BBC respond after Akinola Davies Jr’s “Free Palestine” comment cut from Baftas broadcast
The BBC have issued a clarification after Akinola Davies Jr’s “Free Palestine” comment was omitted from the Baftas broadcast.
Davies Jr won the ‘Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer’ alongside his brother Wale Davies for their work on My Father’s Shadow.
However, his full speech didn’t make it to the air. The British-Nigerian writer said at the Royal Festival Hall during the ceremony that his award was dedicated to “all those whose parents migrated to obtain a better life for their children”.
He continued, “To the economic migrant. The conflict migrant. Those under occupation, dictatorship, persecution, and those experiencing genocide. You matter. Your stories matter more than ever. Your dreams are an act of resistance to those watching at home.”
Davies Jr ended by stating, “Archive your loved ones. Archive your stories yesterday, today, and forever. For Nigeria, for London, the Congo, Sudan, free Palestine.” This section of the speech wasn’t aired on BBC One.
Notably, the ceremony begins at 5pm in London and is later condensed down into a two-hour timeslot on BBC One from 7pm to 9pm, which the broadcaster has said is the reason why Davies Jr’s political comments weren’t shown on television.
A spokesperson told Deadline, “The live event is three hours and it has to be reduced to two hours for its on-air slot. The same happened to other speeches made during the night and all edits were made to ensure the programme was delivered to time.”
They continued, “All winners’ speeches will be available to watch via Bafta’s YouTube channel.”
In a recent exclusive interview with Far Out, Davies Jr explained the genesis of his Bafta-winning film, revealing, “My brother was working for Nigerian TV, and he had a prompt of writing a letter to a bereaved friend or family member. And I think that’s when he wrote the short version of My Father’s Shadow. And that was a long time ago.”
The award-winner continued, “He sent it to me, and I read it and just broke down in tears, and it didn’t have everything it had in there, but it had the beach scene and the bit at the beginning.”
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