Attending the BAFTAs 2024
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to attend a BAFTA award ceremony? We had a wonderful night at the BAFTA TV Craft Awards last Sunday, so come along as we look back on the evening!
What are the BAFTA TV Craft Awards?
The first ceremony was held in 2000, after it was recognised that technical achievements could often be overshadowed by production categories at the BAFTA TV Awards. This places the focus on behind-the-scenes work that can too often go unrecognised, with categories celebrating departments across Hair and Makeup, Costume, Sound, Editing and more! It’s not a surprise then that this night holds a special place in our hearts, as here at the studio we see first-hand the hard work and dedication of the crew in these roles. It’s a truly special night of glitz and glam that lets this talent shine at the forefront.
3 Mills Studios has sponsored the Director: Fiction category for the past nine years.
Arriving at the BAFTAs
The evening takes place at the historic The Brewery in London, and has done since 2011 (bar two virtual years during Covid), providing some very familiar cobbles for the 3 Mills team to walk down. As you arrive and show your ticket, there’s a chance to mingle and get your photo taken (as well as a press photo area). We were in luck as the sun came out for a few hours after a very rainy weekend!
Heading inside you are greeted at the Reception with Champagne Tattinger (BAFTAs official champagne partner) and another chance to catch up with fellow attendees for an hour or so before heading to your table at the ceremony.
The BAFTA Award Ceremony
Shortly afterwards, you are directed into the ceremony to find your table so they can kick off the show at 6pm. The first thing we do (well, after inspecting the food menu), is find our page in the programme placed at each setting, before perusing the rest of the category nominees. The room is stunning and filled with energy for the night ahead!
This year it was presented by Stacey Dooley, and the MAMA Youth Project took home the BAFTA Special Award in recognition of their incredible work in helping young people from underrepresented backgrounds into careers in the television and media industries.
The Winners!
Now we’re all settled in, we can finally get to the winners and their speeches! Some big winners of the night included Slow Horses, Black Mirror and Silo, each taking home two awards each. Seeing the clips for each nominee and their shows expands your to-watch list tenfold, and hearing the winner’s speeches always strikes inspiration for the year ahead. Some of our favourite speeches came from Aisha Bywaters for Scripted: Casting for Three Little Birds, and of course, Sharon Long’s short but sweet speech for Costume Design for The Great (which was filmed here at 3 Mills for its duration).
The winner of our sponsor award, Director: Fiction, was the incredible Peter Hoar for The Last of Us. He directed the memorable, heartfelt Episode 3 “Long, Long Time” with Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett. Though he wasn’t able to attend on the night, we were lucky enough to meet him the last time he won for “It’s a Sin” in 2022 (photo below), we also caught up with Sharon Long from The Great to congratulate her on her win.
It’s worth mentioning all the other big talent nominated in the Director: Fiction category, you can read about them here.
Afterparty
When the ceremony and dinner are over, we’re over to the afterparty where the BAFTAs are left on the drinks tables while the winners are off having a dance to celebrate!
Thanks to BAFTA for having us and hosting another inspiring night for British Television!
- on May 2, 2024