Category: Entertainment

More than six months after the British Academy faced one of its biggest controversies in years after the N-word was shouted out during the BAFTA Film awards ceremony, BAFTA has had to revisit the moment as it contends with the upcoming BAFTA Scotland awards.

The incident — which came to significantly overshadow the 2026 awards ceremony on Feb. 22 — saw John Davidson, the Tourette syndrome activist and inspiration for the film “I Swear,” involuntarily shout the racial slur while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were on stage to present the first award of the evening.

“I Swear” has now been nominated for seven BAFTA Scotland awards, considered the most in the awards’ history. Following the nominations announcement on Thursday, a letter to members from chair Sara Putt and CEO Jane Millichip, confirmed that major considerations had been undertaken to allow Davidson to attend the upcoming ceremony on Nov. 15 in Glasgow.

BAFTA said that there had been consultations with organizations such as Tourettes Action and Tourette Scotland and with Davidson. “Following those conversations and our wider risk assessment, we have made adjustments to enable John to attend in the way he has suggested to us, which is to watch the ceremony via video link from a separate relaxed space within the venue together with his family and friends,” it said.

An independent review ordered by BAFTA in the wake of the incident concluded that that there were a “number of structural weaknesses in BAFTA’s planning, escalation procedures and crisis coordination arrangements,” but found no evidence of “malicious intent” or “institutional racism.”

The letter to members sent Thursday highlighted this and said the British Academy had since “worked extensively and consulted widely” to learn from what happened and the “racial harm experienced by our community” and to make its awards as “inclusive and as safe as possible.”

See the full letter below.

As the BAFTA Awards season is now underway, with the Cymru Awards set to take place on Sunday, quickly followed by the Scotland Awards in November, we wanted to take this opportunity to update you on the work BAFTA has undertaken since the Film Awards earlier this year.

The independent review commissioned by the Board in March identified specific areas for improvement. Since then, the BAFTA team has worked extensively and consulted widely on best practice to learn from what happened in February and the racial harm experienced by our community, and to make our Awards events as inclusive and as safe as possible.

We have strengthened and centralised our safeguarding, risk assessment and compliance processes, creating a more connected, intersectional and cross-organisational approach to live event planning. We have also simplified communication and escalation routes so concerns can reach the right people quickly, and strengthened briefings for everyone working with us, including hosts, presenters and citation readers.

With all our guests in mind, we have sought independent advice on inclusion and accessibility best practice from a range of experts. There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach and adjustments should always be tailored, so our planning will aim to better understand individual requirements and consider how this can be supported alongside the safety and dignity of everyone attending. Where adjustments are possible, we will work closely with individuals, supported by experienced access coordinators, to accommodate them.

We recognise that rebuilding trust requires more than changing processes. The review also challenged us to strengthen BAFTA’s cultural understanding and capability. We have engaged with organisations and experts with experience across race, disability, inclusion and international cultural context and we are developing further training for our staff. This work continues.

For the upcoming BAFTA Scotland Awards, for which I Swear has received seven nominations, we have worked with both safeguarding and inclusion experts to consider the arrangements necessary to enable John Davidson MBE, whose life inspired I Swear and who is an Executive Producer of the film, to participate in the safest way possible for all.

We have consulted organisations including Tourettes Action and Tourette Scotland and, most importantly, we have been speaking directly to John. Following those conversations and our wider risk assessment, we have made adjustments to enable John to attend in the way he has suggested to us, which is to watch the ceremony via video link from a separate relaxed space within the venue together with his family and friends.

John has Tourette Syndrome and experiences coprolalia, a type of vocal tic involving the involuntary expression of socially inappropriate words or phrases. These vocalisations, like all tics, are neurological in origin, occur outside of the individual’s control, and do not reflect a person’s views, beliefs, character or intentions.

At the same time, we know that involuntary vocal tics involving words relating to race, religion, sexuality or other protected characteristics can cause distress and harm to others, and it is BAFTA’s responsibility to plan for and mitigate any such impact on our guests.

We take this very seriously. These changes reflect a broader principle we are embedding in our Awards planning: listening to people about their needs, preparing carefully, and creating an environment in which everyone is treated with dignity and respect.

We know that no live event can be entirely risk-free. We will continue to test our processes, review how they operate in practice and be accountable for improving them. We will do everything we can to make sure every guest feels safe, welcome, and included at our Awards.

