British Academy of Film and Television Arts
| BAFTA Awards | |
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 Statue of the BAFTA trophy |
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| Awarded for | Excellence in film, television and computer gaming |
| Presented by | British Academy of Film and Television Arts |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| First awarded | 1947 |
| Official website | http://www.bafta.org/ |
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.
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Introduction
BAFTA was founded in 1947 as the British Film Academy, by David Lean, Alexander Korda, Carol Reed, Charles Laughton, Roger Manvell and other leading figures in the British film industry. In 1958, the Academy merged with the Guild of Television Producers and Directors to form the Society of Film and Television, which eventually became the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 1976.
BAFTA is an independent charity with a mission to "support, develop and promote the art forms of the moving image, by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public". In addition to high profile awards ceremonies BAFTA runs a year-round programme of educational events including film screenings, tribute evenings and interviews, lectures and debates with high profile industry figures. BAFTA is supported by a membership of around 6500 people from the film, television and video game industries. BAFTA's main office is on Piccadilly in London, but it also has branches in Scotland, in Wales, in New York and in Los Angeles.
These four branches of the Academy initially operated under their own brands (BAFTA Scotland, BAFTA Cymru, BAFTA East Coast and BAFTA LA). In July 2010 however; all branches of the Academy were brought together as one fully affiliated BAFTA.
The Academy's awards are in the form of a theatrical mask designed by American sculptor Mitzi Cunliffe, which was commissioned by the Guild of Television Producers in 1955. It has since become an internationally-recognised symbol of excellence in the art forms of the moving image.
In November 2007 a special tribute programme was shown on ITV in the UK celebrating 60 years of the organisation called Happy Birthday BAFTA.
Awards presented in London
British Academy Film Awards
BAFTA's annual film awards ceremony is known as the British Academy Film Awards, rewarding the best work of any nationality seen on British cinema screens during the preceding year. Since 2008 the ceremony has been held at the Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden having taken place since 2000 in the flagship Odeon cinema on Leicester Square. The ceremony previously took place in April or May, but from 2002 onwards has taken place in February, in order to precede the Oscars.
In order for a film to be considered for a BAFTA nomination its first public exhibition must be in a cinema and it must have a UK theatrical release in a public UK cinema for no fewer than seven days in the calendar year that corresponds to the upcoming Awards. A film must be feature length and films from all countries are eligible in all categories, with the exception of Outstanding British Film, Outstanding Debut, Short Film and Short Animation which are for British films only.
The 2010 ceremony was held on 21 February, also at the Royal Opera House.
The Major Awards winners in 2010 included:
- The Hurt Locker (Film)
- Kathryn Bigelow (Director), for The Hurt Locker
- Colin Firth (Leading Actor), for A Single Man
- Carey Mulligan (Leading Actress), for An Education
- Christoph Waltz (Supporting Actor), for Inglourious Basterds
- Mo'Nique (Supporting Actress), for Precious
- Mark Boal (Original Screenplay), for The Hurt Locker
- Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner (Adapted Screenplay), for Up In The Air
- Michael Giacchino (Music), for Up
- Pete Docter (Animated Film), for Up
Rising Star Award
Presented at the Orange British Academy Film Awards the Orange Rising Star Award recognises exceptional new acting talent in the film industry. A shortlist of six nominees is selected by BAFTA juries regardless of the nominee's gender and nationality. The winner is then voted for by the public. This award is dedicated to the memory of Mary Selway, the highly respected, BAFTA-winning British casting director who died in 2004.
British Academy Television Awards
The British Academy Television Awards usually take place in April or May, with craft awards having a separate ceremony slightly later in the year.
The Awards are also often referred to simply as "the BAFTAs" or, to differentiate them from the film awards, sometimes as the "BAFTA Television Awards". They have been awarded annually since 1954. The first ever Awards consisted of six categories. Until 1958, they were awarded by the Guild of Television Producers and Directors. From 1958 onwards, after the Guild had merged with the British Film Academy, the organisation was known as the Society of Film and Television Arts. In 1976, this became the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the name the organisation goes under still as of 2010.
