BAFTA is introducing a slew of key changes to its film awards, including a new Children’s Film category. More on those below.
BAFTA is introducing a few changes to its Film Awards. Firstly, it will introduce a new category for The Children’s And Family Film award, as reported by Deadline. As you might have guessed, the category honours the best family films released in a given year. According to a press release received by Variety, the award will “celebrate the very best films appealing to inter-generational audiences”.
Films with U, PG, or 12A certificates will be eligible for the new category, which is the first to be added in five years.
The eligibility criteria for Outstanding British Film will also change significantly and adopt a points based system. Films need to score over 50 percent to be considered for a nomination. Variety notes that new criteria will include “nationality of the candidates for nomination, key department heads and cast, alongside collating information about co-productions, BFI cultural test, setting, source material and the new Independent Film Tax Credit.”
“Previously, the criteria was to have ‘significant creative British involvement,’ and we felt that we should introduce a point system as much for ourselves to ensure we can be really transparent about how films are qualifying,” Deirdre Hopkins, head of film at BAFTA, said.
To qualify as British under the new rules, you need a British passport or to have resided in the country for at least six years. If you have a British passport but reside outside of the UK or if you reside here but don’t have a UK passport, you’ll then be asked a series of questions to “demonstrate a commitment to the UK film industry.”
The eligibility for any film hoping to be named Best Film at the awards has also been tweaked, as already announced last December. Previously, a film had to have ten screenings per day for at least a week to qualify, but under the new rules, a film will need to have at least 350 screenings across 50 commercial screens in the UK in seven days.
Emma Baehr, executive director of awards and content at BAFTA, said that the new changes ensured “British audiences have ample access to the best film contenders.”
The next BAFTA Film Awards will take place on 16th February 2025.
