Audiences across the UK and overseas will be able to watch this year’s BAFTA-nominated short films online and in cinemas from 6 February 2018 through an exclusive partnership with Curzon.

The eight nominated films, which were chosen by a BAFTA jury of leading industry figures, represent the best of British short filmmaking, and showcase innovative and exciting British talent. The winners, as voted for by the wider BAFTA membership, will be announced at the EE British Academy Film Awards on 18 February at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

For a second year, the package of live action and animated shorts will be available to watch exclusively on Curzon Home Cinema, the video on-demand service. This year, through an expanded partnership, Curzon will also exclusively exhibit the eight nominated films in selected cinemas nationally, with exclusive Q&A sessions with the filmmakers taking place at selected screenings. As in previous years, the British Council will also tour the films internationally through its global network in over 100 countries, giving several of these films their first international exposure.

To mark the launch of ‘BAFTA Shorts Presented by Curzon’ a special premiere of the eight films will take place at the Curzon Bloomsbury on 6 February and will be open to the public. To book tickets, visit: https://www.curzoncinemas.com/bloomsbury/film-info/bafta-2018-short-film-award-nominees

Previous BAFTA shorts nominees and winners have gone on to receive wider industry recognition for feature-length projects, including directors Paddy Considine (Tyrannosaur), Martin McDonagh (In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths), Chris Morris (Four Lions), Sam Taylor-Johnson (Nowhere Boy), Joe Wright (Atonement, Pride & Prejudice), David Yates (Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2) and producer Mark Herbert (This Is England). This year writer-director Rungano Nyoni, who was nominated for Short Film in 2012 for Mwansa The Great, has received the nomination for Outstanding Debut for her feature I Am Not a Witch.

Tim Hunter, Director of Learning and New Talent at BAFTA, said: “Short film is an important way for new talent to hone their craft and gain recognition, and so BAFTA Shorts is a great way for audiences to discover filmmakers whilst their star is in the ascendant. We’re particularly happy that this year’s nominees include two previous winners as well as someone who was mentored as part of a scheme with the BFI’s Flare Festival. Each of these filmmakers brings a unique and original perspective to the craft of filmmaking and we look forward to sharing their vision with audience in the UK and around the world.”

Damian Spandley, Director of Programme at Curzon, said: “We are delighted to be supporting the BAFTA Shorts once again this year. The nominees show the breadth and depth of talent among our emerging filmmakers. We hope film lovers embrace the chance to watch these excellent films either at our cinemas or on Curzon Home Cinema”

To book tickets to the premiere screening of the BAFTA-nominated shorts at Curzon Bloomsbury visit: https://www.curzoncinemas.com/bloomsbury/film-info/bafta-2018-short-film-award-nominees

To watch the BAFTA-nominated shorts online from Tuesday 6 February, visit Curzon Home Cinema: https://www.curzonhomecinema.com/

For venues and showtimes of screenings, and to watch the BAFTA Shorts 2018 trailer, visit the BAFTA website: https://www.bafta.org /film/awards/british-short-film-british-short-animation

Interviews with the nominated filmmakers will be available on BAFTA Guru (www.bafta.org/guru), BAFTA’s online learning channel.

The EE British Academy Film Awards will take place on Sunday 18 February at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

The nominated shorts in the BAFTA Shorts 2018 programme:

BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
HAVE HEART Will Anderson
MAMOON Ben Steer
POLES APART Paloma Baeza, Ser En Low

BRITISH SHORT FILM
AAMIR Vika Evdokimenko, Emma Stone, Oliver Shuster
COWBOY DAVE Colin O’Toole, Jonas Mortensen
A DROWNING MAN Mahdi Fleifel, Signe Byrge Sørensen, Patrick Campbell
WORK Aneil Karia, Scott O’Donnell
WREN BOYS Harry Lighton, Sorcha Bacon, John Fitzpatrick

For more information, please contact:

Ebba Blakeborough-Tait
T: +44 (0) 203 003 6579
E: [email protected]

Eleanor Pickering at BAFTA
T: +44 (0) 20 7292 5863
E: [email protected]

For images, logos, accreditation, transcripts and more, visit www.bafta.org/media-centre