Bafta awards come under fire for winners who are all white

The Bafta Film Awards were denounced by critics for an all-white winners list despite a recent overhaul that was meant to make the process more diverse.

Ethnic minorities made up almost 40% of the acting shortlist roles but didn’t take home any of the 49 awards at the ceremony in London on Sunday, which is the British equivalent of the Academy Awards.

Bafta took steps in 2020 to boost the diversity of actors and filmmakers shortlisted after the nominations list that year was all-white. The reforms involved increasing the number of nominees and adding more voting members from minority groups. After two consecutive years in which half the acting winners were not white, this year’s ceremony is seen as a step backwards.

“The actual demographic breakdown of Bafta voters is not transparent so while reforms were done, we don’t know who the overall voter body is,” said film critic and Bafta short film jury member Ashanti Omkar. 

“Perhaps if Bafta also employed a more transparent approach, where voters are not only going to screenings, or viewing films at home, but also allowed to talk and debate with each other, over Zoom, like the British Independent Film Awards does, it might bring about more conscious voting.”

Bafta last published the diversity stats for voters in 2021, which showed 37.4% of members were women, 12.2% from an ethnic minority, 5.3% have a disability and 9.7% are part of the LGBTQI+ community. The organisation is expected to publish its latest membership list this year.

Defending the ceremony, a Bafta spokesperson said the 2020 overhaul “is not an end-process”, adding the eligibility criteria are reviewed every year. Bafta declined to comment on the lack of diversity among the winners.

This year’s winners mostly came from only three films — Elvis, The Banshees of Inisherin and All Quiet on the Western Front, which have white leads. This contrasts with the Oscars, where Everything Everywhere All at Once, a movie with Asian leads, is leading the race with 11 nominations. It didn't win any of the acting awards at the Baftas despite nominations in major categories.

The hashtag #BaftasSoWhite, first used more than half a decade ago, started trending again after the ceremony. The only people of colour on stage were in hosting and presenting capacities, including Alison Hammond and Ariana DeBose, who opened the ceremony with a musical number.

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