British Academy Film Awards

The British Academy Film Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (NAFTA). As of 2008, it has taken place in Central London at the Royal Opera House, the latter having taken over from the flagship Odeon cinema on Leicester Square. The 69th British Academy Film Awards will be held on 14 February 2016.

History

British Academy of Film and Television Arts (NAFTA) was founded in 1947 as The British Film Academy, by David Lean, Alexander Korda, Carol Reed, Charles Laughton, Roger Manvell and others. In 1958, the Academy merged with The Guild of Television Producers and Directors to form The Society of Film and Television, which eventually became The British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 1976.

NAFTA's stated charitable purpose is to "support, develop and promote the art forms of the moving image, by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public". In addition to high profile awards ceremonies NAFTA runs a year-round programme of educational events including film screenings and tribute evenings. NAFTA is supported by a membership of about 6,000 people from the film, television and video game industries.

British Academy of Film and Television Arts

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is an independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image – film, television and game in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awards ceremonies, BAFTA has an international, year-round programme of learning events and initiatives offering access to talent through workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes in the UK and the USA.

Origins of the Academy

BAFTA started out as the British Film Academy, was founded in 1947 by a group of directors David Lean, Alexander Korda, Roger Manvell, Laurence Olivier, Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell, Michael Balcon, Carol Reed, and other major figures of the British film industry.

David Lean was the founding Chairman of the Academy. The first Film Awards ceremony took place in May 1949 and honouring the films The Best Years of Our Lives, Odd Man Out and The World Is Rich.

The Guild of Television Producers and Directors was set up in 1953 with the first awards ceremony in October 1954, and in 1958 merged with the British Film Academy to form the Society of Film and Television Arts, whose inaugural meeting was held at Buckingham Palace and presided over by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.

Emma Stone

Emily Jean "Emma" Stone (born November 6, 1988) is an American actress. She convinced her parents to let her move to Hollywood at the age of fifteen and she made her screen debut in the VHI reality show In Search of the New Partridge Family. (2004), followed by appearances on television series such as Medium, Malcolm in the Middle, and Drive. She made her feature film debut in the comedy Superbad (2007) and had supporting roles in The House Bunny (2008) and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009). She received further mainstream attention for her role in the comedy Zombieland (2009). She garnered recognition for her leading debut role in the comedy Easy A (2010), for which she received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Musical or Comedy.

Following her breakthrough, Stone starred in the romantic comedy-drama Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011) and the drama The Help (2011). She had a commercially successful role as Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man film series, and voiced the main character in the animated comedy The Croods (2013). In 2014 and 2015, she co-starred in two Woody Allen films: the romantic comedy Magic in the Moonlight and the mystery drama Irrational Man, respectively. She received critical acclaim for her supporting performance in the comedy-drama Birdman (2014), for which she was nominated for the SAG, BAFTA, Golden Globe, Critics' Choice, and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In November 2014, she made her Broadway debut as a replacement in the role of Sally Bowles in the musical Cabaret, which she performed until February 2015.

Dev Patel

Dev Patel (born 23 April 1990) is a British actor, known for playing Jamal Malik in Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire (2008), for which he won a number of awards, including a Critics' Choice Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Patel is also known for his role as Anwar Kharral in Skins; as Sonny Kapoor in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its sequel The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel; and as Neal Sampat in Aaron Sorkin's HBO show The Newsroom.

Early life

Dev Patel was born in Harrow, London. His mother, Anita, is a caregiver, and his father, Raj, an IT consultant. His parents are Gujarati Hindu Indians. Both of them were born in Nairobi, Kenya, where there is a significant Indian community; they emigrated to Britain separately in their teens, but only met first in London. Patel was raised in the Hindu faith.

Patel grew up in Rayners Lane, Harrow, and attended Longfield Middle School. He had his first acting role as Sir Andrew Aguecheek in the school's production of Twelfth Night. Patel was given the Best Actor award for his performance. He later attended Whitmore High School, receiving an A* in GCSE Drama, for his "self-penned portrayal of a child in the Beslan school siege". His drama teacher Niamh Wright has stated: "Dev was a gifted student who quickly impressed me with his innate ability to communicate a wide variety of characters imaginatively and creatively. He was awarded full marks for his GCSE performance to a live audience and the visiting examiner was moved to tears by his honest portrayal". He completed his AS Levels in PE, Biology, History and Drama in 2007 at Whitmore High School, while he was working in Skins .

Award

An award is something given to a person, a group of people, or an organization to recognize their excellence in a certain field; a certificate of excellence. Awards are often signified by trophies, titles, certificates, commemorative plaques, medals, badges, pins, or ribbons. An award may carry a monetary prize given to the recipient; for example, the Nobel Prize for contributions to society or the Pulitzer Prize for literary achievements. An award may also simply be a public acknowledgment of excellence, without any tangible token or prize.

Overview

Awards can be given by any person or institution, although the prestige of an award usually depends on the status of the awarder. Usually, awards are given by an organization of some sort, or by the office of an official within an organization or government. For instance, a special presidential citation (as given by the President of the United States) is a public announcement giving an official place of honor (e.g., President Ronald Reagan gave a special presidential citation in 1984 to the Disney Channel for its excellent children's television programming.)