The 6th edition of the National Film Awards – Update, Briefing & New Date

Contents:

1.Postponement due to Covid-19

2. The 6^th NFA Edition
3. 2021 New Strategy

4. Nominations & Voting

5. Sponsors & Partners

6. Tickets & Tables

7. The Academy & Foundation

 

1. Postponement due to Covid-19:

The National Film Academy announced the official nominations for the 6^th edition of the National Film Awards UK on the 13^th of January 2020. Public voting commenced until the 10^th of March 2020 and the awards were set to take place on the 20^th of March 2020 at the Porchester Hall in London. However, the world was hit with a Pandemic which we now know as the Corona virus or Covid 19. The Academy and its board members across 14 cities held an emergency meeting in London which included management from the host venue and consultation from the Health secretary’s office. In lieu of the potential risks posed by the virus to our nominees, partners, production staff, sponsors, academy staff, media and general audience. An executive decision was taken to postpone the 6^th NFA edition to July 2020. It now transpires that the right decision was made as we witnessed a global lockdown starting to happen two days after we made our announcement. Several weeks leading up to July, we remained in close consultation with government officials who advised us that the easing off period known as lockdown will commence more slowly than anticipated due to the rising levels of infection. With this in mind, we announced a postponement on the 25^th of May to our new September date. As we conclude the month of August, we have been advised by the government that gatherings and events will have to be restricted to under 30. Downing Street said the new coronavirus regulations, which took effect on the 4 July, will put a limit on gatherings for the next few months. These health protection regulations were signed by Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

 

2. The NFA 6^th Edition:

Each year, the academy has an official remit to host an annual National Film Awards which represents and celebrates the best British films, talent, and productions of the previous year. 2020, represented the 6^th edition which cannot be skipped to the 7^th edition as this will go against academy policy. Hence, the new date for the 6^th annual National Film Awards will be the 1^st of July 2021.

The reason why the academy chose July 2021 rather than our usually allotted slot in March is due to advise from the government to when the forecast will be for a much more stable environment and also gives the British public a huge opportunity to climatize with the new normal prior to the summer of 2021.

 

Details:

Event: 6^th annual National Film Awards UK

Date: 1^st of July 2021

Venue: Porchester Hall, Porchester Rd,

London

W2

Status: Confirmed

3. 2021 New Strategy

The National Film Academy 2021 strategy will start from January 2021 and lead up to July 2021 to ensure that the opportunity for change is capitalised by all to gain from this unprecedent moment. Below, is an outline of our 2021 strategy month by month leading up to the 6^th annual National Film Awards.

 

Timeline of Activity:

January 2021:

– Re-announcement of  6^th annual NFA edition nominees

-Announcement of 3 new categories exclusive to the 6^th NFA edition only added to the current list of categories to represent films that were released in 2021. The categories to include;

-Best Film Release of 2021

-Best Independent Film of 2021

-Best Talent Performance in a Film in 2021

 

February 2021:

-Announcement of all official sponsors and partners -Commencement of sponsor strategy

Announcement of a brand new annual National Film Festival showcasing nominated films and interviews, podcasts and seminars featuring nominated films. To be included or to take part in the festival. E-mail: academy@nationalfilmawards.co.uk

 

March 2021:

-Announcement of the recipient of the NFA Lifetime Achievement Award and recipient of the NFA Outstanding Contribution to Motion Picture award

 

April 2021:

-Nationwide PR & Marketing campaign is launched to search for the Best Short Film. -Thousands of entries are expected nationwide -TV and Digital broadcast partner are announced

 

May 2021:

-Shortlist of 50 of the Best Short Films submitted is released online for members of the academy and the film fans to watch and vote online

 

June 2021:

-All online voting for the 6^th NFA is finalised

-Host of the NFA 6^th Edition is announced

-Red carpet & Backstage presenters are announced

 

July 2021:

The 6^th Edition of the National Film Awards takes place on the 1^st of July -Winners of the 6^th NFA are announced

-Winners of the 2021 categories are announced

-Winner of the Best Short Film competition is announced, and prize awarded

-Recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award & Outstanding Contribution to Motion Picture is announced

 

August 2021:

-Broadcast date is announced

-Date for the 2022 – 7^th Edition is announced

-Submission for 2022 nominees are now open

 

4. Nominations & Voting:

-Public voting for the 6^th edition of the NFA closed on the 10^th of March 2020. However, public voting will now be re-opened from January to provide an opportunity for individuals who have not previously voted to vote.

• The reopening of voting will also provide an opportunity for film fans who have recently watched shortlisted films to also exercise their votes.

 

Rules:

-Please, note that all previous votes before the 2020 deadline will still be included in the final results.

-If you have voted in 2020, there is no need to vote again as your votes are already included.

-The votes are only one vote per person.

-From time to time, the academy may contact the voting party to request additional ID, if both IP Addresses, name, e-mail or phone numbers match a previous voter.

 

New 2021 Nominations:

-For the newly added categories representing 2021, all academy members and previous voters can vote.

 

5. Sponsors & Partners:

The National Film Academy is always delighted to introduce great brands who partner and grow with the academy via our marketing and sponsorship programs. Covid-19 has been classed as a pandemic which we have reflected in our terms under force majeure. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the ability of businesses around the globe to maintain operations and fulfil existing contractual obligations. In just a matter of days, the World Health Organization (“WHO”) declared COVID-19 a pandemic, governments imposed unprecedented travel, movement, and large-gathering restrictions. Although, a huge percentage of activity has been finalised prior to the awards. Covid-19 affecting the date of the awards prevented us from completing our contractual obligations with partners/sponsors by delivering the actual event on the original date. The implementation of travel, movement, and large-gathering restrictions have altered the force majeure landscape. However, the academy has always had a clause in place to protect all sponsors and partners to ensure that non-performance or completion of packages is always protected on behalf of all our clients which means although there are no refunds granted as per our terms. All clients have an absolute right to the entire current package at the next event. With this in mind;

-All current sponsors/partners to receive a full reinstated package with PR/Marketing commencing from January.

-All current sponsors/partners will receive an additional 5-month PR/Marketing in line with the full schedule with no additional payment required.

-All current sponsors/partners will be granted rights to defer or first option to any edition if they are not available to participate in the 2021.

-All current sponsors/partners will be included in all activity surrounding the new edition including month by month activity from January not previously available under initial agreement.

Apart from our current sponsors who by default will have all naming rights and packages for the 2020 edition re-instated. There is now an opening for any new sponsors/partners who would like to get involved with the 2021 edition. To express interest, e-mail: academy@nationalfilmawards.co.uk

 

6. Tickets & Tables:

-Similar, to our previous point 5 in this document. Your Tickets and Tables will also be automatically moved to the 2021 event.

-If for any reason you are not able to attend a new date. You will still be able to utilise your already booked tickets/tables at the next edition of the awards.

-Your tickets also remain transferable to a next party to attend on your behalf

-Your tickets/tables are still valid, and your table numbers allocated will also all remain the same.

 

7. The Academy & Foundation

COVID-19 has affected the film community, leaving thousands of film creators and professionals with an uncertain future. We are here to help. National Film Academy has partnered in the Reset Relief Foundation to help our peers in the film community affected by the coronavirus pandemic. If you would like to help or support this mission. E-mail: academy@nationalfilmawards.co.uk