It is the Bafta Film Awards tonight (February 18) in London but a significant contingent will not be there: UK execs and producers in the thick of a busy Berlin weekend.
The festival has clashed with the Baftas for every physical edition since 2004, apart from in 2020 and 2022.
“It’s a bit bonkers to always have the Baftas right in the middle of Berlin,” said a veteran UK sales agent. “I have very rarely ever gone to the Baftas.”
Of the US sellers, only a couple of key figures will head over to London. UK distributors with Bafta-nominated films at the Berlinale have either cut their EFM trips short or divided up their teams. In 2023, Anton and BBC Film-backed UK feature Femme had its world premiere in Panorama on Bafta night which meant key BBC Film execs were unable to attend its big moment.
There is precedent for the festival accommodating awards season - the 2020 Berlinale revised its dates to fit the Oscars, after that ceremony moved forward two weeks.
But although the mid-February slot is also difficult for UK execs with school-age children on the half-term holiday, and with Asian execs celebrating the Lunar New Year, finding an alternative is no easy task.
Moving Berlin earlier would bring it uncomfortably close to Sundance and Rotterdam and pushing it later could impact the US attendance if it was too near Oscar night.
The overlap has some potential upsides, encouraging US talent to head over and take part in European junketing at the Berlinale, before scooting over to the UK to attend the Baftas.
The 2025 Bafta ceremony dates will be announced in spring.
For the 2025 edition of the Berlinale, no major changes are anticipated. “The dates are fixed and will be announced at the end of the festival,” said a festival spokesperson. “Decisions on the dates in the future will be taken by the new director, Tricia Tuttle.”
No comments yet