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Bafta’s so white trends on twitter amid awards diversity row


It's all about the Joker: Film leads with 11 nominations

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) has said that it will review its voting process after criticism over the lack of female directors or black and minority ethnic actors (BAME) nominated in any of its main categories.


Not one person of colour has been nominated in any of the male or female acting categories, with 18 white stars in the running for best actor, best actress, best supporting actor and best supporting actress.


Among the 20 major acting nominations there were no actors of colour, with snubs for Cynthia Erivo, Jennifer Lopez, Eddie Murphy and The Farewell’s Awkwafina.There were also snubs in the best director category where Little Women director Greta Gerwig again missed out on a nomination in another all-male field.


Joker leads the Bafta film nominations with 11, followed by Martin Scorsese's The Irishman and Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood, which have 10 nominations each.


On the day of nominations, the hashtag #BaftasSoWhite was widely used on Twitter. Some even pointed out that in the best supporting actress category, Australian actress, Margot Robbie is nominated twice, for both Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and Bombshell, while no BAME actresses made the cut.


Marc Samuelson, head of Bafta’s film committee, told Variety that there would be a “careful and detailed review within and outside the membership”.


The decision was met with scepticism and warnings that the changes must be more than a “familiar industry reflex”.


Actress and Tony Award–winning Broadway star Cynthia Erivo has turned down an invitation to perform at the awards.


She said: “I felt like [the invitation] didn’t represent people of colour in the right light,” she told Extra at the premiere of her latest show, HBO’s The Outsider.

Cynthia Erivo to boycott BAFTA's (image: Getty)

She added: “It felt like it was calling on me as an entertainer, as opposed to a person who was a part of the world of film, and I think that it’s important to make it known that it’s not something that you just throw in as a party trick, you know?”


Bafta confirmed it would consult various sources and listen to recommendations from industry bodies and its members, with any changes to be put in place before voting starts for the 2021 awards.


Ongoing scandal that has not been fully addressed


This #BaftasSoWhite scandal comes four years after Amanda Berry, the chief executive of Bafta, admitted that the awards didn’t feature enough black and ethnic minority nominees.


Berry in 2016 said that not enough films were being made with diverse talent in front of the camera. Adding that the industry isn’t diverse enough, so the pool of people to draw award winners from was not diverse enough.


She said that she wanted the awards to be as diverse as they possibly can be but that people only voted on what they’d seen.


That same year, the Oscars were boycotted by a number of industry figures after no black actors were nominated for the second year in a row.


In 2017, Bafta released figures which showed that of the 375 members admitted in 2016, 43% were female and 18% minority ethnic, with a median age of 44. Before the new intake, a survey found that 41% of voters were female, 13% were from an ethnic minority and there was an average age of 52.


The Bafta shortlists were announced by actors Ella Balinska and Asa Butterfield.

This year’s best British film nominees are 1917, For Sama, Rocketman, The Two Popes, Mark Jenkins’ Bait and Sorry We Missed You.


The winners and nominees in the four majority acting categories are currently voted for in two rounds by 6,700 BAFTA members, comprised of industry professionals and creatives from around the world.


The Bafta film awards will take place on 2 February at the Royal Albert Hall, London.


Here are the nominees:


Best film

  • 1917

  • The Irishman

  • Joker

  • Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

  • Parasite


Best British film

  • 1917

  • Bait

  • For Sama

  • Rocketman

  • Sorry We Missed You

  • The Two Popes


Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer

  • For Sama – Waad Al-Kateab (director/producer), Edward Watts (director)Bait – Mark

  • Jenkin (writer/director), Kate Byers, Linn Waite (producers)

  • Retablo – Álvaro Delgado-Aparicio (writer/director)

  • Maiden – Alex Holmes (director)

  • Only You – Harry Wootliff (writer/director)


Film not in the English language

  • The Farewell

  • For Sama

  • Pain and Glory

  • Parasite

  • Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Documentary Sama, nominated for film not in the English language (image: courtesy of Cannes film festival)

Best documentary

  • The Great Hack

  • For Sama

  • American Factory

  • Apollo 11

  • Diego Maradona


Best animated film

  • Frozen II

  • Toy Story

  • 4Klaus

  • A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon


Best director

  • 1917 – Sam Mendes

  • Joker - Todd Phillips

  • The Irishman – Martin Scorsese

  • Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Quentin Tarantino

  • Parasite – Bong Joon-ho


Best original screenplay

  • Booksmart - Susanna Fogel, Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Katie Silberman

  • Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Quentin Tarantino

  • Knives Out – Rian Johnson

  • Parasite – Han Jin Won, Bong Joon-ho

  • Marriage Story – Noah Baumbach

Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins in The Two Popes

Best adapted screenplay

  • The Irishman -Steven Zaillian

  • Jojo Rabbit – Taika Waititi

  • Joker – Todd Phillips, Scott Silver

  • Little Women – Greta Gerwig

  • The Two Popes – Anthony Mccarten


Best actress

  • Jessie Buckley – Wild Rose

  • Scarlett Johansson - Marriage Story

  • Saoirse Ronan – Little Women

  • Charlize Theron – Bombshell

  • Renée Zellweger – Judy

Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt nominated for best actor and best supporting actor

Best actor

  • Leonardo DiCaprio – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

  • Adam Driver – Marriage Story

  • Taron Egerton – Rocketman

  • Joaquin Phoenix – Joker

  • Jonathan Pryce – The Two Popes


Best supporting actor

  • Tom Hanks – A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

  • Anthony Hopkins – The Two Popes

  • Al Pacino - The Irishman

  • Joe Pesci – The Irishman

  • Brad Pitt – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood


Best supporting actress

  • Laura Dern – Marriage Story

  • Scarlett Johansson – Jojo Rabbit

  • Florence Pugh – Little Women

  • Margot Robbie – Bombshell

  • Margot Robbie – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood


Best score

  • 1917

  • Jojo Rabbit

  • Joker

  • Little Women

  • Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker


Best casting

  • Joker

  • Marriage Story

  • Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

  • The Personal History of David Copperfield

  • The Two Popes


Best cinematography

  • 1917

  • The Irishman

  • Joker

  • Le Mans ’66

  • The Lighthouse


Irishman, up for 10 awards

Best editing

  • The Irishman

  • Jojo Rabbit

  • Joker

  • Le Mans ’66

  • Once Upon a Time in Hollywood


Best production design

  • 1917

  • The Irishman

  • Jojo Rabbit

  • Joker

  • Once Upon a Time in Hollywood


Best costume design

  • The Irishman

  • Jojo Rabbit

  • Judy

  • Little Women

  • Once Upon a Time in Hollywood


Best makeup and hair

  • 1917

  • Bombshell

  • Joker

  • Judy

  • Rocketman


Best sound

  • 1917

  • Joker

  • Le Mans ’66

  • Rocketman

  • Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker


Best special visual effects

  • 1917

  • Avengers: Endgame

  • The Irishman

  • The Lion King

  • Star Wars: the Rise of Skywalker


Best British short animation

  • Grandad Was a Romantic

  • In Her Boots

  • The Magic Boat


  • Best British short film

  • Azaar

  • Goldfish

  • Kamali

  • Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl)

  • The Trap


EE rising star award (voted for by the public)

  • Awkwafina

  • Jack Lowden

  • Kaitlyn Dever

  • Kelvin Harrison Jr

  • Micheal Ward


Bafta fellowship

  • Kathleen Kennedy