What is the Bafta mask modelled on?

Every year, the most celebrated movies, filmmakers, and cinema industry creatives go head-to-head as they battle it out to be crowned the best in their respective categories at the Baftas Awards. While Hollywood does the same across the pond at the Academy Awards – the oldest film competition in the history of the medium – the Baftas dedicate a large chunk of the night to honouring the British talent who make the country such a cinematic powerhouse. 

The ceremony champions established movies and filmmakers alongside newer talents. For example, the ‘Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer’ category has awarded filmmakers such as Lynne Ramsay, Asif Kapadia, Andrea Arnold and Steve McQueen, all of whom have become incredibly successful names in the industry ever since.

For many, winning a Bafta is a career-defining moment, establishing the recipient as one of the cream of the crop. The first-ever winner of the coveted ‘Best Film’ category was William Wyler’s The Best Years of Our Lives, with Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet winning the following year.

Meanwhile, the first winner of ‘Oustanding British Film’ was Carol Reed’s Odd Man Out, with the director winning the following year with The Fallen Idol. More recently, movies like The Banshees of Inisherin and Belfast have won the prize, reflecting the ongoing strength of British cinema.

What are the Baftas?

The Bafta Film Awards is an annual celebration of cinema which began in 1949. The ceremony is held by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and features categories ranging from ‘Best Film’ to ‘Rising Star’. Held in London, filmmakers and actors from across the globe are invited to celebrate the best contributions to cinema from the past year, with millions at home tuning in to find out the winners of the coveted prizes.

While the Baftas are best known for their annual award ceremony, the charity contributes much more to the industry, such as helping to make cinema more accessible by offering funding and opportunities to budding creatives.

(Credit: Bafta Press)

What does Bafta stand for?

Bafta stands for British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the charity that hosts the ceremony. It formed two years before the first ceremony took place, after several major British directors came together, including Powell and Pressburger and David Lean, to form an organisation to promote cinema as an art form.

What is the Bafta mask modelled on?

Whenever someone wins a Bafta award, they are given a bronze trophy of a mask, which bears several engravings on the inside – an electricity symbol and the shape of a screen. The trophy was designed by Mitzi Cunliffe, an American sculptor who relocated to Manchester, England, in 1949.

She was asked to design the mask in 1955, several years after the Baftas began, drawing out extensive ideas before modelling her first attempts out of plasticine. The finished result is a bronze mask inspired by Greek theatre masks weighing in at 3.7kg. 

Greek theatre masks are highly recognisable symbols across the world, so it made sense for the award to use this imagery as a universal indicator of cinematic achievement. The Bafta trophy blends the two well-known masks that were used in Ancient Greece – the Muse of Tragedy (Melpomene) and the Muse of Comedy (Thalia).

When are the Baftas?

The 77th British Academy Film Awards will take place on February 18th, 2024. Some of the ‘Best Film’ nominees include Poor Things, Killers of the Flower Moon and Oppenheimer.

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