The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, /ˈbæftə/^[1]) is an independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image (film, television and games) in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awards ceremonies, BAFTA has an international programme of learning events and initiatives offering access to talent through workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes in the United Kingdom and the United States.

BAFTA started out as the British Film Academy, was founded in 1947 by a group of directors David Lean, Alexander Korda, Roger Manvell, Laurence Olivier, Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell, Michael Balcon, Carol Reed, and other major figures of the British film industry.^[2][3]

David Lean was the founding chairman of the academy.^[4] The first Film Awards ceremony took place in May 1949 and honouring the films The Best Years of Our Lives, Odd Man Out and The World Is Rich.

The Guild of Television Producers and Directors was set up in 1953 with the first awards ceremony in October 1954, and in 1958 merged with the British Film Academy to form the Society of Film and Television Arts, whose inaugural meeting was held at Buckingham Palace and presided over by the Duke of Edinburgh.

In 1976, Queen Elizabeth, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Princess Royal and The Earl Mountbatten of Burma officially opened the organisation's headquarters at 195 Piccadilly, London, and in March the society became the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

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".

It is a membership organisation comprising approximately 7,500 individuals worldwide who are creatives and professionals working in and making a contribution to the film, television and games industries in the UK. In 2005, it placed an overall cap on worldwide voting membership "which now stands at approximately 6,500".^[5]

BAFTA does not receive any funding from the government: it relies on income from membership subscriptions, individual donations, trusts, foundations and corporate partnerships to support its ongoing outreach work.^[6]

BAFTA has offices in Scotland and Wales in the UK, in Los Angeles and New York in the United States and runs events in Hong Kong and mainland China.

Amanda Berry OBE has been chief executive of the organisation since December 2000.^[7]

In addition to its high-profile awards ceremonies, BAFTA manages a year-round programme of educational events and initiatives including film screenings and Q&As, tribute evenings, interviews, lectures, and debates with major industry figures. With over 250 events a year, BAFTA's stated aim is to inspire and inform the next generation of talent by providing a platform for some of the world's most talented practitioners to pass on their knowledge and experience.^[8]

Many of these events are free to watch online at BAFTA Guru and via its official channel on YouTube.^[9]

BAFTA runs a number of scholarship programmes across the UK, US and Asia.

Launched in 2012, the UK programme enables talented British citizens who are in need of financial support to take an industry-recognised course in film, television or games in the UK. Each BAFTA Scholar receives up to £12,000 towards their annual course fees, and mentoring support from a BAFTA member and free access to BAFTA events around the UK. Since 2013, three students every year have received one of the Prince William Scholarships in Film, Television and Games, supported by BAFTA and Warner Bros. These scholarships are awarded in the name of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge in his role as president of BAFTA.

In the US, BAFTA Los Angeles offers financial support and mentorship to British graduate students studying in the US, as well as scholarships to provide financial aid to local LA students from the inner city. BAFTA New York's Media Studies Scholarship Program, set up in 2012, supports students pursuing media studies at undergraduate and graduate level institutions within the New York City area and includes financial aid and mentoring opportunities.

Since 2015, BAFTA has been offering scholarships for British citizens to study in China, vice versa.^[10]

BAFTA presents awards for film, television and games, including children's entertainment, at a number of annual ceremonies across the UK and in Los Angeles, USA.

The BAFTA award trophy is a mask, designed by American sculptor Mitzi Cunliffe. When the Guild merged with the British Film Academy to become the Society of Film and Television Arts, later the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the first 'BAFTA award' was presented to Sir Charles Chaplin on his Academy Fellowship that year.

Today's BAFTA award – including the bronze mask and marble base – weighs 3.7 kg and measures 27 cm (h) x 14 cm (w) x 8 cm (d); the mask itself measures 16 cm(h) x 14 cm (w).

