Avatar leads with 8  nominations for the BAFTA Awards including Best Film and Best Sound and Special Effects, with James Cameron picking up a nomination for Best Director.

The Hurt Locker also received eight nominations with District 9 receiving seven, Inglourious Basterds and Up in the Air six, and Coco Before Chanel, Nowhere Boy, Precious and Up four.

George Clooney has been nominated for Best Actor for his performance in Up in the Air. He is up against Jeff Bridges, Colin Firth, Jeremy Renner and Andy Serkis.

Meryl Streep is up for the Best Actress award, as is Carey Mulligan, Saoirse Ronan, Audrey Tautou and Gabourey Sidibe.  This is Meryl’s 13^th BAFTA nomination.

The 2010 BAFTA Awards will take place on Sunday, February 21, at London’s Royal Opera House.

The complete list of nominations after the break:

List of nominations for the 2010 BAFTA Film Awards:

Best Film:

Avatar

An Education

The Hurt Locker

Precious

Up in the Air

Outstanding British Film:

An Education

Fish Tank

In the Loop

Moon

Nowhere Boy

Best Director:

James Cameron, Avatar

Neill Blomkamp, District 9

An Education, Lone Scherfig

Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

Original Screenplay:

Inglourious Basterds

The Hangover

The Hurt Locker

A Serious Man

Up

Adapted Screenplay:

Up

District 9

An Education

In The Loop

Precious

Up in the Air

Film not in the English Language:

Broken Embraces

Coco Before Chanel

Let the Right One In

A Prophet

The White Ribbon

Animated Film:

Coraline

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Up

Leading Actor:

Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

George Clooney, Up in the Air

Colin Firth, A Single Man

Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

Andy Serkis, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

Leading Actress:

Carey Mulligan, An Education

Saoirse Ronan, The Lovely Bones

Gabourey Sidibe, Precious

Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia

Audrey Tautou, Coco Before Chanel

Supporting Actor:

Alec Baldwin, It’s Complicated

Christian McKay, Me and Orson Welles

Alfred Molina, An Education

Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones

Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Supporting Actress:

Anne-Marie Duff, Nowhere Boy

Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air

Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air

Mo’Nique, Precious

Kristin Scott Thomas, Nowhere Boy

Music:

Avatar

Crazy Heart

Fantastic Mr Fox

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

Up

Cinematography:

Avatar

District 9

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

The Road

Editing:

Avatar

District 9

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

Up in the Air

Production Design:

Avatar

District 9

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Inglourious Basterds

Costume Design:

Bright Star

Coco Before Chanel

An Education

A Single Man

The Young Victoria

Sound

Avatar

District 9

The Hurt Locker

Star Trek

Up

Special Visual Effects

Avatar

District 9

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

The Hurt Locker

Star Trek

The Orange Rising Star Award

Jesse Eisenberg

Nicholas Hoult

Carey Mulligan

Tahar Rahim

Kristen Stewart