BAFTA - A LIFE IN PICTURES

I was proud to be able to attend the Bafta Life in Pictures Event with Actress Kiera Knightley and hear first hand about her career as an Actress and now Producer. Always a pleasure to visit BAFTA At the event, there was a Q and A session, and I asked Kiera Knightley about her interest and experience of Virtual Reality, to which she responded how fascinated she was by the medium and its possibilities for entertainment.It was so inspirational to speak with one of my most favourite and such a talented star of theatre and film on the subject of Virtual Reality. In addition, I would connect with BAFTA in regards to immersive film development in the United Kingdom in 2019.

I had begun attending BAFTA events in 2015 when I discovered their Bafta Guru events, aimed to provide access to learning and industry events to young professionals in film in the UK. I attended learning events such as the Screenwriting Lecture Series at BAFTA, as well as the Greening the Screen event for sustainability in film and a diverse selection of film seasons and partner's supportive events of both socially conscious causes of which I am of course a strong supporter. 

Since attending the events, I have had the pleasure of hearing first hand from Gary Oldman, Will Ferrell, Charlize Theron, Jeremy Irons, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Sir Ben Kingsley and many more. I would have a most definitive moment of my young life in film, meeting Sir Ben Kingsley and speaking with him about my desire to change my name from Siddiq to Sidney, as I wanted to called Sidney Malik in my acting and film credits, to which he gave his blessing!

Moments such as these not only helped define me as an artist but provided the inspiration needed to continue to dedicate my life to the film industry. The film industry like any other creative industry has its challenges and being from a diverse background, I like many others have experienced the trials and tribulations of being a filmmaker.

But as stated, events such as these inspire us to take chances, much like the people we see on stage, who’s life in pictures is a story we can all achieve and that’s why I love these events. Each time, I hear from one of my icons and larger than life idols, I learn how difficult it was for them and how very much like of us they are. It is an incredibly humbling and rewarding experience and I want to thank BAFTA for providing these events and access to the wonderful world of British Film, I look forward to the new year and their future slate of events!