From 1968 until 1997, the BAFTA Film and Television awards were presented in one joint ceremony known simply as the BAFTA Awards, but in order to streamline the ceremonies from 1998 onwards they were split in two. The Television Craft Awards are presented for more technical areas of the industry, such as visual effects, areas of production, or costume design.
The Awards are only open to British programmes — with the exception of the audience-voted Pioneer Award — but any cable, satellite, terrestrial or digital television stations broadcasting in the UK are eligible to submit entries, as are independent production companies who have produced programming for the channels. Individual performances, such as from actors, can either be entered by the performers themselves or by the broadcasters. The programmes being entered must have been broadcast on or between 1 January and 31 December of the year preceding the Awards ceremony (so, between 1 January and 31 December 2009 for the 2010 Awards).
The 2010 British Academy Television Awards took place on 6 June. BAFTA Television Award Winners in 2010
"Baftagate"
The 1991 awards were controversial when Prime Suspect beat G.B.H. to win the Best Drama Serial award. In what became known as "Baftagate"[1], four of the jurors publicly declared that they had voted for G.B.H. and demanded to see the votes, but these had been destroyed.
British Academy Television Craft Awards
The Television Craft Awards are presented for the behind the camera skills involved television production. In 2000 the Awards were separated from the British Academy Television Awards. The Craft Awards also now include several categories associated with interactive media.
As of 2010, the awards included the following categories:
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The 2010 Television Craft Awards took place on 23 May. British Academy Television Craft Awards winners in 2010
British Academy Children's Awards
The British Academy Children's Awards are presented annually in November to reward excellence in the art forms of the moving image aimed at children.
The Academy has a long history of recognising and rewarding Children's programming presenting two awards at the 1969 ceremony – The Flame of Knowledge Award for Schools Programmes and the Harlequin Award for Children's Programmes.
As of 2010 the Awards ceremony includes 19 categories across film, television, video games and online content. The 2009 Awards ceremony took place on 29 November at the London Hilton Hotel. BAFTA Children's Awards winners in 2009
Since 2007 the Children's Awards have included a Kids Vote Award voted for by children under 14 and a CBBC Me and My Movie award, a children's film-making initiative to inspire and enable children to make their own films and tell their own stories.
British Academy Video Games Awards
BAFTA first recognised video games and other interactive media at its inaugural Interactive Entertainment Awards ceremony in 1998, ushering in the first change to its rules since the admittance of television thirty years earlier. Among the first winning games were GoldenEye 007, Gran Turismo and interactive comedy MindGym, sharing the spotlight with the BBC News Online website which won the news category four years running. These Awards allowed the Academy to recognise new forms of entertainment that were engaging new audiences and challenging traditional expressions of creativity.
In 2003, the sheer ubiquity of interactive forms of entertainment and the breadth of genres and platforms in video games outgrew the combined ceremony, and the event was split into the BAFTA Video Games Awards and the BAFTA Interactive Awards [2]. By December 2003 however; despite making huge headlines with high profile winners like Halo 2 and Half-Life 2 the interactive division was discontinued and disappeared from BAFTA's publicity material after only two ceremonies.
In 2006, BAFTA announced their decision "to give video games equal status with film and television", and the Academy now positions Video Games as its third pillar of activity in recognition of its importance as an art form of the moving image. The same year the ceremony was held at The Roundhouse by Chalk Farm Road in North London on October 5 and was televised for the first time on October 17, 2006 on the digital channel.
The 2010 ceremony was the fourth to be held since the Video Games Awards became a stand-alone event and took place at the London Hilton Park Lane on 19 March. The full ceremony was filmed and streamed live online at www.bafta.org. British Academy Video Games Awards Winners in 2010
Awards presented in Los Angeles
Britannia Awards
The BAFTA in Los Angeles Awards ceremony, the Britannia Awards, started in 1989 and happens in October/November each year. There are no awards given to films or TV programmes, only to individuals.
During the first ten years only one award was given at each event, called the "Britannia Award for Excellence in Film", but since 1999 the number of awards have grown.
