British Academy Film Awards


The British Academy Film Awards or BAFTA Film Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The ceremonies were initially held at the flagship Odeon cinema in Leicester Square in London, before being held at the Royal Opera House from 2008 to 2016. Since 2017, the ceremony has been held at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

History

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts 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.
The stated charitable purpose of BAFTA 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 about 6,000 people from the film, television, and video game industries.
The Academy's awards are in the form of a theatrical mask designed by American sculptor Mitzi Cunliffe, in response to a commission from the Guild of Television Producers in 1955.

Annual ceremony

The ceremony previously took place in April or May, but since 2001 it has been held in February in order to precede the Academy Awards. Most of the awards are open to all nationalities, though there are awards for Outstanding British Film and Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Producer or Director. Only UK films are eligible for the categories of The British Short Film and British Short Animation awards.
The Awards ceremony is delayed broadcast on British television the same evening, and across the world. The first broadcast was on the BBC in 1956. It has been broadcast in colour since 1970. In the United States it is shown on BBC America.
During each annual ceremony, BAFTA pauses to pay tribute to those in the industry who have died over the past 12 months, showcasing a montage of images accompanied by music.

Location

The award ceremony is held in London. From 2000 to 2007, the ceremonies took place at the flagship Odeon cinema in Leicester Square. Between 2008 and 2016, the ceremonies took place at the Royal Opera House. The 70th Awards in 2017, and subsequent ceremonies, were held at the Royal Albert Hall.

Sponsorship

Until 2012, the mobile telephone network Orange sponsored the awards. Orange's parent company, EE, took over the sponsorship of the event from 2013.

Award categories

Retired awards

Acting

In acting categories, Peter Finch holds the record for most awards won by an actor, with 5 wins. Michael Caine, Dustin Hoffman and Laurence Olivier are tied for most nominations, with 8 nominations each. Judi Dench and Maggie Smith are tied for most awards won by an actress, with 5 wins each, while Meryl Streep holds the record for most nominations, with 15.

Directing

In the category for Best Director, John Schlesinger, Roman Polanski, Woody Allen, Alan Parker, Louis Malle, Joel Coen, Peter Weir, Ang Lee, and Alfonso Cuarón tie for the most wins in this category, with two each. Martin Scorsese holds the record for most nominations, with ten. Steven Soderbergh is the only director to receive two nominations in the same year.

Other

EventDateHost
1st29 May 1949
2nd29 May 1949
3rd29 May 1950
4th22 February 1951
5th8 May 1952
6th5 March 1953
7th25 March 1954
8th10 March 1955
9th1 March 1956Vivien Leigh
10th11 July 1957
11th6 March 1958
12th1959
13th22 March 1960
14th6 April 1961
15th5 April 1962
16th7 May 1963
17th3 April 1964
18th1965
19th1966
20th1967
21st28 March 1968
22nd26 March 1969
23rd8 March 1970
24th4 March 1971
25th23 February 1972
26th28 February 1973
27th6 March 1974
28th26 February 1975
29th17 March 1976
30th24 March 1977Esther Rantzen
Roger Moore
31st16 March 1978
32nd22 March 1979Sue Lawley
Michael York
33rd20 March 1980
34th22 March 1981
35th18 March 1982
36th20 March 1983Frank Bough
Selina Scott
37th25 March 1984
38th5 March 1985Terry Wogan
39th16 March 1986
40th22 March 1987Ronnie Corbett
Ronnie Barker
41stMarch 1988Michael Aspel
42nd19 March 1989David Dimbleby
Anna Ford
43rd11 March 1990Magnus Magnusson
Sally Magnusson
44th17 March 1991Noel Edmunds
45th22 March 1992Michael Aspel
46th21 March 1993Griff Rhys Jones
47th15 April 1994Sheena McDonald
48th9 April 1995Billy Connolly
49th23 April 1996Angus Deayton
50th29 April 1997Lenny Henry
51st18 April 1998Rory Bremner
52nd11 April 1999Jonathan Ross
53rd9 April 2000Jack Docherty
54th25 February 2001Stephen Fry
Mariella Frostrup
55th24 February 2002Stephen Fry
56th23 February 2003Stephen Fry
57th15 February 2004Stephen Fry
58th12 February 2005Stephen Fry
59th19 February 2006Stephen Fry
60th11 February 2007Jonathan Ross
61st10 February 2008Jonathan Ross
62nd8 February 2009Jonathan Ross
63rd21 February 2010Jonathan Ross
64th13 February 2011Jonathan Ross
65th12 February 2012Stephen Fry
66th10 February 2013Stephen Fry
67th16 February 2014Stephen Fry
68th8 February 2015Stephen Fry
69th14 February 2016Stephen Fry
70th12 February 2017Stephen Fry
71st18 February 2018Joanna Lumley
72nd10 February 2019Joanna Lumley
73rd2 February 2020Graham Norton