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A new award for family-friendly features and expanded theatrical requirements for the best film gong are among the headline changes BAFTA announced today to its eligibility requirements. Scroll down for the changes in full.
The Children’s and Family Film Award will be open to films of any genre with what BAFTA has described as a “specific inter-generational appeal to children, young people and adults.” Films with a U, PG, or 12A certificate will be eligible. This is the first new award to be added to the BAFTA Film Awards in five years. BAFTA’s Emma Baehr and Deirdre Hopkins, who spoke to us this morning ahead of the announcement, said similar family-focused awards will be added to BAFTA’s TV awards in the near future.
Elsewhere, BAFTA has significantly increased the minimum number of theatrical screenings required for its best film award. Eligible films must now be theatrically exhibited publicly for the first time on at least 50 commercial screens in the UK for at least seven days – the equivalent of at least 350 screenings. Previously, BAFTA mandated ten screenings per day for seven days to be eligible.
“We conducted a wide industry consultation,” Baehr said of the changes to best film eligibility. “This isn’t something we would do in isolation. We’re just making sure we are in step with release patterns in the UK. We feel with this invention we can further ensure British audiences have ample access to the best film contenders”
A series of changes have also been made to eligibility in the outstanding British film category. BAFTA has introduced a points system to determine whether a feature can be classified as a British film. All entrants will be required to provide information about the nationality of the candidates submitted for nomination. To be eligible, entrants must reach more than 50% on the points scale. Points will also be allocated for the principal cast and heads of department on a feature. It is anticipated that films that receive the independent film tax credit will qualify as British. BAFTA told us today that the addition was made to improve the transparency around the award.
“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,” Hopkins said.
The new rules state that UK passport holders or those who have been permanent residents in the UK for at least six years up to and including the eligibility period qualify as British. If the candidate for nomination is a UK passport holder but is not a resident of the UK, or if the candidate is a resident but not a UK passport holder, they will be asked a series of questions to “demonstrate a commitment to the UK film industry.”
The questions will be based on their country of residence, length of residency, and details of the projects the candidate has in development. Films with no British candidates for nomination will only be eligible in exceptional circumstances. The final decision on eligibility will rest with BAFTA’s film committee.
“The requirements are an overall look at the candidates. The HoDs involved, whether it’s a co-production, how the film is funded, whether there is a British production company involved,” Baehr added. “It is not about whether an individual qualifies as British.”
There are no major changes to eligibility in the acting categories of this year’s guidelines. On the topic of genderless categories, which have been introduced at multiple UK and international awards ceremonies, Baehr said BAFTA would continue to “widely consult” on the idea.
“We do that with all our categories,” she said. “We need to make sure that any change we put into any of our awards won’t have unintended consequences. So we will continue the conversation with various bodies.”
BAFTA voting will continue to take place over three rounds: longlisting, nominations, and winners. Also confirmed today are the longlist and nominations announcement dates. The longlist will be unveiled on 3 January 2025, followed by the nominations on 15 January, ahead of the ceremony on 16 February. The BAFTAs this year fall two weeks ahead of the Oscars.
BAFTA update on awards eligibility and voting rules
Children’s and Family Film – new category
A new Children’s and Family Film award will celebrate the very best films appealing to inter-generational audiences. This is the first new category to be introduced to the EE BAFTA Film Awards in five years, following the introduction of a Casting award in 2020. As previously set out in autumn 2023, the inclusion of a dedicated award for children and family films will profile the essential creative contributions of the children’s media sector.
Outstanding British Film – voting and eligibility change
Outstanding British Film is a category of national and international significance to BAFTA for showcasing the very best of British-made films. A new points-based system will strengthen the category’s eligibility criteria to provide clearer guidance on how films qualify. The new points system will encompass criteria such as 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.
An update to the voting process has also been introduced. Moving forward, all BAFTA film voters will determine the Outstanding British Film longlist, aligning with Best Film (the only other category that all BAFTA film voters participate in during Round One). Of the 15 longlisted films, the top five will continue to be automatically nominated, and a jury will continue to determine the remaining five nominations (bringing the total number of nominations to 10), whilst all film voters will continue to select the winner.
Best Film – eligibility update
The minimum number of theatrical screenings has been significantly increased to ensure British cinema audiences have ample access to Best Film contenders on the big screen. Films must be theatrically exhibited publicly for the first time on at least 50 commercial screens in the UK for at least seven days – the equivalent of at least 350 screenings. Previously, BAFTA mandated ten screenings per day for seven days to be eligible.
Director – voting update
From 2025, the Directing Chapter will determine the longlist and nominations in entirety. Juries previously determined six out of 16 places on the longlist as well as four out of six nominations. Additionally, the longlist will be reduced from 16 to a maximum of 11 in line with other categories. The gender parity intervention at longlisting stage, which has been instrumental in levelling the playing field for talented women directors since its introduction four years ago will continue. As in previous years, the longlist will comprise of the top women and men directors with gender parity upheld, plus (an update introduced last year) directors who identify as non-binary/gender diverse and any mixed-gender directing teams who rank within the voting results range of the top 10 women/men directors, to a maximum of 11. The number of nominations will remain at six. All film voters will continue to decide the winner.
Leading Actress, Leading Actor, Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor – voting update
The performance categories are voted for through a combination of jury, Chapter and all film member voting. From 2025, the longlists will continue to be determined by the Acting Chapter and longlisting jury (who decide three out of 10 places per category). All 24 nominations (six per category) will now be determined by BAFTA’s Acting Chapter. Previously, three out of six nominees per category were determined by nominating juries. The winners will continue to be decided by an all-film member vote.
Documentary – voting and eligibility change
Following a wide sector consultation, the definition of a documentary has been updated in the rulebook. Voters will also be asked to opt-in to the Documentary Chapter afresh. The partial use of a jury will continue at nomination stage (determining three out of five places), and all voters will select the winner in Round Three, not the opt-in chapter as in previous years.
Animation and Film Not In the English Language – voting update
Similar to Documentary, all members will be invited to opt-in afresh to determine the longlist in Round One and nominations in Round Two, whilst all film voters will be invited to determine the winner of both the Animation and Film Not in the English Language categories. Previously all rounds of voting took place via the opt-in chapter.
Screenplay – eligibility update
Moving forward, screenwriters with ‘story by’ credits will be included as named nominees.
British Short, British Short Animation – eligibility update
A new Qualifying Festivals List for the British Short Animation category will be introduced. Qualifying shorts will need to have screened at one festival from BAFTA’s new British Short Animation Qualifying Festivals to be eligible for entry.
