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MADDINGCROWD
MADDINGCROWD
BAFTA NORTH
BAFTA SCOTLAND
As the 20th Century bowed out it was a busy time for BAFTA North. Members were invited to an exclusive screening of Hold Back The Night at the Odeon, Liverpool, after which BAFTA North direc- tor Maureen Sinclair chaired a Q & A session with producer Sally Hibbin and director Phil Davis. A reception, sponsored by Absolut, followed at the city’s trendiest night club, the Life Cafe. We raised a substantial amount of money from recent premieres of writer Jimmy McGovern’s Heart and Dockers. Cheques were presented by McGovern and actress Crissy Rock to representatives of the Dockers’ Initative Factory and the Lyndale Cancer Support Centre at a brunch sponsored by the Life Cafe.
We were praised for our achievements at this year’s pres- tigious Scouseology Awards, a local event which celebrates the considerable talent for which Liverpool is well renowned. Maureen Sinclair attended the high profile event along with the Oscar-nominated team from Hilary And Jackie of local writer Frank Cottrell Boyce, producers
Andy Paterson and Nicolas Kent and director Anand Tucker. Paterson received a special award from the Liverpool Film Office and he made an uplifting speech extolling the sterling work of BAFTA North especially in its fostering of emerging creative tal-
ent from the region. Ricky Tomlinson picked up two comedy awards on behalf of himself and his screen wife Sue Johnston for TV’s The Royle Family.
There was a special Christmas screening of Angela’s Ashes and, to end another suc- cessful year, BAFTA North’s members and sponsors, togeth- er with local celebrities, were invited to a splendid Christmas bash sponsored once again by Absolut and the Life Cafe. ■
BAFTA Scotland’s arrival in the 21st Century was given an extra boost by the appointment of its chairman, Blair Jenkins, to Head of News and Current Affairs for BBC Scotland. Blair has been chairman since July 1998 having served on the com- mittee for four years. A former director of broadcasting at BBC Scotland, Blair had been work- ing as a news and current affairs consultant with BBC Scotland over recent months prior to his new appointment. His acclaimed management style, negotiating skills and broad media experi- ence will serve him well in his new post and we are delighted that he continues to steer the BAFTA Scotland Committee’s course with the same expert diplomacy. There is real recogni- tion and gratitude for his work and commitment to Scotland’s media throughout the industry
here, and we wish him the very best in his new job.
Towards the end of last year, BAFTA Scotland secured a terrific new benefit for the
organisation in the shape of guaranteed individual member- ship of Glasgow’s prestigious new Corinthian Club for all members. Formerly the Union Bank of Scotland and later Glasgow’s High Court, the build- ing, with its fabulous former banking hall brilliantly restored to full Victorian splendour, is now one of the Merchant City’s finest bar and dining facilities. For the first time, with
Corinthian’s private members’ bar rivalling any London club for comfort and service, indus- try and media members in Scotland will have their own BAFTA club. Plans to set up a private screening facility for industry members have been proposed by Corinthian owner Stefan King. His generous sup- port for BAFTA has continued and it’s possible that this special facility may be installed for us in his new hotel premises on Glasgow’s George Square.
We continue a regular pro- gramme of preview screenings, on average three to four a month, and we also participated recently in Screentime, a brand new screen industry festival event offering workshops - and a BAFTA Scotland special achieve- ment prize - to young people in Argyll. In March we’ll be involved in the first ever one- day Scottish Students On Screen event being organised by Scottish Screen’s Education and Training Department. To be held in the new Centre for Contemporary Arts in Dundee, it will assist in our preparations for November’s New Talent Awards which are scheduled to take place in Glasgow. ■
Photos opposite page from left to right: Arnold Schwartzman, Chairman of BAFTA LA; Alan Parker and Emily Watson at the Angela’s Ashes screening; inset:Tim Roth, Julie Ann Marshall, Exec Director BAFTA East Coast and Lara Belmont at The War Zone screening; Wales’ own Rhys Ifans; BAFTA Cymru Diector Gethin While
Photos this pge from top left: Ricky Tomlinson with his Scouseology Awards for Royle Family; Jimmy McGovern, Phil Davis, Sally Hibbin and Colin McKeown at the BAFTA North Members’ screening of Hold Back The Night; Barbara McKissack Head of Drama TV BBC Scotland; Inset left: Maureen Sinclair Bafta North Director; above: Blair Jenkins Chaiman BAFTA Scotland
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