In 2017, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts introduced new entry rules for British Films Only starting from 2018 season. ^[11]

BAFTA's annual film awards ceremony is known as the British Academy Film Awards,^[12] or "the BAFTAs", and reward the best work of any nationality seen on British cinema screens during the preceding year.^[13] In 1949 the British Film Academy, as it was then known, presented the first awards for films made in 1947 and 1948. Since 2008 the ceremony has been held at the Royal Opera House in London's Covent Garden. It had been held in the Odeon cinema on Leicester Square since 2000. Since 2017, the BAFTA ceremony has been held at the Royal Albert Hall. ^{[14] [15]} The ceremony had been performed during April or May of each year, but since 2002 it has been held in February to precede the academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' (AMPAS) Academy Awards, or Oscars.

In order for a film to be considered for a BAFTA nomination its first public exhibition must be displayed in a cinema and it must have a UK theatrical release for no fewer than seven days of the calendar year that corresponds to the upcoming awards. A movie must be of feature length and movies from all countries are eligible in all categories, with the exception of the Alexander Korda Award for Outstanding British Film and Outstanding Debut which are for British films or individuals only.

The British Academy Television Awards ceremony usually takes place during April or May, with its sister ceremony, the British Academy Television Craft Awards, usually occurring within a few weeks of it.

The Television Awards, celebrating the best TV programmes and performances of the past year, are also often referred to simply as "the BAFTAs" or, to differentiate them from the movie 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, BAFTA's Film and Television Awards were presented together, but from 1998 onwards they were presented at two separate ceremonies.

The Television Craft Awards celebrate the talent behind the programmes, such as individuals working in visual effects, production, and costume design.

Only British programmes are eligible – with the potential exception of the publicly voted 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.

From 2014 the "BAFTA Television Awards" will be open to TV programmes which are only broadcast online.^[16]

The British Academy Games Awards ceremony traditionally takes place in March, shortly after the Film Awards ceremony in February.

BAFTA first recognised video games and other interactive media at its inaugural BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Awards ceremony during 1998, the first major change of 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 consecutively. These awards allowed the academy to recognise new forms of entertainment that were engaging new audiences and challenging traditional expressions of creativity.

During 2003, the sheer ubiquity of interactive forms of entertainment and the breadth of genres and types of video games outgrew the combined ceremony, and the event was divided into the BAFTA Video Games Awards and the BAFTA Interactive Awards^[17] Despite making headlines with high-profile winners like Halo 2 and Half-Life 2 the interactive division was discontinued and disappeared from BAFTA's publicity material after only two ceremonies.

During 2006, BAFTA announced its decision "to give video games equal status with film and television", and the academy now advertises video games as its third major topic in recognition of its importance as an art form of moving images. The same year the ceremony was performed at The Roundhouse by Chalk Farm Road in North London on 5 October and was televised for the first time on 17 October and was broadcast on the digital channel E4.

Since 2009, the ceremonies have been performed at the London Hilton Park Lane and Tobacco Dock, London, and have been hosted by Dara Ó Briain and Rufus Hound.

The British Academy Children's Awards are presented annually during November to reward excellence in the art forms of the moving image intended for children.^[18] 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.

As of 2010 the Awards ceremony includes 19 categories across movies, television, video games and online content.

Since 2007 the Children's Awards have included a Kids Vote award, voted by children between seven and 14. BAFTA Kids Vote is the annual competition for children aged between seven and 12 which is now part of BAFTA's year-round BAFTA Kids programme of activity helping children "discover, explore and find out more about the worlds of films, television and games by providing content, information and experiences". The CBBC Me and My Movie award, a children's filmmaking initiative to inspire and enable children to make their own movies and tell their own stories, has been discontinued.

BAFTA also hosts the annual BAFTA Student Film Awards as showcase for rising industry talent. The animation award was sponsored in 2017 and 2018 by animation studio Laika. ^[19]

Presidents

Vice-Presidents

Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, has been president of the academy since February 2010.^[21]

The Duke's appointment follows a long tradition of royal involvement with the academy.^[22] Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was the first president of the Society of Film and Television Arts (SFTA) in 1959 to 1965, followed by Earl Mountbatten of Burma and the Princess Royal, who was its president from 1972 to 2001. It was the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh's generous donation of their share of profits from the film Royal Family that enabled the academy to move to its headquarters at 195 Piccadilly.^[23] The Duke of Cambridge succeeded Lord (Richard) Attenborough to become the academy's fifth president in its history.

