GENSOCIAL
THE BRITISH Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced the nominations for the EE British Academy Film Awards in 2021, celebrating the very best in film of the past year.
In a first for BAFTA, four women have been nominated in the Director category. Three of the nominated directors are also nominated for Film Not in the English Language.
This year’s nominations showcase and celebrate the remarkable range of performances and nominees behind the camera from 50 films
Krishnendu Majumdar, Chair of BAFTA
Supporting new talent is at the heart of BAFTA’s remit and four of the five nominated films in Outstanding Debut are also nominated across other categories.
This year, first-time nominees account for four of the six nominated Directors and 21 of the 24 nominees in the performance categories.
Highlighting a strong year for British talent, the Outstanding British Film category has increased from six to 10 nominations, three of which are also nominated for Best Film.
The nominations were announced by Aisling Bea and Susan Wokoma at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
Amanda Berry OBE, Chief Executive of BAFTA, said: “The last year has seen the Covid-19 pandemic impact everyone, and the film industry is no exception.
“I would like to thank all those who have supported us and enabled BAFTA to continue to celebrate the very best work in film, from our members who embraced the changes we made to the voting process to the distributors for ensuring that many more films were available for online viewing.
“Film has always held an essential place in our culture but I think we can all agree that it has been even more important during this time. I very much look forward to celebrating the incredible talent of all our nominees across on Saturday 10 and Sunday April 11.”
Krishnendu Majumdar, Chair of BAFTA, said: “This year’s nominations showcase and celebrate the remarkable range of performances and nominees behind the camera from 50 films and we’re delighted to recognise such high-quality work.
“We are also delighted to see the strength of British film shine through in all categories.
“After last year’s nominations, we started the BAFTA Review process with the intention of levelling the playing field and introduced a range of measures to ensure that all entered films were seen by our members and judged on merit.
“We hope today you can see some of those changes reflected in the breadth and depth of those nominated and we congratulate all our nominees.”
The nominees for the EE Rising Star Award were announced on March 3 as Bukky Bakray, Conran Khan, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Morfydd Clark and Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù.
The award is voted for by the British public and presented to an actress or actor who has demonstrated exceptional talent and has begun to capture the imagination of the UK public. Voting is now open at ee.co.uk/bafta.
This year two shows, recognising the very best in film of the past year, will be broadcast virtually from London’s Royal Albert Hall.
The first show, celebrating the craft of film, will be broadcast on April 10 on BBC Two and BBC Two HD.
The show on April 11 will be broadcast on BBC One and BBC One HD. Both programmes will be broadcast in all major territories around the world.
In the past year, BAFTA undertook a wide-ranging Review, signalling the beginning of a significant cultural shift within the organisation.
The changes introduced for the Film Awards are the first phase in an ongoing process of levelling the playing field for all entered films.
