Wednesday 20th January, London: Academy Award® winner Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina and The Danish Girl), actress and BAFTA Film Committee member Jo Hartley (Eddie the Eagle and After Life) and BAFTA-winning actress Naomi Ackie (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and The End of the F***ing World) joined the BAFTA EE Rising Star Award jury panel to select the shortlist for the 2021 Award.

Now in its sixteenth year, it is the only 2021 EE British Academy Film Awards category to be voted for by the British public. Celebrating new and up-and-coming talent within the industry, past recipients of the EE Rising Star Award have gone on to become household names and achieve some of cinema’s highest accolades. The prestigious list of previous winners includes James McAvoy, Eva Green, Juno Temple, Tom Hardy, Kristen Stewart, Noel Clarke, Jack O’Connell, Will Poulter, John Boyega, Tom Holland, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright and last year’s winner Micheal Ward.

For the first time in BAFTA EE Rising Star Award history, the jury meeting took place over video conferencing. The assembly saw the jury passionately deliberate over which five will go head-to-head in the public vote ahead of the 2021 EE British Academy Film Awards, which opens on Wednesday 3rd March 2021. The winner will be revealed at the ceremony on Sunday 11th April 2021.

Accompanying Naomi Ackie, Jo Hartley and Alicia Vikander on the jury panel were an outstanding line-up of industry experts, gathered digitally to debate the merits of the emerging talent longlist.

Chaired by EMMY-winning and BAFTA-nominated television producer and BAFTA Chair, Krishnendu Majumdar, the panel also included producer and director Anand Tucker (The Girl with a Pearl Earring, Hilary and Jackie), casting directors Leo Davis (The Queen and A Very English Scandal), Nina Gold (Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Kings Speech) and Lucy Bevan (The Old Guard, An Education, and Beauty and the Beast) as well as Creative Director Gaylene Gould. The jury was completed by prominent film and arts journalists.

Alicia Vikander said: “Being a BAFTA EE Rising Star nominee was a significant marker in my career and it is an honour and delight to deliberate the shortlist for this year’s award alongside the impressive panel of jurors. In what has been a tumultuous year for the industry, watching these new faces has given me hope and excitement for the years of film to come.”

Source — EE