Thank you to the members, committees, advisers, community organisations and external experts who have challenged us, shared their experience and helped us improve.

With best wishes

Sara and Jane

Spain’s independent production scene is leaning into a familiar playbook — strong creators, distinctive local stories and plenty of hustle — while looking for new ways to make those stories travel.

At the 6th Iberseries & Platino Industria confab in Madrid, executives from Imagina (Imagina becomes the new corporate name of Grup Mediapro from Jan. 1, 2027) companies Globomedia, 100 Balas, Big Bang Media, Cimarrón Cine and El Terrat laid out strategies that, despite their different slates, share a common thread: don’t chase scale for scale’s sake. Build projects around talent, stay nimble and find the right production model for each story.

Globomedia’s entertainment slate remains closely tied to comedy, a genre that director general Maria Jose Rodríguez said is embedded in the company’s DNA. The company has been behind influential Spanish TV titles including “Sé lo que hicisteis” and “Caiga quien caiga” — shows that, she argued, helped reshape the country’s television landscape.

“Comedy is the best tool we have to entertain, generate critical thinking and connect with one another,” Rodríguez said.

For 100 Balas, real-life stories and creator-driven fiction are at the heart of the strategy. Director General Alejandro Flórez described the company as “a production company with stories, with origins and with authors,” pointing to real cases, investigations and creators capable of building their own worlds.

The producer is behind scripted thriller “Death in Llanes,” based on the murder of Spanish politician Javier Ardines, and documentary series “Expediente Linares,” about the alleged paranormal phenomena surrounding Madrid’s Palacio de Linares. On the fiction side, titles including “Celeste,” “Su Majestad” and “Yakarta” reflect the company’s focus on projects with strong creative identities.

“At a time when the audiovisual offering is broader than ever, the real differentiator continues to be the stories and those capable of telling them in a unique way,” Flórez said. “It’s not about producing more content. It’s about producing content that leaves a mark.”

The company is also betting on the second season of “Celeste,” created by Diego San José and starring the ever-popular Carmen Machi, who was honored with the prestigious National Film Prize at San Sebastian Festival, as a tax inspector who delves again into tax evasions, money and powerful interests.

On international expansion, Flórez said: “We don’t make series thinking about traveling,” he said. “You shouldn’t be afraid of being local.” For Flórez, a distinctly Spanish voice can be precisely what gives a series international legs.

At Big Bang Media, meanwhile, live television remains a major part of the DNA. General manager Carmen González pointed to “Malas Lenguas,” which has evolved across RTVE’s La 2 and La 1, different time slots and different presenting teams.

“It’s a typical example in television,” González said of the show’s ability to move between channels and audiences while retaining its identity.

The producer is also pushing deeper into fiction. “Ser o no ser,” made for RTVE Play, ran for two seasons and targeted younger audiences, while “Pérdida” has expanded internationally via Atresplayer. Big Bang is now developing projects with bestselling author María Dueñas and “La Dama de la Cartuja,” a period drama based on Inma Aguilera’s novel.

“We’re looking for creators who have a lot to say, as well as literary titles that we believe can make an important leap to the screen,” González said.

Across the Atlantic-facing Spanish-language market, Cimarrón Cine is taking the borderless approach a step further. CEO-co-founder Santiago López likened the company to Uruguay’s cimarrón dogs, a breed shaped by generations of mixing and adaptation.

“Cimarrón is also a mixture,” López said. “We started as a mix of two countries and are now a mix of five countries, of very different formats and projects, but above all of very different people.”

That mix is increasingly feeding original development. López said that five years ago, roughly one in five projects was created in-house; today it is one in three, with the company aiming for one in two.

Its model is deliberately cross-border. Cimarrón has taken Spanish format “El Conquistador del Fin del Mundo” to Mexico and the U.S., shot it in the Dominican Republic and completed work in the Southern Cone. It has also adapted Argentine novel “Cometierra” across Mexico and Uruguay.

“There is no territory that thinks while the others simply execute,” López said. “We try not to make the stories smaller. We make the project possible so that the story can be possible.”

Creative director Andrés Gelós summed up the philosophy in more colorful terms: after spending decades as a “lone wolf,” he now sees Cimarrón as a creative “pack.”

Finally, El Terrat is using almost four decades of comedy and entertainment experience to make a bigger fiction play. General manager Agustín Esteve acknowledged that the company remains best known for entertainment but said its ambition is clear: “Our goal for some time now has been to also be recognized for fiction.”