In 2009 the Awards were: 'The Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film' (the original award was renamed in 2000 to honour Stanley Kubrick), 'The John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Artistic Excellence in Directing' (added in 2003 in honour of John Schlesinger), the ‘Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year’, the ‘Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year ‘ and the ‘BAFTA in Los Angeles Volvo Humanitarian Award’. With the exception of the Stanley Kubrick and John Schlesinger awards, which are always given, both the number of awards and their titles may vary from year to year.
The 2009 Recipients were:
- Robert De Niro - (Stanley Kubrick Britannia Awards for Excellence in Film)
- Danny Boyle - (The John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Artistic Excellence in Directing)
- Emily Blunt - (The Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year)
- Colin Firth - (The BAFTA/LA Humanitarian Award presented by Volvo)
- Kirk Douglas - (Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Filmed Entertainment)
The 2008 recipients were:
- Sean Penn - (Stanley Kubrick Britannia Awards for Excellence in Film)
- Tilda Swinton - (The Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year)
- Stephen Frears - (The John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Artistic Excellence in Directing)
- Don Cheadle - (The BAFTA/LA Humanitarian Award presented by Volvo)
The 2007 recipients were:
- Denzel Washington – (Stanley Kubrick Britannia Awards for Excellence in Film)
- Martin Campbell – (The John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Artistic Excellence in Directing)
- Kate Winslet – (The Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year)
- New Line Cinema's Bob Shaye & Michael Lynne – (Cunard Britannia Award for Lifetime Contributions to International Film)
- Richard Curtis – (The BAFTA/LA Humanitarian Award presented by Volvo)
The 2006 recipients were:
- Sir Sidney Poitier – (the Cunard Britannia Award for Lifetime Contributions to International Film)
- Rachel Weisz – (The Britannia Award for Artist of the Year)
- Anthony Minghella – (The John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Artistic Excellence in Directing)
Previous recipients of the Britannia Awards have included Tom Cruise, Elizabeth Taylor, Mike Newell, Ronald Neame, Albert Broccoli, Michael Caine, Peter Ustinov, Martin Scorsese, Anthony Hopkins, Dustin Hoffman, John Travolta, Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Hugh Grant, Peter Weir, Tom Hanks, Angela Lansbury and Helen Mirren.
Awards presented in Scotland and in Wales
BAFTA in Scotland
BAFTA in Scotland is the Branch of the Academy located in Glasgow, Scotland, mainly funded by the principle Scottish broadcasters. Formed in 1997, the the BAFTA in Scotland branch holds an annual awards ceremony to recognise achievement by performers and production staff in Scottish film and television. The BAFTA Scotland Awards are separate from the UK-wide British Academy Television Awards and British Academy Film Awards, although films and programmes recognised by BAFTA in Scotland can also sometimes feature at BAFTA's UK awards. BAFTA Scotland Awards Winnes in 2009
BAFTA in Scotland also holds an annual New Talent Awards ceremony focusing on new & emerging Scottish talent in the art forms of the moving image. New Talent Awards Winners in 2010.
BAFTA Cymru
BAFTA in Wales or BAFTA Cymru is the branch of the Academy located in Wales. Formed in 1991, they hold an annual awards ceremony to recognise achievement by performers and production staff in films and television programmes made in Wales. The BAFTA Cymru Awards are separate from the UK-wide British Academy Television Awards and British Academy Film Awards, although films and programmes recognised by BAFTA Cymru may also feature at BAFTA's national awards.
See also
- 2010 BAFTA Ceremony
- 2009 BAFTA Ceremony
- 2008 BAFTA Ceremony
- BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award
Notes
- ↑ And the award won't go to... how Bafta lost its worst 'best' actress, The Scotsman, 5 November 2006
- ↑ Multimedia's best in Bafta battle – BBC News announces BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Award split; 1 December 2003
External links
- BAFTA official site
- BAFTA in Los Angeles site
- BAFTA in Wales site
- BAFTA in Scotland site
- BAFTA in New York site
- IMDB: BAFTA
- Follow BAFTA on Twitter
- Join BAFTA on Facebook
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