Following Oscars, BAFTA moves 2021 Film Awards to April 11

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has pushed back the dates of its 2021 Film Awards function following the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' decision to push the Oscar Awards ceremony to April.

According to Variety, the next edition of BAFTA Awards will take place on April 11, just two weeks before the Oscars which have been rescheduled to April 25.

In an official statement, BAFTA said that the ceremony has been postponed from February 14 to April 11, acknowledging the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the entertainment industry.

"This change from the previously announced date of February 14 acknowledges the impact of the global pandemic and accommodates an extended eligibility period. Further details on the ceremony will be announced later in the year," Variety quoted BAFTA as saying.

The BAFTA awards usually precede Oscars. This year's BAFTA function was held on February 2 followed by Oscar Awards that were held on February 9.

"BAFTA has worked for the last three years with the BFI and has been consulting with AMPAS, with the hope being that between the three orgsations, we can create standards that will apply everywhere. It means that all of the various awards can be subject to passing diversity standards. That should in turn galvse the progress of diversity across the whole industry," Variety quoted Marc Samuelson, chair of BAFTA's film committee as saying.

Earlier this year, BAFTA had delayed its TV awards due to the coronavirus outbreak. The TV awards were scheduled to be held in May but were postponed to July 31.

( With inputs from ANI )