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BASE Awards Set For September 2021

Entries Now Open To Celebrate A Momentous Year

The British Association for Screen Entertainment (BASE) has today announced that entries to the BASE Awards 2021 are now open, with a fresh list of awards categories set to reflect and celebrate the full spectrum of the home entertainment category in a remarkable year.

The 41st BASE Awards will take centre stage at Camden’s iconic Roundhouse on 9th September, and reunite colleagues from across the industry to celebrate the huge achievements from distribution, retail, creative and media, all forged under the unexpected pressures of 2020. The BASE team are working closely with members, and government guidelines, on Covid-safe event logistics to ensure the safety and security of the event.

To ensure this year’s BASE Awards truly reflect the unique changes of the past year, the categories have been reviewed and refreshed to embrace all eligible content. Key changes include; Distributor of the Year, now split into Physical and Digital awards to fully recognise the achievements in both formats; and the Campaign of the Year for Film – Box Office categories condensed to three brackets to reflect the impact of cinema closures on the New Release slate.

Four exciting new Awards categories have also been introduced; the Campaign of the Year – Reactive/Debut/Premiere for New Release and Catalogue have been designed to celebrate the success of the many non-traditional campaigns of the last year across all product ages; the strength of premium physical content is spotlighted in the Campaign of the Year – High Value/Premium Release/4K; and the Social Impact Award provides space to celebrate socially minded initiatives that enhance organisations’ positive impact on the category and beyond.

Entry forms are now available to download from the BASE website along with refreshed guidelines on the online entry process and parameters for each category. Submission templates and judging criteria have been reviewed and restructured in consultation with members to ensure the process for entering and judging is reflective of the past year’s market. Intention to enter forms must be submitted to BASE by close of play on Friday, 28th May and the deadline for the full submission is close of play on Friday, 11th June.

Entry fee per submission is charged at £150+VAT for member companies and £180+VAT for non-member companies, apart from the Category Hero award, for which there is no charge to submit your nomination.

For BASE, the health and well-being of all of its members and colleagues are the ultimate priority. A final judgement will be made in July regarding a large-scale in-person September event. An alternative date is held for November, and a virtual celebration will take place in Q4 should an in-person event be unable to proceed this year. The judging processes are guaranteed and winners will be celebrated in November if not before.

Liz Bales, Chief Executive, British Association for Screen Entertainment, said: “After one of the most extraordinary and challenging years on record the BASE team have worked incredibly hard to make sure the 41st BASE Awards has evolved to reflect the complex circumstances that framed 2020. As always, the Awards provide the perfect opportunity to shine a light on the exceptional achievements across our category, and whether it’s side by side at the legendary Camden Roundhouse, or, if necessary, a virtual ceremony later in the year to follow the success of last year’s online event, we are determined we will come together in 2021 to celebrate the stellar achievements of our passionate and devoted industry.”

A full list of the Awards Categories, Intention To Enter Forms & Guideline/Submission documents can be found here

The 2021 BASE Awards categories in full are as follows:

  1. Physical Retailer of the Year
  2. Digital Retailer of the Year
  3. Outstanding Innovation
  4. Retailer/Platform Initiative of the Year
  5. Campaign of the Year for FILM – up to £1m Box Office
  6. Campaign of the Year for FILM – £1m – £9.99m Box Office
  7. Campaign of the Year for FILM – over £10m Box Office
  8. Campaign of the Year for TV
  9. Campaign of the Year for Special Interest
  10. Campaign of the Year for Catalogue – Single Product
  11. Campaign of the Year for Catalogue – Multiple Product
  12. PR / Publicity Initiative of the Year
  13. External Team of the Year
  14. Creative Marketing Initiative of the Year
  15. Digital Distributor of the Year
  16. Physical Distributor of the Year
  17. Title of the Year
  18. Category Hero
  19. NEW – Campaign of the Year – Reactive/Debut/Premiere (New Release)
  20. NEW – Campaign of the Year – Reactive/Debut/Premiere (Catalogue)
  21. NEW – Campaign of the Year – High Value/Premium Release/4K (New Release)
  22. NEW – Social Impact Award
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