British Academy of Film and Television Arts

Infobox award
name = BAFTA Awards
current_awards =


imagesize = 168px
caption = BAFTA Award
description = The best in film and television
presenter = British Academy of Film and Television Arts
country = UK
year = 1947
website = http://www.bafta.org/

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is a British charity that hosts annual awards shows for film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation. They are often cited as the British equivalent to the Oscars [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1190562.stm BBC News | ENTERTAINMENT | Baftas fuel Oscars race ] ] [ [http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0764269.html British Academy of Film and Television Awards — Infoplease.com ] ] [http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91248-1304856,00.html] , and the "British Academy Film Awards" are frequently known as the "British Academy Awards".

Introduction

BAFTA was founded in 1947 as The British Film Academy, by David Lean, Alexander Korda, Carol Reed, Charles Laughton, Roger Manvell and others. 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's stated charitable remit is 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 and tribute evenings. BAFTA is supported by a membership of around 6000 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 (BAFTA Scotland), Wales (BAFTA Cymru), New York City (BAFTA East Coast) and Los Angeles (BAFTA/LA).

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. Since 1989, the Los Angeles branch, BAFTA/LA, holds its own awards ceremony each year, called the "Britannia Awards".

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 main film awards ceremony is known as the , in 2008 coming from the Royal Opera House, having taken place since 2000 in the flagship Odeon cinema on Leicester Square. The ceremony used to take place in April or May, but from 2002 onwards it takes place in February in order to precede the Oscars. The awards are mostly open to all nationalities, though there is an award for Best British Film and Best Newcomer.

Rising Star Award

This award is given on the same day as the BAFTA Film Awards. This award is to acknowledge new talents in the acting industry whether for film, television or both. The nominees are chosen by BAFTA juries regardless of the nominee's gender and nationality. The winner, however is chosen by the public. This award is to dedicate Mary Selway who was a renowned casting director and helped many new actors and actresses to fame and recognition.

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 2007.

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 Awards are usually presented in April, with a separate ceremony for the Television Craft Awards on a different date. The Craft Awards are presented for more technical areas of the industry, such as special effects, production design, or costumes.

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 2004 for the 2005 Awards).

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", [ [http://news.scotsman.com/scottishfilm/And-the-award-wont-go.2824284.jp And the award won't go to... how Bafta lost its worst 'best' actress] , The Scotsman, 5 November, 2006] 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. [cite news|title=Confusion becomes the Bafta prime suspect|first=Melinda|last=Witstock|publisher=The Times|date=1992-04-08|page=1]

British Academy Television Craft Awards

In 2000, the craft awards (for editing, music, photography, etc.) were separated from the BAFTA television awards. The craft awards now include several categories associated with interactive media. As of 2007, the awards included:

British Academy Children's Film and Television Awards

The British Academy Children's Film and Television Awards were established in 1995, and are presented in November.

The 2002 winner of best feature film was "Monsters, Inc.".

The 2003 winner was "Whale Rider".

In 2004 "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" took the award. TV winners in 2004 included "Balamory" and "Dick and Dom in da Bungalow".

In 2007 The Secret Show won awards for both its [http://www.thesecretshow.com/website.htm website] and the show itself.The 2007 ceremony was hosted at the Hilton in London with a one-off category, 'The Me and my Movie' award.

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.

The event was split into the "BAFTA Video Games Awards" and the "BAFTA Interactive Awards" in 2003, [" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3253818.stm Multimedia's best in Bafta battle] " - BBC News announces BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Award split; 1st December 2003.] and while high profile winners like "Halo 2" and "Half-Life 2" made huge headlines, 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", [" [http://www.bafta.org/site/webdav/shared/import/press_releases/games_080306.pdf Video Games Awards become BAFTA's 'third arm'] " - BAFTA official press release (pdf).] and ensured that the ceremony held at London's Camden Roundhouse on October 5th was televised for the first time. [" [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=20070 BAFTA Announces E4 / Channel 4 Coverage For The British Academy Video Games Awards] " - Games Industry Magazine.]

The Movies won the "Best Video Game Simulation Award" in 2006.

Awards presented in Los Angeles

Britannia Awards

The BAFTA/LA 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, and in 2005 they were four: "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 Artistic Excellence in International Entertainment", and "The Cunard Britannia Award for Lifetime Contributions to International Film". 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 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")

The 2005 recipients were:
*Tom Cruise - ("The Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film")
*Dame Elizabeth Taylor - ("The Britannia Award for Artistic Excellence in International Entertainment")
*Mike Newell - ("The John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Artistic Excellence in Directing")
*Ronald Neame - ("The Cunard Britannia Award for Lifetime Contributions to International Film")

Previous recipients of the Britannia Awards have included 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 Wales

BAFTA Scotland

BAFTA Scotland first held an award ceremony for Scottish television and film in 1997. From 1998 to 2002, BAFTA Scotland held an award ceremony focusing on new talent; the organisation resumed giving annual awards in 2005.

BAFTA Cymru

BAFTA Cymru has recognised creative work in television and film in Wales with an annual award since 1991.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.bafta.org/ BAFTA official site]
* [http://www.baftala.org/britannia.php? BAFTA/LA Britannia Awards site]
* [http://www.bafta-cymru.org.uk/english/index.php BAFTA Cymru site]
* [http://www.baftascotland.co.uk/ BAFTA Scotland site]
* [http://www.baftaeastcoast.com/ BAFTA East Coast site]
* [http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/B/htmlB/britishacade/britishacade.htm Museum of Broadcast Communications: BAFTA]
* [http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/BAFTA_Awards/ IMDB: BAFTA]
* [http://www.awardannals.com/wiki/Honor_roll:British_Academy_of_Film_and_Television_Arts_Award_for_Best_Film The most-honored films nominated for BAFTA Best Film]