Bafta

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.

The British Film Academy was founded in 1947 by David Lean, Alexander Korda, Carol Reed, Laurence Olivier, Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 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 Arts, 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, interviews, lectures and debates with leading industry figures. It is supported by a membership of around 6,500 individuals from the film, television and video game industries. The head 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 Los Angeles. In July 2010, 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 and Directors in 1955. It has since become an internationally-recognised symbol of excellence in the art forms of the moving image.

BAFTA has been associated with the British monarchy since The Duke of Edinburgh became the British Film Academy's first president in the 1940s. The Earl Mountbatten of Burma and The Princess Royal have since held this position, and in 2010 Prince William became the newest Academy president.

Awards presented in London

Film

BAFTA's annual film awards ceremony is known as the British Academy Film Awards. It aims to reward 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 previously taken place at the flagship Odeon cinema on Leicester Square since 2000. 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 for no fewer than seven days in the calendar year that corresponds to the forthcoming 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.

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.

Television

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, the 'BAFTA Television Awards'. They have been awarded annually since 1954. The first ever ceremony consisted of six categories. Until 1958, they were awarded by the Guild of Television Producers and Directors.

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, production, and costume design.
The awards are only open to British programmes - with the exception of the audience-voted YouTube Audience 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 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.

Children's

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. They have been awarded annually since 1969.

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.

Currently, the Awards ceremony includes 19 categories across film, television, video games and online content. Since 2007, the Children's Awards have included a Kids Vote Award voted by children under 14 and a CBBC Me and My Movie award, a children's filmmaking initiative to inspire and enable children to make their own films and tell their own stories.

Television Craft

The Television Craft Awards are presented for the behind the camera skills involved television production and have been awarded annually since 1999. In 2000, the awards were separated from the British Academy Television Awards. The Craft Awards also now include several categories associated with interactive media.

Since 2010, the awards have included the following categories:

• Breakthrough Talent
• Costume Design
• Director – Factual
• Director – Fiction
• Editing – Factual
• Editing – Fiction
• Interactive Creative Contribution
• Entertainment Production Team
• Makeup and Hair Design • Original Television Music
• Photography & Lighting – Fiction
• Photography – Factual
• Production Design
• Sound – Factual
• Sound – Fiction
• Visual Effects
• Writer

Video games

BAFTA first recognised video games and other interactive media at its inaugural BAFTA 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 volume 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. In 2006, BAFTA announced its 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.

Awards presented in Scotland and in Wales
BAFTA in Scotland

BAFTA in Scotland is the branch of the Academy located in Glasgow, mainly funded by the principal Scottish broadcasters. Formed in 1997, 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 in Scotland also holds an annual New Talent Awards ceremony focusing on new and emerging Scottish talent in the art forms of the moving image.

BAFTA Cymru
BAFTA in Wales or BAFTA Cymru is the branch of the Academy located in Wales. Formed in 1991, it holds 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.

Presidents and Vice Presidents

Presidents
1. HRH The Duke of Edinburgh (1959–1965)
2. The Rt Hon The Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1966–1972)
3. HRH The Princess Royal (1973–2001)
4. The Rt Hon The Lord Attenborough (2001–2010)
5. HRH The Duke of Cambridge (2010–present)

Vice Presidents
1. The Rt Hon The Lord Attenborough (1973–1995)
2. The Rt Hon The Lord Puttnam (1995–2004)
3. Michael Grade (2004–2009)
4. Duncan Kenworthy (2009–present)
5. Sophie Turner Laing (2010–present)