BAFTA publishes Film Awards Rulebook for 2024 with entries now open

BAFTA confirms the eligibility criteria, campaigning regulations and category rules for the 2024 BAFTA Film Awards. Entries are now open, kicking off the countdown to one of the most anticipated events in the global film calendar.

Reviewed annually, BAFTA’s guiding principles for its awards are to celebrate creative excellence, level the playing field, provide a fair and robust process, and encourage positive industry change.

For the 2024 edition, several updates have been introduced following in-depth consultation with sector peers and BAFTA’s cross-industry Film Committee. The key changes are as follows:

Campaigning

Detailed guidance and regulations on campaigning, hosting screenings and communicating with voters is now set out in a dedicated handbook for entrants and BAFTA members. A significant tightening of the rules around campaigning were last introduced as part of the 2020 BAFTA Review to ensure a fair and equitable process for entrants regardless of their origin, networks or marketing and PR budget. The updates for 2024 build-on and further clarify this ongoing work and can be found in full here.

Eligibility updates

UK-based productions will be required to have a policy in place on tackling bullying and harassment if entering into the Outstanding British Film and Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer categories. To support this rule change going forwards, free guidance and policy templates will be available on Creative UK in the coming weeks. This new intervention, announced in December 2022, builds on BAFTA’s long-standing work to help tackle bullying and harassment across the screen industries, and forms part of wider, ongoing collective cross-sector activity.

UK-based productions will be required to provide information about meeting BFI’s new Diversity Standards as BAFTA’s eligibility for Outstanding British Film and Outstanding Debut transitions from a minimum of two (Standard C + 1) to the BFI’s new diversity standards requirement to include Standard E (accessibility).

Following BAFTA’s introduction of the BFI Diversity Standards in 2019 and Academy of Motion Picture Arts’ (AMPAS) introduction of new Inclusion Standards for its Best Picture category from 2024 onwards, BAFTA will be monitoring the film industry’s progress on diversity and inclusion internationally.

Specific category changes – Director

BAFTA’s 2020 Review included a positive intervention for female directors submitting into the BAFTA Film Awards Director category, allowing for a 50:50 gender split for male and female directors in the longlisting stage (16 in total). This has had a very positive effect on the number of female directors nominated and winning in this category compared with the years prior to the Review. This intervention is now being evolved to include directors who identify as non-binary.

For 2024, the top female, male and directors who identify as non-binary will be longlisted to a maximum of 17, with gender parity between male and female directors upheld. In the nominating round, the number of nominated directors will remain at six.

BAFTA View

BAFTA View, the academy’s online viewing platform launched in 2020, is a key part of BAFTA’s mission to level the playing field by removing the previously prohibitively high cost of supplying DVDs to BAFTA’s 7,500 voting global membership. It will continue to be mandatory for all films in contention to be available on BAFTA View ahead of Round One voting. Ongoing upgrades to BAFTA View will enable the platform to offer all entrants the chance to provide films in 4K and 5.1 sound for the first time, however watching films at the cinema or via BAFTA’s in-person official screening programme will continue to be the encouraged primary method of viewing for voters.

Emma Baehr, Executive Director of Awards & Content, said: “The changes to the 2024 rules reflect BAFTA’s ongoing commitment to using our Awards to help effect meaningful cultural change in the screen industries and our continued efforts to level the playing field through equitable, transparent and robust processes. We are hugely grateful for the expertise of BAFTA’s cross-industry Film Committee and the rigour and diligence they bring to reviewing and setting these rules annually. Celebrating creative excellence continues to be at the heart of our Awards and in a challenging and uncertain time for many working in the sector, our awards recognise the craft, creativity and tireless work that goes into bringing the magic of films and their stories to life.”

First held in 1949, the BAFTA Film Awards celebrate the very best of film over the past year, and the filmmakers, cast and crews on both sides of the camera. The 2024 edition will be held in London on Sunday 18 February. A comprehensive overview of entry information including rules and eligibility requirements can be found on BAFTA’s Awards webpage here.

As previously announced the key dates are as follows:

• Friday 8 December 2023 – Round One voting opens
• Friday 5 January 2024 – Longlists published; Round Two voting opens
• Saturday 6 January 2024 – The BAFTA Tea Party in Los Angeles
• Thursday 18 January 2024 – Nominations announced; Round Three opens
• Sunday 18 February 2024 – BAFTA Film Awards