BAFTA CYMRU AWARDS 2020 | REPORT
Seeing as COVID-19 has put a damper on social gatherings, 2020’s BAFTA Cymru Awards went entirely digital on Sun 25 Oct. The hosting duties this year were in the remotely safe (socially distanced?) hands of The One Show’s Alex Jones [pictured]. The night’s offerings were all offered online to stream for free on BAFTA’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channels, and whilst not ideal, it proved to be the next best thing, albeit with a few technical issues.
Of the 22 awards on the night, no outright winner was to sweep the board. The most won by any one TV series or film were the three received by His Dark Materials: Ruth Wilson (Actress), Suzie Lavelle (Photography & Lighting), and Joel Collins (Production Designer). The Best Actor award this year went to Jonathan Pryce for his portrayal of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio/Pope Francis in The Two Popes – beating his fellow star Anthony Hopkins, who missed out again, one year after his last nomination. The award for Television Drama was won by BBC Wales’ The Left Behind, a show which tackles the increase of far-right movements in the UK, especially in inner-city areas. The Director: Fiction Award went to Lucy Forbes for In My Skin, a show which also got its second award for Writer (Kayleigh Llewellyn the writer in question).
BAFTA Cymru 2020 saw female practitioners lead the way and dominate the 10 craft categories. Siân Jenkins won (her second) Costume Design award for Eternal Beauty and Rebecca Trotman scooped her first Editing award for her work on Doctor Who: Ascension Of The Cyberman. The always-popular Breakthrough award went to Lisa Walters, producer of On The Edge: Adulting.
Lastly, the award for Outstanding Contribution To Film And Television went to Leslie Dilley (who I interviewed for Buzz earlier this month). Born in the Rhondda Valley, he’s the art director/production designer for film classics such as Star Wars, Raiders Of The Lost Ark and The Abyss. He also worked on An American Werewolf In London but that’s too scary to talk about, still, all these years later…
words CARL MARSH
Info: www.bafta.org/wales