BBC AMERICA TO BROADCAST U.S. PREMIERE OF BAFTA FILM AWARDS

In the heart of awards season, between the Golden Globes� and The Academy Awards, the Orange British Academy Film Awards sees the biggest movie stars in Britain and Hollywood come together to honor this year's best in film. Hosted by Jonathan Ross, the 2011 Awards will broadcast from London's Royal Opera House on Sunday, February 13 and will once again be premiered on the same day in the U.S. exclusively by BBC AMERICA.

As in previous years, tension will be high as well-known faces such as Colin Firth, Natalie Portman, James Franco, Helena Bonham Carter and Christian Bale vie for the BAFTA gold statuette, which more often than not have given a strong indication of who may walk away with the Academy Award� a few weeks later. The Orange British Academy Film Awards premieres Sunday, February 13, 8:00p.m. ET/PT including a 30-minute red carpet pre-show.

The 2011 BAFTA nominations were announced this morning with The King's Speech leading the pack with 14 nominations, including recognition in both the Outstanding British Film and Best Film categories. The Social Network, fresh off its win for Best Motion Picture, Drama at the Golden Globe� Awards was also nominated in the Best Film category, along with Black Swan, Inception and True Grit.

The nominees for the Orange Wednesdays Rising Star Award, which celebrates the best young actors and actresses from Britain and abroad, were announced earlier this month. The nominees are Andrew Garfield (The Social Network), Tom Hardy (Inception), Gemma Arterton (Tamara Drewe), Aaron Johnson (Kick Ass) and Emma Stone (Easy A). Twilight's Kristen Stewart was last year's winner. This audience award is voted for by the British public and presented to an actor or actress who has demonstrated exceptional talent and promise.

The BAFTA Film Awards are awarded by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and for a full list of nominations visit www.bafta.org.

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