The British Academy of Film and Television Arts will confirm Pippa Harris as its new Chair at this evening’s AGM. Harris has been Deputy Chair for one year and her tenure as Chair will run for the next two years.
Harris has enjoyed an illustrious career in film and television as an award-winning producer, executive producer and drama commissioner. She has been closely involved with BAFTA for 10 years and joined the Board of Trustees as Deputy Chair of the Film Committee in 2011. She was made Chair of the Film Committee in 2015.
Harris has actively supported BAFTA’s year-round programme of learning and new talent initiatives including the BAFTA Scholarships programme, Breakthrough Brits and BAFTA Elevate. Harris also chaired BAFTA’s recent taskforce examining sexual harassment and bullying in the industry. She has been a long-time supporter of greater diversity on and off screen and the need for gender parity in senior production roles.
Pippa Harris said: “It is a great honour to be elected Chair of BAFTA and I’m fortunate to be following in Jane Lush’s forthright footsteps. The last year has been a difficult and turbulent time for many in our industry, and I want to pay tribute to the calm, determined leadership that Jane has shown. Alongside Jane, BAFTA’s talented and committed staff and membership, I want to ensure BAFTA continues to be a beacon for best practice in our industry. Now more than ever it is vital that we continue to expand our outreach initiatives, scholarship programme and talent development schemes in order to ensure that those entering the industry are encouraged and supported regardless of their background, race or gender.”
Harris established Neal Street Productions in 2003, alongside Sam Mendes and Caro Newling, and runs the company’s Film and TV division together with Nicolas Brown. Since the formation of Neal Street Productions, Harris has produced Starter For Ten, Stuart A Life Backwards, and co-produced Jarhead. She also executive produced Things We Lost In The Fire, Away We Go and the Oscar-nominated Revolutionary Road, as well as feature documentary We Are Many.
Harris is Executive Producer on the BBC’s award-winning Call The Midwife as well as Britannia, Jez Butterworth’s critically acclaimed drama series for Sky Atlantic. She also executive produced both series of BBC Two’s BAFTA-winning The Hollow Crown and the multi award-winning Penny Dreadful.
Previously, Harris was the Head of Drama Commissioning for the BBC where her commissions included The Lost Prince, State of Play and Daniel Deronda. Pippa joined the BBC in 1997 as a Development Executive for BBC films before becoming Executive Producer of BBC Drama Serials. Her credits include Peter Kosminsky’s Warriors and The Way We Live Now directed by David Yates.
Alongside its awards recognising excellence in film, television and games, BAFTA offers a wide range of initiatives that help ensure talented people get the recognition and support to achieve their potential, regardless of their background. BAFTA Guru, the online learning site, is one way people can hear directly from the experts and learn more about a particular craft or career, or just to get inspiration. People can attend any one of hundreds of BAFTA events across the UK, USA and Asia, apply for a BAFTA scholarship or be part of a mentoring scheme or talent development initiative.
BAFTA’s recently published Annual Report & Accounts looks back at the charity’s activities and achievements in 2017. The document reports on activity from its annual awards ceremonies to its learning events programme and new talent initiatives. Visit Bafta.org/about/annual-reviews to find out more.
For further information, please contact:
Lisa Richards at BAFTA
Press Officer
T +44 (0) 20 7292 5863
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Nick Williams at BAFTA
Communications Manager
T +44 (0) 20 7292 5847
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Notes to Editors
BAFTA’s Annual Report & Accounts – In Numbers
104,059,190 = BAFTA’s total online audience in 2017, up from 96 million in 2016
4,000 = Nearly 4,000 drawings and memories were shared by children and young people for our BAFTA at 70 celebrations, as part of our BAFTA Kids activity.
181 = The number of archive photographs featured on the BAFTA at 70 microsite. The site also featured 224 moments from across BAFTA’s 70-year history, including an image from one of the organisation’s first meetings in the Hyde Park Hotel in 1947.
23,000 = The number of people reached through BAFTA Cymru’s partnership with nine moving image festivals held throughout 2017.
1,000 = More than a thousand children, from 19 different schools, attended our biggest ever BAFTA Kids event, held at London’s Alexandra Palace.
66,100 = The total number of views on our BAFTA YouTube channel of our Breakthrough Brits 2017 interviews to date.
230,000 = The number of social media impressions we made over the two day of Guru Live in May, a 14% increase on 2016’s figure. At one point #GuruLIVE was trending on Twitter in the UK.
2,161 = The number of young people aged between 10 and 18 reached by the BAFTA Young Game Designers competition
142 = The approximate number of international territories that bought the Film Awards for screening outside of the UK in 2017.