BAFTA rejigs eligibility criteria for 2021 film awards
Jun 16, 2020
Washington D.C. [USA], June 16 : The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) have recently announced fresh temporary eligibility requirements for the 2021 edition of the prestigious award function.
This comes after BAFTA pushed the award ceremony by two months to compensate for the lost time due to coronavirus pandemic so that films could a theatrical release.
"We have pushed back by two months to give all films the best possible chance to be released and considered properly. As cinemas gradually re-open we know that the major releases will dominate screens," Variety quoted Marc Samuelson, chair of the Film Committee, BAFTA.
According to Variety, films that were released in theatres just before cinemas closed due to COVID-19 pandemic and had their release period curtailed will be eligible for the BAFTA race regardless of the number of qualifying screens.
Films that were scheduled to release during the three-month-long theatre lockdown will also be eligible, as per the new guidelines, provided their premiere shifts to online video streaming platforms. Such films could be released anytime during 2020-2021.
On the other hand, films that were scheduled to release during the lockdown period but didn't have a confirmed release date will also be eligible on the condition that they release on an approved online video streaming platform during the lockdown. Such titles will only be eligible if they release theatrically once cinemas reopen after lockdown.
According to Variety, films that qualify through the release on approved online video streaming platform must be available for a minimum period of 30 days to the audience of the United Kingdom.
All of the remaining titles have to be released theatrically within the eligibility period for being able to qualify for the BAFTA race.
"Relaxing the scale of theatrical release required, including releases on VOD in some cases, and pushing back the date of the Awards should help the smaller, independent, documentary, foreign language and particularly the British films to be seen in good time for EE British Academy Film Awards in 2021," Variety quoted Samuelson as saying.
"The date of the 2021 Awards has to be set now to allow distributors to make plans, but the current Awards Review is considering all aspects of the Awards, including the date from 2022, and our relationship to other awards ceremonies," Samuelson added.
