more. The only category we think it’ll really miss out on is best adapted screenplay (which will probably go, like best actress, to Philomena).

Best film

12 Years A Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Philomena

Outstanding British film

Gravity
Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom
Philomena
Rush
Saving Mr Banks
The Selfish Giant

Documentary

The Act of Killing
The Armstrong Lie
Blackfish
Tim’s Vermeer
We Steal Secrets: The Story Of Wikileaks

Animated film

Despicable Me 2
Frozen
Monsters University

Director

12 Years A Slave - Steve McQueen
American Hustle - David O Russell
Captain Phillips - Paul Greengrass
Gravity - Alfonso Cuarón
The Wolf Of Wall Street - Martin Scorsese

Leading actor

Bruce Dern - Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor - 12 Years A Slave
Christian Bale - American Hustle
Leonardo DiCaprio - The Wolf Of Wall Street
Tom Hanks - Captain Phillips

Leading actress

Amy Adams - American Hustle
Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Emma Thompson - Saving Mr. Banks
Judi Dench - Philomena
Sandra Bullock – Gravity

Supporting actor

Barkhad Abdi - Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper - American Hustle
Daniel Brühl - Rush
Matt Damon - Behind the Candelabra
Michael Fassbender - 12 Years A Slave

Supporting actress

Jennifer Lawrence - American Hustle
Julia Roberts - August: Osage County
Lupita Nyong’o - 12 Years A Slave
Oprah Winfrey - The Butler
Sally Hawkins - Blue Jasmine

Best original screenplay

American Hustle, Eric Warren Singer, David O Russell
Blue Jasmine, Woody Allen
Gravity, Alfonso Cuarón, Jonás Cuarón
Inside Llewyn Davis, Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Nebraska, Bob Nelson

Best adapted screenplay

12 Years a Slave, John Ridley
Behind the Candelabra, Richard LaGravenese
Captain Phillips, Billy Ray
Philomena, Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope
The Wolf of Wall Street, Terence Winter

Best foreign

The Act of Killing, Joshua Oppenheimer, Signe Byrge Sørensen
Blue Is the Warmest Colour, Abdellatif Kechiche, Brahim Chioua, Vincent Maraval
The Great Beauty, Paolo Sorrentino, Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima
Metro Manila, Sean Ellis, Mathilde Charpentier
Wadjda, Haifaa Al-Mansour, Gerhard Meixner, Roman Pau

Best cinematography

12 Years a Slave, Sean Bobbitt
Captain Phillips, Barry Ackroyd
Gravity, Emmanuel Lubezki
Inside Llewyn Davis, Bruno Delbonnel
Nebraska, Phedon Papamichael

Best editing

12 Years a Slave, Joe Walker
Captain Phillips, Christopher Rouse
Gravity, Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger
Rush, Dan Hanley, Mike Hill
The Wolf of Wall Street, Thelma Schoonmaker

Best production design

12 Years a Slave, Adam Stockhausen, Alice Baker
American Hustle, Judy Becker, Heather Loeffler
Behind the Candelabra, Howard Cummings
Gravity, Andy Nicholson, Rosie Goodwin, Joanne Woodlard
The Great Gatsby, Catherine Martin, Beverley Dunn

Best costume design

American Hustle, Michael Wilkinson
Behind the Candelabra, Ellen Mirojnick
The Great Gatsby, Catherine Martin
The Invisible Woman, Michael O’Connor
Saving Mr Banks, Daniel Orlandi

Best make up and hair

American Hustle, Evelyne Noraz, Lori McCoy-Bell
Behind the Candelabra, Kate Biscoe, Marie Larkin
The Butler, Debra Denson, Beverly Jo Pryor, Candace Neal
The Great Gatsby, Maurizio Silvi, Kerry Warn
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Peter Swords King, Richard Taylor, Rick Findlater

Best sound

All Is Lost, Richard Hymns, Steve Boeddeker, Brandon Proctor, Micah Bloomberg, Gillian Arthur
Captain Phillips, Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith, Chris Munro, Oliver Tarney
Gravity, Glenn Freemantle, Skip Lievsay, Christopher Benstead, Niv Adiri, Chris Munro
Inside Llewyn Davis, Peter F. Kurland, Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff
Rush, Danny Hambrook, Martin Steyer, Stefan Korte, Markus Stemler, Frank Kruse

Best original music

12 Years a Slave, Hans Zimmer
The Book Thief, John Williams
Captain Phillips, Henry Jackman
Gravity, Steven Price
Saving Mr Banks, Thomas Newman

Best special visual effects

Gravity, Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, David Shirk, Neil Corbould, Nikki Penny
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, Eric Reynolds
Iron Man 3, Bryan Grill, Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Dan Sudick
Pacific Rim, Hal Hickel, John Knoll, Lindy De Quattro, Nigel Sumner
Star Trek Into Darkness, Ben Grossmann, Burt Dalton, Patrick Tubach, Roger Guyett

Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer

Colin Carberry, (Writer), Glenn Patterson (Writer), Good Vibrations
Kelly Marcel, (Writer), Saving Mr Banks
Keiran Evans (Director/Writer), Kelly + Victor
Paul Wright (Director/Writer), Polly Stokes (Producer), For Those in Peril
Scott Graham, (Director/Writer), Shell

The EE Rising Star Award (voted for by the public)

Dane Dehaan
George Mackay
Lupita Nyong’o
Will Poulter
Léa Seydoux