William to miss Bafta awards ceremony

The Prince of Wales will miss the Bafta awards ceremony this weekend, but will be championing future talent when he helps young filmmakers shoot a movie.

William attended the event last year, but it is understood he was not planning on being at the star-studded ceremony on Sunday, in his role as president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

The future king has not attended consecutive years since he took on his formal role in 2010, succeeding the actor and director Richard Attenborough.

William’s focus will be on the next generation when he visits the London Screen Academy, a sixth form in Highbury created to address the skills shortage and lack of diversity in the UK screen and creative industries.

It provides students with hands-on skills and training through a range of courses including film production, costume, editing and animation alongside traditional qualifications like maths or English A-level.

During his visit, William will tour the academy and meet students taking part in a collaboration project, which sees Year 13 students come together across four pathways – craft, technical, post-production, and production management – to transform the school into a working film set to shoot a short film.

This year’s film is called Melomania, and the young movie makers will explain their involvement to the prince who will visit the set and help them shoot a scene.