BAFTA Los Angeles, founded in 1987 and currently chaired by Kathryn Busby,^[24][25] serves as the bridge between the Hollywood and British production and entertainment business communities.^[26] The BAFTA Los Angeles location hosts a series of events, including the Britannia Awards, the Awards Season Film and Television Tea Parties in January and September, and the annual Garden Party.

BAFTA Los Angeles provides access to screenings, Q&As with creative talent, produces seminars with UK film and television executives and the Heritage Archive, featuring interviews with British members of the film and television industries. The Los Angeles location also hosts the Student Film Awards and has an active Scholarship Program offering financial support and mentorship to UK students studying in the US. It created The Inner City Cinema,^[27] a screening program providing free screenings of theatrical films to inner city areas not served by theatres. The success of Inner City Cinema has led to further free screening programs extended to multiple inner city parks through the academy's work with both the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation (Parks After Dark) and The City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks (Teen Summer Camps).

The Britannia Awards are BAFTA Los Angeles' highest accolade, a "celebration of achievements honouring individuals and companies that have dedicated their careers to advancing the entertainment arts". The Awards began in 1989 and usually take place in October/November every year. There are no awards given to specific movies or TV programmes, only to individuals. During the first ten years, one award was given at each event, named the 'Britannia Award for Excellence in Film', but since 1999 the number of awards has increased.

Awards given include "The Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film" (the original award was renamed during 2000 to honour director Stanley Kubrick), presented to an individual "upon whose work is stamped the indelible mark of authorship and commitment, and who has lifted the craft to new heights"; "The John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Artistic Excellence in Directing" (added during 2003 in honour of John Schlesinger); the "Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year"; and the "Albert R. Broccoli Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Filmed Entertainment". In select years, the evening has included the "BAFTA Los Angeles Humanitarian Award".

The show has been broadcast on TV around the world, including the TV Guide Network and BBC America in the United States.

BAFTA Scotland is a branch of the academy located in Glasgow, Scotland.

Since 1986,^[28] BAFTA has continued to specifically champion the film, television and game industries in Scotland by celebrating excellence, championing new Scottish talent and reaching out to the public.

The British Academy Scotland Awards are BAFTA Scotland's annual awards ceremony,^[29] celebrating and rewarding the highest achievements in Scottish film, television and games.

BAFTA Scotland also produces the annual New Talent Awards ceremony, shining a spotlight on new and emerging Scottish talent in the art forms of moving image.^[30] Since they began in 1996, the annual New Talent Awards highlight the creativity that exists in Scotland by recognising and rewarding talented individuals who have started to work in the film, television and games industries.

BAFTA Cymru is a branch of the academy formed in 1991 and extends the charity's mission across the UK in support of Wales' creative communities.

For over 25 years BAFTA Cymru has celebrated Welsh talent across film and television production and craft and performance roles with the British Academy Cymru Awards, its annual awards ceremony that takes place in Cardiff.^[31] In 2016, having reviewed the eligibility criteria for last year's awards, BAFTA Cymru now encourages Welsh individuals who have worked on Welsh or UK productions – rather than solely Welsh productions – to enter into any one of the 16 craft and performance categories, "[ensuring] that BAFTA in Wales can recognise the work of talented individuals who are working on network productions in craft or performance roles across the UK."^[32]

BAFTA New York founded in 1996, recognises and promotes the achievements of British film and television in New York and all along the East Coast.^[33]

It hosts feature film, television and documentary screenings, panel discussions, premieres and co-produced events with other established organisations in the film and television industry, and runs an educational outreach program aimed at underserved youth in New York City that includes the BAFTA New York Media Studies Scholarship Program.