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Bafta Beyond Piccadilly
FROM OVER THERE
BAFTA CYMRU
ive hundred BAFTA/LA Fmembers and guests
gathered on August 29 at the residence of the Consul-General for the
15th Annual Garden Party, launching the Academy’s 15th year in Los Angeles. Consul- General Paul Dimond welcomed everyone to his home and noted the Academy’s many successful events, greater visibility, and the increasing co-operation between BAFTA/LA and the British Film Office.
Peter Beale spoke eloquent- ly about the early history and bright future for the Academy. BAFTA/LA was founded in 1987 by Beale and Marion Rosenberg OBE, and has become one of the larger entertainment academies in Hollywood, presenting over 50 annual screenings as well as seminars, Evenings With..., and a wide variety of other popular events. BAFTA/LA also awards an annual Scholarship to British students at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.
The largest and most popu- lar of all the events is the Britannia Awards® Gala Dinner, which this year will recognise the enormous creative contribu- tions of George Lucas with BAFTA/LA’s Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film.
At the same event, HBO Original Programming will be presented with the Britannia Award for Excellence in Television. Each of these hon- orees exemplifies the ideals of the Academy, which is pleased to acknowledge their outstand- ing work that has captivated their peers and international audiences alike for many years.
The Britannia Award is a tribute to career achievements and, since the inaugural event in 1991 honouring “Cubby” Broccoli, has been presented to Michael Caine, Peter Ustinov, Martin Scorsese, Anthony Hopkins, Bob and Harvey Weinstein, Dustin Hoffman, John Travolta, Stanley Kubrick, Aaron Spelling, the BBC and Steven Spielberg, the first recipient of the Excellence in Film award.
BAFTA/LA Chairman Gary Dartnall stated: “We are delight- ed to be honouring George Lucas, who has chosen to make so many of his films in the UK, changing the way movies are made, seen and heard, and HBO, one of the leading suppliers of innovative programming for the past 25 years and a company which has long embraced Britain’s most creative talent.”
BAFTA/LA invites all BAFTA members to attend the Gala Dinner in Los Angeles on November 10, 2001. For more information, please call the BAFTA/LA office at 310 652 4121
David Lynch feature Mulholland Drive, described as a “love story in the city of dreams” and considered to be in the contem- porary film noir genre. Lynch wrote and directed and it stars Justin Theroux, Naomi Watts and Elena Harring.
We are also excited to have a film produced by a BAFTA East Coast member, David Rosenberg. His first main fea- ture, it is called Novacaine and will be properly launched at the Toronto Film Festival.
There have been movements and job changes among our Trustees. Bingham Ray (seen in picture) has become President of United Artists (UA) oversee- ing all aspects of UA’s opera- tions. United Artists is the spe- ciality film unit of MGM Studios. As part of the appointment, UA’s main office will be relocated to New York. When Ray became a Trustee of the East Coast chap- ter, several years ago, he was head of October Films which he co-founded in 1991.
Our Trustee Mark Urman is now with ThinkFilms and we are looking forward to seeing more great projects from him. A new Trustee has joined us over the summer. Tom Ortenberg of Lions Gate Films Releasing. He has been with Lions Gate since 1996 and was promoted to President of this division of Lions Gate earlier this year.
Looking ahead, one of the most anticipated films of the Fall is Harry Potter And The Sorcerers Stone from Warner Bros. We will have an event and screening in advance of its US premiere. ■
www.baftaeastcoast.com
ell, the dust has Wsettled finally fol-
lowing a successful 10th BAFTA Cymru Awards Ceremony
and it’s now review time. A post mortem will be held
within the next
month. Members
voiced their opinion on the event at the AGM held at the end of June in Cardiff.
With election
papers counted, two
new additions to the Management
Committee were
announced. Nia Percy, Director of BAFTA
CYMRU for five years, returns and brings
with her a wealth of
’hands on’ experience.
Also new to the team
is Richard Williams,
who has over 30 years experi- ence in the entertainment industry. Congratulations and welcome to you both.
The Committee’s first task was to elect a new Chair and I’m very very happy to announce that Bryn Roberts (MD Barcud Derwen) will serve as Chairman for the next two years.
Membership renewals are flooding in despite a slight delay due to a new tier system. Existing members now have a choice of joining BAFTA in Piccadilly and BAFTA Cymru for £85. This entitles members to attend events at either branch and take advantage of the wide ranging discount schemes pro- vided; or for £65, members can join BAFTA Cymru and attend local events.
For those who took advan- tage and renewed early, a screening of Peter Cattaneo’s Lucky Break hosted by FilmFour took place in Cardiff’s UCI Cinema at the end of August
www.baftala.org
abor Day signals the end Lof summer and an imme-
or email
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diate return to work at full pelt. Suddenly BAFTA East Coast members find
invitations popping up in their email or through their letter boxes on a weekly basis.
Among the first film screen- ings we have this month is Stephen Frears’ Liam, written by Jimmy McGovern. This is a BBC film distributed by Lions Gate and there will be a Q&A after the screening. Thanks to Universal, we have the new
with more FilmFour pre-release titles scheduled for the next couple of months.
Finally, BAFTA Cymru wishes sponsors Men from Mars all the best with their Emmy nomination for Hornblower. ■ Sarah Howells
www.bafta-cymru.org.uk