Yahoo Movies BAFTA Sets Date for 2025 Film Awards — Global Bulletin
BAFTA CIRCLES CALENDAR
The British Academy has confirmed the date of the 2025 BAFTA Film Awards, which will now be held on Sunday February. 16.
As per recent scheduling arrangements, the awards — arguably the biggest film awards outside the U.S. — takes place two weeks before the Oscars on March 2, 2025. Regular film festival attendees may note that the BAFTA awards will, once again, be held during the Berlinale, set to run February 13-23, with there likely to be a spike in industry professionals flying back to London on the morning of Feb. 16.
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The full timeline and eligibility details for the 2025 BAFTA Film Awards will be announced in due course. Voting will take place over three rounds: longlisting, nominations and winners, by the academy’s global voting film membership which comprises more than 7,800 industry creatives.
The 2024 BAFTA Film Awards, which saw “Oppenheimer” dominate with wins for best film, director and actor, were watched by three million people nationally in the U.K. on BBC One on average, and 3.8 million people at its peak, the highest viewing figures since 2020. On the night, there were also 20.6 million video views of ceremony highlights on BAFTA’s social media platforms.
RESTORED MASTERPIECE AT CANNES
A new restoration of Abel Gance‘s 1927 silent epic “Napoleon,” considered one of the greatest films of all time, will open this year’s Cannes Classics on May 14. “Napoléon by Abel Gance (1st period),” is a version 16-year effort by the Cinémathèque française, with the support of the CNC. The film has had a tortured history with it being cut and mutilated many times over since the advent of talking pictures.
The reconstruction of the seven-hour film, divided into two eras, was led by Georges Mourier and his team. Reels were found at the Cinémathèque française, the CNC, the Cinémathèque de Toulouse and the Cinémathèque de Corse, as well as in Denmark, Serbia, Italy, Luxembourg and New York. Gance’s editing notes and correspondence with his editor made it possible to re-edit the film in its original version. The first part, which will be presented at Cannes, will have a run time of 3 hours and 40 mins.
Previous restorations of “Napoleon” were led by British film historian Kevin Brownlow, with the most recent one premiering in 2000.
CHADHA CASTS CHRISTMAS MOVIE
Gurinder Chadha has lined up the cast for “Christmas Karma,” a contemporary Bollywood musical set in contemporary London and inspired by Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” Kunal Nayyar (“The Big Bang Theory”) will lead the film as Scrooge, while the rest of the cast includes Eva Longoria, Boy George, Billy Porter, Hugh Bonneville, Leo Suter, Charithra Chandran, Pixie Lott, Danny Dyer, Bilal Hasna, Allan Corduner, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Rufus Jones, Eve and Nitin Ganatra.
Chadha (“Bend It Like Beckham,” “Blinded by the Light”) wrote, is directing and producing the feature, with music by former Take That star Gary Barlow alongside Shaznay Lewis and Nitin Sawhney. The film will be distributed theatrically in the U.K. by newly launched True Brit Entertainment, set-up by Zygi Kamasa. Anushka Shah’s Civic Studios is co-financing the film.
Chadha, Celine Rattray, Trudie Styler and Amory Leader will produce. Kamasa, Shah, Paul Mayeda Berges, Sophia Pedlow, Hannah Leader will serve as executive producers.
“Just as I have enjoyed Frank Capra’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ for many years, my aim with ‘Christmas Karma’ is to create a festive classic for our times and for generations to come,” said Chadha. “By adapting one of history’s greatest novels — Charles Dickens’ ‘Christmas Carol’ — I am making a British film from my unique, original point of view but one that resonates with Dickens’ masterful statement on the human condition.”
SHOT ON IPHONE
The Mumbai Film Festival‘s MAMI Select: Filmed on iPhone initiative launched during the 2023 edition has come to fruition with five shorts premiering at a screening in Mumbai on Thursday and subsequently made available on YouTube. Filmmakers Vishal Bhardwaj, who shot his 2023 short “Fursat” on iPhone, Vikramaditya Motwane and Rohan Sippy mentored Archana Atul Phadke, Faraz Ali, Prateek Vats, Saumyananda Sahi and Saurav Rai, who shot “Mirage,” “Óbur,” “Jal Tu Jalaal Tu,” “A New Life” and “Crossing Borders” respectively on the iPhone 15 Pro Max and edited them on a MacBook Pro.
Watch the films here.
CANNES HOSTING ENTERTAINMENT TECH HUB
Cannes Marché du Film will, for the first time, host “Connect — the Entertainment Tech Hub,” showcasing new advancements in film and TV technology.
Taking place at the Riviera Palais, the hub will hold daily events including interactive exhibits, live demos, pitch sessions and expert panels. Tech companies that have joined the Backup Media-run initiative include: beHive, Blue Efficience, FilmChain, Flying Secoya, Grüvi, Lipitt, Backup Media’s MovieChainer, N2F and PentoPix.
“The Connect Hub is more than an exhibition: it’s a movement towards the digital future of film & TV,” Backup Media co-CEO Jean-Baptiste Babin said in a statement. “By bringing together the brightest in tech, we’re not just predicting the future – we’re creating it.”
Events that have been announced at the Connect hub include “The Tech Afternoon,” showcasing the latest developments from participating companies; “Her Tech Story,” highlighting women’s contributions to tech within the entertainment industry; and an opening cocktail event on May 16.
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