UK acting and filmmaking talents have weighed in with their picks for an ‘alternative BAFTA list’ that highlights more diverse candidates.
The campaign, launched by the UK wing of Time’s Up, is designed to recognize the number of women and people of colour who were overlooked in this year’s awards race.
The BAFTA nominations were decried for selecting an all-male field of director nominations and no non-white actors, sparking a #BAFTAsSoWhite trend on social media. The awards body has since said it will carry out a detailed review of its voting procedures after this year’s ceremony, which takes place on Sunday (February 2).
Dame Heather Rabbatts, the chair of Time’s Up UK, slammed this year’s BAFTA noms as having “glaring omissions”.
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“This ‘invisibility’ is even more shocking given the choices which were available and the strength of films and performances where Black talent was apparent this year,” she continued.
The names from the alternative list include Jodie Turner-Smith, whose role in Queen & Slim could have been nominated for a Best Actress BAFTA, according to figures including Belle director Amma Asante and The British Black List founder Akua Gyamfi.
Cynthia Erivo’s performance in Harriet is also regularly cited, by figures including poet Be Manzini and Guardians Of The Galaxy actress Ophelia Lovibon.
Carey Mulligan said that she would have liked Lorene Scafaria to receive a nomination for directing Hustlers, while Gemma Arterton states that she “can’t believe” Booksmart, The Nightingale and Portrait Of A Lady On Fire didn’t get any nods.
Little Women director Greta Gerwig is championed by names including director Susanna White and UK agency founder Jenne Casarotto.
Indira Varm, actress and Time’s Up UK Ambassador, said that she “very much supports” Parasite director Bong Joon-Ho being nominated, but would have also liked to see Atlantics director Mati Diop and Booksmart’s Olivia Wilde also in the conversation. She also suggested the screenwriting quartet of Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel and Katie Silberman for Booksmart, and Awkwafina for her leading role in The Farewell.
Actress Stacy Martin also highlighted Atlantics, while Yesterday star Himesh Patel was a fan of Lee Jung Eun as a Best Supporting Actress candidate for Parasite, and Tzi Ma as a Best Supporting Actor for The Farewell.
“This is not about taking away from the talent that has been nominated, we congratulate all of those nominated and we all know the hard work and total commitment to achieve this accolade. But alongside, there are others who should be standing on that carpet,” explained Rabbatts.
“But we all know this is a long and difficult journey. Time’s Up UK wants to ensure we do not let these awards pass by without us raising the profile of those whose endeavours and performances have not made it to the nominations. So, we are running a social media campaign which will highlight those who are absent and who we also want to see recognised,” she added.
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