SARA PUTT: Good evening everyone, and a very warm welcome to the EE BAFTA Film Awards 2024.
I’m Sara Putt, the Chair of BAFTA, and it is my absolute pleasure to introduce tonight’s ceremony.
BAFTA is an independent arts charity, and an Academy with a membership of 12,000 creatives working across film, games and television.
We’re here to champion talent, exceptional storytelling, and make the screen industries a more equitable and sustainable place. We couldn’t do this without your support.
On that note, I’m honoured to welcome BAFTA’s President – His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales.
Thank you for being here tonight and for all your support helping BAFTA deliver its mission.
May I take this moment to send Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales and His Majesty The King our very best wishes.
When writing this speech, I wanted to reflect on the past 12 months.
Words seem inadequate. It’s been a year of immense challenges for our industry… And the world.
But a year in which films provided distraction, joy, delight and commentary on who we are as humans, in all our complexities.
A year of stellar storytelling. The calibre of filmmaking represented in the nominated films this year is astounding. It’s definitely been the most talked about Awards season in years. Yes, I’m calling it!
Turbo-boosted by ‘Barbenheimer’, audiences rediscovered cinema, seeking out the talked about films and discovering some lesser known gems.
The creative force of the British film industry is proudly on display tonight.
We’re a sector with a skilled workforce in the hundreds of thousands, a production spend in the billions, and one of the biggest filming locations by studio space in the world.
Yet, according to a recent survey, while more than half of British school leavers are interested in a career in film and TV - fewer than one in five of them considers this a realistic ambition.
What a huge waste of potential talent.
For too many people, the film industry still seems like an impregnable fortress.
All of us here tonight can help change that.
At BAFTA we work constantly to remove barriers.
We provide access, community, mentorship and financial support to talented people in front of and behind the camera.
Our aspiration to level the playing field is a journey that BAFTA and the whole of the industry is on – and there is still a long way to go.
Awards are just as important.
Awards can show that our industry is truly welcoming of all voices and all stories.
Awards can inspire a belief that a career in our brilliant industry is possible.
And Awards can simply be about sharing our love of cinema. Inviting audiences to celebrate, with us, the bold and brave stories that help us understand the world – and each other – a little better. That is our industry’s soft power, that is our SUPER power.
I can’t close without thanking the folk who make this magical evening happen….to Jane Millichip our amazing CEO and the whole BAFTA team, Anna Higgs, Chair of The Film Committee, and all of the Film Committee who volunteer their time and industry expertise so generously to BAFTA.
Also a big shout out to our fabulous partners including EE, the BBC and co-producers Penny Lane.
And of course tonight’s host: the incomparable David Tennant.
Last but certainly not least, to ALL our nominees.
To be nominated by your industry peers, particularly in such a competitive and extraordinary year, is a truly impressive feat.
This is your night. We are here to showcase your work, your talent, your stories. We hope you all have an amazing evening.
Thank you.
