June Givanni receives BAFTA for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema

By Yasemin Bayındır

June Givanni was presented one of the highest honors at the 77th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) held on Sunday.

She was presented with the award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema.

In her acceptance speech she said: “It was a total shock to be selected for this award, and I'm truly humbled and blessed being one of the few women of colour to receive this prestigious award.”

She procedeed to thank her colleagues and family.

Who's June Givanni?

June Givanni is a Guyanese-born film curator based in London. She established the June Givanni Pan African Cinema Archive, a private collection that covers four decades and documents Pan-African cinema history.

According to BAFTA, the volunteer-run archive is "dedicated to preserving the history of Pan-African and Black British cinema and culture" and has over 10,000 rare and unique artefacts that document African and African diaspora.

Givanni started out in the industry as the first Festival of Third World Cinema coordinator for Third Eye London. She later created and directed the BFI's African Caribbean Film Unit and co-founded the quarterly "Black Film Bulletin" with Gaylene Gould.

Over a four-year period, she also managed the Planet Africa programming at the Toronto International Film Festival.

She has curated cinema programs for TV networks and festivals while working as a curator on five continents.

The BAFTA film awards is an annual award show to honour the best British and international contributions to film.

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