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

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.

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

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

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

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

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