BRITISH ACADEMY OF FILM AND TELEVISION ARTS LOS ANGELES(R) TO HONOR KATHRYN BIGELOW AND SIR BEN KINGSLEY AT THE 2013 BAFTA LOS ANGELES BRITANNIA AWARDS PRESENTED BY BBC AMERICA ON NOVEMBER 9, 2013

BROADCAST TO AIR ON BBC AMERICA NOVEMBER 10, 2013

Los Angeles, August 5, 2013 - The British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles(R) (BAFTA Los Angeles) is pleased to announce it will honor Academy(R) and BAFTA Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow and Academy(R) and BAFTA Award-winning actor Sir Ben Kingsley at the 2013 BAFTA Los Angeles Britannia Awards presented by BBC AMERICA on Saturday, November 9, 2013 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. For the second year in a row, the BAFTA Los Angeles Britannia Awards will be broadcast on BBC AMERICA, airing in primetime November 10, 2013 at 8pm ET as a two-hour special including footage of the Britannia Awards Red Carpet.

The Britannia Awards are BAFTA Los Angeles' highest accolade, a celebration of achievements honoring individuals and companies that have dedicated their careers to advancing the entertainment arts. Academy(R) and BAFTA Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow will receive the John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Excellence in Directing, and Academy(R) and BAFTA Award-winning actor Sir Ben Kingsley will receive the Albert R. Broccoli Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Entertainment. Bigelow and Kingsley will join previously announced honoree George Clooney, who will receive the prestigious Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film. Additional honorees will be announced in the coming weeks.

"BAFTA Los Angeles is thrilled to be honoring Sir Ben Kingsley and Kathryn Bigelow at this year's Britannia Awards," said BAFTA Los Angeles Chairman Gary Dartnall. "Sir Ben is a true icon of our industry, with a proven ability to captivate filmgoers around the world with his daring and powerful performances, and Kathryn is a tremendously talented and versatile director whose work consistently challenges and entertains, no matter the genre or subject matter. As previous Academy Award and BAFTA winning artists, BAFTA Los Angeles is proud that Kathryn and Sir Ben will join us for what is certain to be a memorable evening."

"Kathryn Bigelow made history after becoming the first woman to win an Academy Award for Best Director and we are honored to recognize her ground-breaking contribution to our industry as the first woman to receive the John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Excellence in Directing. With his extraordinary career as a compelling actor who has embraced a wide spectrum of roles, Sir Ben Kingsley is a global force who exemplifies what the Albert R. Broccoli Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution stands for," commented Britannia Award Co-Chairs Rebecca Segal and Deborah Kolar.

The John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Excellence in Directing pays tribute to the legacy of the brilliant British director who made an unprecedented contribution to one of the great periods in American cinema. Recipients of this honor are deeply respected, distinctive and innovative directors, whose contribution as both technicians and artists represents the zenith of the directing profession.

Recipients of Albert R. Broccoli Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Entertainment are that rare breed of iconic and trail-blazing individuals whose innovative approach has had a profound, lasting impact on the entertainment industry and whose contributions to the moving image are second to none.

The Britannia Awards are presented annually at a gala dinner, where peers and colleagues celebrate the work and accomplishments of the year's distinguished honorees. Proceeds from the gala ceremony support BAFTA Los Angeles' on-going education, scholarship, community outreach and archival projects.

BBC AMERICA

BBC AMERICA delivers U.S. audiences high-quality, innovative and intelligent programming. Established in 1998, it has been the launch pad for talent embraced by American mainstream pop culture, including Ricky Gervais, Gordon Ramsay, Graham Norton, and successful programming formats including ground-breaking non-scripted television like Top Gear and top-rated science-fiction like Doctor Who. Owned by BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, BBC AMERICA has attracted both critical acclaim and major awards including an Emmy(R), five Golden Globes(R) and eleven Peabody Awards. The channel attracts one of cable's most affluent and educated audiences and is available on cable and satellite TV in more than 80.4 million homes. It broadcasts in both standard and high-definition, with content available On Demand across all major digital platforms. Online, www.bbcamerica.com is the place to go to dig deeper into pop culture with a British twist.

BAFTA Los Angeles

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles is the only Anglo-American professional organization founded to promote and advance original work in film, television and interactive media. BAFTA Los Angeles serves as the bridge between the Hollywood and British production and entertainment business communities, and provides exclusive access to screenings, Q&As with creative talent, produces seminars with leading UK film and television executives and the Heritage Archive, featuring broadcast-quality interviews with distinguished British members of the film and television industries, giving life to the preservation of the UK film industry for future generations.

Maintaining a long tradition of recognizing the finest filmmaking and television talent, BAFTA Los Angeles hosts a series of events, including the prestigious Britannia Awards, the Awards Season Film and Television Tea Parties in January and September and the annual Garden Party.

A commitment to professional and community education is at the heart of the Academy's charitable remit. BAFTA Los Angeles hosts the Student Film Awards and has an active Scholarship Program offering financial support and mentorship to UK students studying in the U.S. The Academy created The Inner City Cinema, a screening program providing free screenings of theatrical films to inner city areas not served by theatres. The success of Inner City Cinema has led to further free screening programs extended to multiple inner city parks through the Academy's work with both the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation (Parks After Dark) and The City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks (Teen Summer Camps).

For more information on the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles, visit www.baftala.org.