BAFTA Supports Oscars New Inclusion Requirements

Hollywoodreporter.com: In the wake of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' announcement on Tuesday of representation and inclusion standards that will have to be met for films to be eligible for the best picture Oscar starting in 2024, the organization has taken incoming fire from some who feel it has gone too far and from others who feel it has not gone far enough.

Therefore, a show of support from the other Academy across the pond, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, was surely welcome when it arrived late on Tuesday night.

"We are delighted that the Academy has today announced its new representation and inclusion standards," Marc Samuelson, chair of the BAFTA Film Committee, said in a statement on Tuesday night. "BAFTA introduced very similar standards in conjunction with the BFI for the Outstanding British Film and Outstanding British Debut categories in 2016 and we continue to review and expand these standards every year. We look forward to continuing our work with AMPAS, the BFI and other industry bodies to introduce universal diversity standards adopted in all BAFTA's Film Awards' categories by 2024."

Indeed, the BFI's Diversity Standards, which are used to determine certain funding eligibility in the UK and eligibility in some categories at the BAFTA Awards, were one of the models consulted by the American film Academy's task force, which was headed by Academy governors DeVon Franklin and Jim Gianopulos. The Academy also consulted with the Producers Guild of America (PGA), as it presently does for Oscars eligibility.