The BAFTA’s took place in London last night February 18th and saw some new and popular great talent take home the iconic trophy. Daniel Kaluuya was one of the big winners of the night, winning the BAFTA rising star award for his performance in the critically acclaimed horror film Get Out.
The 28-year-old actor beat out competition from Florence Pugh, Josh O’Connor, Timothée Chalamet and Tessa Thompson in the EE-sponsored category, which was voted for by the public.
In his acceptance speech, Kaluuya said: “I’ve gone blank. Thank you, Tessa, Tim, Josh and Florence. I feel so privileged to be in your guys’ company. I am a product of arts funding in the UK. I want to thank people who support that, mainstream arts and grassroots levels.”
“Thank you for letting me think different. I wasn’t supposed to say that. We break all the rules,” an emotional Kaluuya added.
Other winners of the night included Welsh-Zambian director Rungano Nyoni for I Am Not A Witch, a film about an eight-year-old Zambian girl accused of being a witch. The director, who was brought up in Cardiff, accepted the prize alongside producer Emily Morgan.
The low-budget feature was made with funding from organisations including Ffilm Cymru and the BFI, and it was the first Zambian film to be shown at the Cannes film festival.
Following Nyoni’s win, Ben Roberts, Director of the BFI Film Fund, commented: “A brilliant night for UK talent and crew, congratulations to all winners and the nominees. We are especially proud of writer/director Rungano Nyoni and producer Emily Morgan’s BAFTA for I Am Not A Witch.
“In his own acceptance speech for BAFTA Rising Star, Daniel Kaluuya articulated the importance of arts funding on early careers. Rungano and Emily have been supported on this project with National Lottery funding through a successful collaboration with BFI NETWORK partner Film Cymru Wales, through our Vision Awards for producers, and the BFI Film Fund. It was brilliant to see them on the stage last night.”
Photo credit: Guy Levy
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