The British Academy Children's Film & Television Awards 2002 Nominations (Press release)

Hobbits, wizards, monsters and a small mouse will all be hoping to walk away with a

BAFTA at this years British Academy Childrens Film and Television Awards in

association with the LEGO Company. Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring,

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, Monsters Inc. and Stuart Little 2 have

all been nominated in the category Feature Film1, and the winner will be announced

on 24th November in a ceremony at Londons Park Lane Hilton. The glittering event,

now in its seventh year, will be hosted by comedian and TV personality Richard

Blackwood and will honour the best in childrens TV and film in front of a star studded

audience from the worlds of TV, film and sport.

The past year has seen childrens programming tackle some very tough issues. This

is reflected in the nominations for Schools Drama, with Scene: Offside, Off Limits:

Growing Up Gay, Sarah and the Whammi Bullies and Book Box: Double Act

hoping to win a coveted mask. The Factual category also has nominations for

serious issues, notably for Newsround Extra: Afghanistan. Other nominations in

this category are Art Attack, DIY TV and The Really Wild Show.

The Presenter category is always one of the most hotly contended at the awards,

and this year is no exception. Two presenters from Blue Peter, Konnie Huq and

Matt Baker will go head to head, with Angelica Ball from BBC on-air presentation

and Ortis from Short Change also being nominated. In the Entertainment category,

SM:TV Live is nominated for the third year running, along with CD:UK, Bring It On

and Jungle Run.

1 Films can be of any genre, but with a family appeal (U, PG or 12). They must have had their

first UK theatrical screening between 1st August 2001 and 31st July 2002.

To reflect the increasing use of interactivity in childrens programming, BAFTA has

created a new Interactive category. The nominations Cbeebies Interactive TV

Services, Diggit.co.uk, Scooby Microsite and Tiny Planets are all linked to

qualifying TV programmes. Another new category this year is for Writer and the

nominations are Richard Carpenter for I Was A Rat, Daniel Peacock for Harry &

Cash, Peter Tabern for Stig of the Dump and Roy Williams for Scene: Offside.

As well as the categories that are judged by the BAFTA juries, there will also be the

audience award, the LEGO/BAFTA Kids Vote. By voting online from 4th November

at www.baftalego.com, children will be able to vote from a shortlist drawn up by each

of the participating broadcasters.2

As well as 14 prestigious categories, BAFTA will also give two Special Awards for

outstanding creative contribution to childrens programming.

BAFTAs Chief Executive, Amanda Berry, said, "There have been a huge amount of

entries for the 2002 awards from both terrestrial and satellite broadcasters. All

entries have exceeded expectations in terms of quality, content and production, from

both the small and large screen. I am particularly grateful to the LEGO Company for

their unfaltering support, not only of the event itself but also their outstanding

commitment to the LEGO/BAFTA Kids Vote."

2 Cartoon Network, CBBC, CiTV, Channel 4, Disney, Fox Kids, Nickelodeon and S4C