Its latest feature, “5 minutos más,” produced with Ikiru for Movistar Plus, premiered at San Sebastián, where Javier Cámara won the Silver Shell for supporting actor. The Berto Romero-scripted film, directed by Javier Ruiz Caldera, mixes comedy, thriller and apocalyptic elements.

“We struggled for a long time to define what genre this film belongs to,” Esteve said. “But however you define it, it’s a film with a broad audience.”

El Terrat is also developing Season 2 of “Otro Mundo” for Movistar Plus+ and “Amadas” for 3Cat, while expanding its documentary work with “SerYo,” centered on actor Sergio Peris-Mencheta’s experience during cancer treatment, directed by Marta Solaz, Verónica Díaz Pérez and Peris-Mencheta and the Emmy International-nominated docu ‘Temps Mort,’ co-produced with 3Cat.

Across all five companies, the message was remarkably consistent: the market may be crowded, budgets may be tight and production increasingly complicated, but distinctive voices still matter.

For Esteve, the formula comes down to “talent, irreverence, risk, passion, honesty and play” — plus one decidedly unglamorous ingredient: “the desire to work, because without work none of this is possible.”

New York City Ballet principal dancer Tiler Peck will make her West End debut in “Little Dancer,” the Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty musical about the girl who posed for Edgar Degas’ famous sculpture.

It opens at London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket on Feb. 15, 2027. Susan Stroman directs and choreographs the limited run, which will close on March 27.

The musical follows Marie van Goethem, a poor 14-year-old who wanted to become a great dancer and ended up as the model for Degas’ iconic sculpture. It’s set in Belle Époque Paris. The show previously sold out runs in Washington, D.C., and Seattle, as well as a 2025 concert performance at London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane.

Julian Ovenden (“High Society,” “Downton Abbey”) will play Degas. Laura Pitt-Pulford (“Standing at the Sky’s Edge,” “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers”) plays the adult Marie, and Josefina Gabrielle (“Chicago,” “Les Misérables”) plays Martine. All three have been Olivier nominees.

“Many people know of the ‘Little Dancer’ sculpture, but few know much about the girl, the muse, who inspired it,” Peck said. “This show is about two determined artists willing to do anything for their craft, and it reveals a whole new side to Degas’ masterpiece.”

Stroman has won five Tony Awards and two Oliviers, and her credits include “The Producers,” “Crazy for You,” “Contact” and “Oklahoma!” Ahrens, who writes the book and lyrics, and composer Flaherty are also Tony and Olivier winners. Their credits include “Ragtime,” “Anastasia” and “Once on This Island.”

“Just as Degas was inspired by Marie, Marie inspired me,” Stroman said. “She wanted to be a great dancer, and inadvertently, through art, became the most famous dancer in the world.”

Ovenden is going back to the Haymarket for the production. He said Ahrens and Flaherty had written “a deeply moving show about art, ambition and the lives of artists.” He added: “I also feel incredibly lucky to be surrounded by such extraordinary women at the very top of their game – Susan Stroman, Tiler Peck, Laura Pitt-Pulford and Josefina Gabrielle.”

Peck was recently named NYCB’s first Choreographic Associate, the first woman to hold a choreographic title in the company’s history. She won an Emmy for the PBS “Great Performances” documentary “Tiler Peck: Suspending Time.” She also received an Olivier nomination for “Turn It Out With Tiler Peck and Friends.” On screen, she choreographed for “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum” and appeared in Netflix’s “Tiny Pretty Things” and Prime Video’s “Étoile.” She is currently scheduled to dance every performance through March 20.

The design team includes Tony winners Beowulf Boritt (sets), Ken Billington (lighting), William Ivey Long (costumes) and Kai Harada (sound). Orchestrations are by Doug Besterman and Larry Hochman. Sam Davis handles music supervision and dance arrangements, and Jill Green Casting handles casting.

Anita Waxman is lead producer, with Jana Shea, Patricia R. Klausner/Sharon A. Carr, Emily Blavatnik and Danny Cohen. Iwan Lewis is U.K. executive producer, and Short Street Productions is general manager.

“We’ve always had big ambitions for this beautiful show, and London is just the beginning,” Waxman said. “We can’t wait to take ‘Little Dancer’ to the world.”