Amma Asante, Carey Mulligan and Gemma Arterton are among those working with the UK branch of Time’s Up to draw attention to the work of women and creatives from diverse backgrounds that they feel should have been recognised by Bafta.
The members of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts chose only to nominate white performers at this year’s film awards and no female directors were recognised.
Dame Heather Rabbatts, chairwoman of Time’s Up UK, which campaigns for gender equality, said there were “glaring omissions” in the nominations, which sparked the Twitter trend #BaftasSoWhite.
She added: “Time’s Up UK wants to ensure we do not let these awards pass by without us raising the profile of those whose endeavours and performances have not made it to the nominations.
“So, we are running a social media campaign which will highlight those who are absent and who we also want to see recognised.
“For example, exceptional female-directed films such as Atlantique, Booksmart, The Farewell, Harriet, Honey Boy, Hustlers, Little Women, The Nightingale, Queen & Slim and Portrait Of A Lady On Fire.
“Recall performances from Lupita Nyong’o, Jennifer Lopez, Cynthia Erivo, Jodie Turner-Smith and Marianne Jean-Baptiste.
“Chiwetel Ejiofor’s The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind, and the performances by Michael B Jordan and Jamie Foxx in Just Mercy.
“This is not about taking away from the talent that has been nominated, we congratulate all of those nominated and we all know the hard work and total commitment to achieve this accolade.
“But alongside, there are others who should be standing on that carpet. We really hope you will join with us in celebrating the rich and diverse roster of talent before us.
“This ‘invisibility’ is even more shocking given the choices which were available and the strength of films and performances where black talent was apparent this year.”
Asante, who has directed films including Belle and A United Kingdom, said her pick for the best actress Bafta would be Turner-Smith for her role in Queen & Slim opposite Daniel Kaluuya.
Mulligan said she would nominate director Lorene Scafaria for her work on Hustlers, while Arterton said: “I loved Booksmart and can’t believe it didn’t get any nods, especially for the acting and first-time director (Olivia Wilde). Same goes for The Nightingale and Portrait Of A Lady On Fire.”
Yesterday star Himesh Patel said he would have chosen to nominate Lee Jung Eun in the best supporting actress category for Parasite and Tzi Ma in the best supporting actor category for The Farewell.
Joely Richardson said she would have nominated her mother Vanessa Redgrave for her turn in Mrs Lowry & Son while Ophelia Lovibond said she would have picked Erivo for Harriet, Gerwig for directing Little Women and Kaluuya for Queen & Slim.
The alternative Bafta nominations will be shared on Time’s Up UK’s Instagram feed over the next week in the run up to the Baftas on Sunday.