Flash-forward to May 2021 and what do you see?
A live audience in an auditorium for the SAFTAs 15 ceremony or another quick, virtual ceremony as happened this year?
Which will it be? Which do you prefer?
Our uncertain future looms large and next year's SAFTAs have introduced additional options to mark the impact of COVID and the loud move to online as a result.
Feature films that have only screened on VOD streamers (Netflix, DStv Box Office etc.) are also eligible to enter whereas previously films had to have been screened in a cinema.
Documentary features, shorts and short films that only screened at online festivals are also able to enter.
And there's a new Best Online Content Award category, described like so:
"Awarded to the director and / or producer(s) for outstanding achievement in the realisation, production and overall success of an online series or stand-alone content. A web series or standalone content is a series of scripted or non-scripted online video/s, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet and part of a web television or digital medium."
What's cool about this award is that the series or piece must be exclusive to the internet and cannot have aired on any channel or commercial streamer.
There's also a good guffaw-worthy rule attached to it to save us from immense pain. NO TikTok videos. Ha!
"Content must be exclusively exhibited on the web (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram) and not on any commercial or traditional platforms (broadcasters, Netflix, Showmax). TikTok Videos are NOT eligible for submission."
Timewise, the content needs to be a minimum of 5 minutes and a maximum of 90 minutes.
It's a great initiative that we hope to see thrive.
The guidelines for entries in all of the categories are available on the SAFTAs website here:
SAFTAs 15 Entry Guidelines
Entries can be done here:
SAFTAs 15 submission platform
Judging will take place between January and March 2021, the nominees will be announced in April and the awards take place in May.
The deadline for entries:
Friday, 15 January 2021. On 14 January 2021 this changed to:
Friday, 22 January 2021.