BAFTAs 2023: Celebrating the wider cast and crew
By Elise Czyzowska
20 February 2023
Last night, the world of film collected at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall for the 2023 BAFTAs, an evening full of celebration for the entire industry.
When the nominations were released for the 76th BAFTA Awards, critics and fans alike were excited to see plenty of first-time nominees up for major awards, many of whom picked up their first BAFTA Mask last night. From Austin Butler winning Best Actor for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in Elvis, to Charlotte Wells’ winning Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer for Aftersun, the entertainment industry is clearly in safe hands.
There were also many familiar faces celebrated across the evening. Cate Blanchett picked up her fourth Best Actress win for Tár, while Martin McDonagh collected his fifth and sixth wins with Best British Film and Best Original Screenplay for The Banshees of Inisherin (which also saw Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon win Supporting Actor and Actress respectively for their roles in the film).
On MetFilm School’s presence at the awards, MetFilm Director Jonny Persey said:
We are so proud of all our graduates credited on nominated films at last night’s BAFTA Awards.
In a year full of great films, we are thrilled to have amongst our graduates a wide variety of credits, including Directors, Executive Producers, Script Supervisors, Gaffers, First Assistant Cameras, Production Assistants, Key Second Assistant Directors, Crowd PAs, and more, representing the broad cross section of roles into which our graduates progress.
Congratulations to all!
MetFilm School at the BAFTAs
Adding to our celebration, MetFilm School graduates could be found credited on many of this year’s nominations. To name a few…
- Guy Trevellyan (MA Producing): Crowd PA for Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical; Crowd PA for The Swimmers
- Maia Kenworthy (From Story to Screen Short Course): Director of Rebellion, nominated for Outstanding Debut
- Edward Parodi (BA Practical Filmmaking): Worldwide Sales for Blue Jean
- Nathaniel Bauer (BA Practical Filmmaking): Gaffer for The Swimmers
- Lauren Dark (Producing Short Course): Executive Producer for Brian and Charles
- Liz West (Screenwriting Short Course): Script Supervisor on Living
- Ahmed Malek (Acting for Film – Level 2 Short Course): Actor, ‘Nizar’ on The Swimmers
Our students and graduates have been seeing major success across this year’s award season – you can find out more in our recent blog on the London Critics’ Circle Film Awards.
Celebrating the wider film industry
One aspect of last night’s awards that we were especially pleased to see was the recognition given to the wider cast and crew that make the filmmaking process possible, and the different forms that this can take. Emma Mackey thanked ‘all the cast and crews [she’s] had the pleasure of working with thus far’; while Guillermo del Toro’s acceptance speech for Best Animated Film (with Pinocchio) brought attention to how often animated films are limited to participate only in this one category. ‘Animation is not a genre for kids,’ he added, ‘it is a medium for art, a medium for film. Animation should stay in the conversation’.
On top of this, the BAFTA Fellowship (a lifetime achievement award presented each year) went to Sandy Powell, a Costume Designer who has worked on projects including Shakespeare in Love, The Favourite, and Velvet Goldmine. Being one of the rare occasions that the Fellowship has not gone to the likes of actors or directors, Sandy’s speech also drew attention to the importance of every member of a film set:
Thank you, BAFTA. I accept this fellowship on behalf of my community.
The supervisors, assistants, coordinators, and PAs. The tailors and cutters, the stitchers and buyers, the weavers, the knitters, the printers and dyers. The leather workers, the shoemakers, milliners, jewellers, the standbys, dressers, fitters, and crew.
In fact, everyone who makes this work possible.
This sense of community and value is something that MetFilm School tries to teach our students from day one. Across our BA and MA degrees, students have the opportunity to try their hand at multiple crew roles – from elective craft modules built into our BA Practical Filmmaking degrees, to the collaboration encouraged amongst our seven MAs.
Even our actors on BA Screen Acting (taught in London and Berlin) learn how to operate cameras and film equipment, to ensure that, when they set foot onto their first professional film sets, they are fully prepared. ‘I don’t think I even realised how much I’d find an interest in cinematography, writing, or directing,’ said student Lydia Brayshaw in a recent interview on our Instagram, ‘it’s just been a really well-rounded experience’.
All Quiet on the Western Front
Finally, amongst the history-making wins throughout the night, All Quiet on the Western Front broke the BAFTA record for most wins by a film not in the English language. Picking up Best Film, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Not in the English Language, Best Director, Best Sound, Original Score, and Best Cinematography, director Edward Berger expressed his gratitude for how the public had ‘accepted [the film] with overwhelming love’.
All Quiet on the Western Front was produced by Amusement Park Films, a Berlin-based company, adding to the wide production network that can be found in the city. With our MA Producing degree launching at MetFilm School Berlin later this year, you can learn more about why the city is the perfect place to begin a career in the industry in this blog.
- Explore MA Producing – launching at our Berlin campus this September.
- Want to begin your career in the film industry? Start at our upcoming March Open Days in Leeds and London.
Photo Credits included in this blog: Getty Images via BAFTA Press Images.
Hero Image: The team behind All Quiet on the Western Front accepting Best Film.
