Choice Brits - Script Factory

Voting Categories

There are 16 categories which BAFTA members, film industry peers, and the public, will be voting on this winter.
 
For full information about the BAFTA voting categories see www.bafta.org

Which films are eligible?
Films are eligible for BAFTA awards if released within the awards year between 1 January - 31 December 2003 or are 'qualified' by being screened to Academy film voting members by 19 December 2003 and then opened to a public paying audience for no fewer than 7 consecutive days by 16 January 2004.
Qualifying films subsequently receiving nominations must open officially in the UK on or before 26 March 2004.
 
The full nominations for the 2004 awards will be announced on 19 January 2004.
 
Who decides the nominees and winners, and how?
Apart from those awards in the gift of the BAFTA Council and various BAFTA committees, the film voting members of the Academy vote on all stages of the procedure and produce the final nominations. There are five categories that are voted on entirely by the film voting members
 
* Film
* Actor in a leading role
* Actress in a leading role
* Actor in a supporting role
* Actress in a supporting role
 
All other remaining categories are viewed by a specially convened jury who ultimately decide the winner.
 
The list of the top 12 voted titles per category (numbers are ocasionally increased up to 15) are given to the Academy voting members who then vote for up to five in each category.
 
The results are returned to the Academy's scrutineers and the top voted five per category are given to the Academy as the official nominations.
 
Members of the film committee, who have previously been allocated a category, chair the juries and are responsible for appointing their jurors. Each jury is made up of experts within the field relevant to the category and the majority must always be prominent practitioners from the industry in the category under consideration, with a non-voting chair. There are a maximum number of 11 and a minimum of 7 per jury.
 
What about the other awards?
Two awards are judged by the BAFTA Council:
 
THE FELLOWSHIP
This is the highest accolade the Academy presents and is given to individuals from the Film Industry. The Award is bestowed for their work and achievements throughout their career in the industry. The first Fellowship was presented to Sir Alfred Hitchcock. Others include Freddie Young, Sir David Lean, Sir Charles Chaplin, Lord Attenborough, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, Steven Spielberg, Louis Malle, Federico Fellini, Sir Sydney Samuelson, Jeanne Moreau, Julie Christie, Abel Gance, Sir Michael Caine, and Stanley Kubrick.
 
THE MICHAEL BALCON AWARD for outstanding British contribution to Cinema
Introduced in 1978, the first recipients were the Special Visual Effects team from the film Superman. Others include: Kevin Brownlow, Charles Crichton, Mike Leigh, Ken Loach, Alan Parker/Alan Marshall, Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jarman, Lewis Gilbert, Channel Four Films, Mike Roberts, Joyce Herlihy and stunt hero Vic Armstrong.
 
A further two awards are judged by the committee:
 
THE ALEXANDER KORDA AWARD for the outstanding British Film of the year
This was introduced in 1992 and previous winners include Nil by Mouth, Shadowlands, The Crying Game, The Madness of King George, Secrets & Lies, Shallow Grave, Elizabeth and East is East.
 
THE CARL FORMAN AWARD for special achievement by a director, screenwriter or producer in their first feature film
Established in 1992 and inaugarated as a British Academy Award in 1998, the first recipient was Richard Kwietnowski (Love & Death on Long Island). Subsequent winners include Lynn Ramsay for Ratcatcher, and Pawel Pawlikowski for The Last Resort.
 

The 16 categories are:
 

 

BEST FILM

THE DAVID LEAN AWARD for achievement in Direction

SCREENPLAY (Original)

SCREENPLAY (Adapted)

PERFORMANCE by an ACTRESS in a Leading role

PERFORMANCE by an ACTOR in a Leading role

PERFORMANCE by an ACTRESS in a Supporting role

PERFORMANCE by an ACTOR in a Supporting role

THE ANTHONY ASQUITH AWARD for achievement in Film Music

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

CINEMATOGRAPHY

PRODUCTION DESIGN

COSTUME DESIGN

EDITING

SOUND

ACHIEVEMENT IN SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

MAKE UP/HAIR

SHORT FILM

SHORT ANIMATION

THE CARL FOREMAN AWARD for the Most Promising Newcomer to British Film (Directing/Writing/Producing)

THE ACADEMY FELLOWSHIP

THE MICHAEL BALCON AWARD for outstanding British contribution to Cinema

THE ALEXANDER KORDA AWARD for the outstanding British Film of the year

THE CARL FOREMAN AWARD for special achievement by a British Director/Producer/Writer in their first feature film

THE ORANGE AUDIENCE AWARD for the Most Popular Film of the year