Tuesday 14th November, London: Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People and Where The Crawdads Sing) joined Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù (Gangs of London and His House) and Himesh Patel (Station Eleven and Yesterday)alongside a host of other industry experts, to select the EE Rising Star Award shortlist for the 2024 EE BAFTA Film Awards.
Now in its nineteenth year, it stands as the only EE BAFTA Film Awards category to be voted for by the British public, reinforcing EE’s commitment to become the UK’s most personal, customer-focused brand by providing the nation with an opportunity to have their voice heard. Celebrating new and emerging talent within the film industry, former recipients of the EE Rising Star Award have subsequently reached remarkable heights in the world of cinema and have become huge household names. The prestigious list of previous winners includes James McAvoy, Eva Green, Juno Temple, Tom Hardy, Kristen Stewart, Jack O’Connell, Will Poulter, John Boyega, Tom Holland, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Micheal Ward, Bukky Bakray, Lashana Lynch and this year’s winner Emma Mackey.
Joining Daisy Edgar-Jones, Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù and Himesh Patel on the jury panel were a distinguished line-up of industry experts, who gathered at The Savoy, official hotel partner for the EE BAFTA Film Awards, to discuss the merits of the emerging talent longlist. The winner will be revealed at a ceremony on Sunday 18th February 2024.
Chaired by Anna Higgs, BAFTA Film Committee Chair, the panel also included casting directors Lucy Bevan (Barbie and The Batman) and Nina Gold (Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Game of Thrones), and film producer Adam Ackland (Mauritanian and The Courier). The jury was completed by prominent film, entertainment, and arts journalists.
Daisy Edgar-Jones said:“I am so excited to have been asked to be a jury member for this year’s EE’s Rising Star Award. Being given the chance to watch so many phenomenal performers shine is such a joy and the calibre of talent this year is incredible. I feel very lucky.”
Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù said: “It was an honour to be nominated for the EE Rising Star Award back in 2021 and it’s a full circle moment to now be helping to choose this year’s nominees. It has been a delight to join the jury panel and watch the outstanding performances of each nominee over the past few weeks., I’m excited to follow the trajectory of each actor’s career!”
Himesh Patel said: “Being part of the EE Rising Star Award jury panel has been such a privilege, especially given my previous jury experience with the BAFTA Elevate scheme. I’m particularly passionate about supporting rising stars in the film industry, and this award does just that.”
EE Rising Star Award jury chair and BAFTA Chair of the Film Committee, Anna Higgs, said: “Celebrating and elevating the next generation of talent is central to BAFTA’s year-round work, and the EE Rising Star Award is the perfect platform to shine the spotlight on their brilliance, and give film fans across the UK the chance to decide 2024’s winner. We’re delighted to continue our longstanding partnership with EE and to support all our EE Rising Star Award nominees and winners who have been on remarkable journeys over the years. We have an extraordinary line up of EE Rising Star Award nominees for this year and are excited to unveil them in January.”
Pete Jeavons, Marketing Communications Director at EE said: “Marking its nineteenth year, the prestigious EE Rising Star Award remains the only category voted for by the British public. New EE is committed to becoming the UK’s most personal, customer-focused brand, so we are proud to continue working alongside BAFTA to nurture and celebrate emerging talent in this ever-evolving industry, and to offer a platform for devoted film fans to participate and have their say. We look forward to revealing the five nominees in January and seeing who this year’s EE Rising Star will be.”
The EE Rising Star Award was created in honour of the late Mary Selway. A highly respected and BAFTA award-winning casting director whose 36-year career saw her work on more than ninety films and work with leading directors such as Steven Spielberg and Clint Eastwood. Mary’s work contributed to the creation of some of the silver screen’s most memorable characters and in 2001 she received BAFTA’s Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award.
The EE Rising Star Award shortlist will be announced on 10th January 2024, at which point public voting will open and be available to all UK residents at ee.co.uk/BAFTA. The full nominations for the EE BAFTA Film Awards will then be announced on Thursday 18th January 2024.
The ceremony will be held on Sunday 18th February 2024, with further details, including the host for the 2024 Awards, to be announced by BAFTA at a future date.
EE has been a long-standing partner of the EE BAFTA Film Awards, working to bring film fans closer to the BAFTAs through the magic of technology and consumer participation. Since the partnership began, EE has not only worked with BAFTA to introduce the EE Rising Star Award, but also used its award-winning network to create new and exciting opportunities for film fans to be part of the action on the red carpet.
For more information visit: ee.co.uk/BAFTA #EERisingStar #EEBAFTAs