Gemma Arterton announced as juror for the 2014 EE Rising Star Award

Gemma Arterton, EE BAFTA Rising Star Award Juror

EE BAFTA Rising Star Award Jury

The EE Rising Star Award is the only accolade at the EE British Academy Film Awards voted for by the British public
Arterton to join influential film industry figures on jury including film critic Mark Kermode, director Kirk Jones and producer Pete Czernin, as well as leading film and entertainment journalists
Nominees to be announced on Monday 6 January 2014

EE today announced that British actress Gemma Arterton has joined a prestigious panel of industry experts to help draw up the shortlist for the EE Rising Star Award 2014. The jury met yesterday to decide the five nominees who will be put up for public vote in January. The nominees will be announced on Monday 6 January 2014 at BAFTA HQ and the winner will be announced at the EE British Academy Film Awards on Sunday 16 February 2014. The award is the only one at the ceremony voted for by members of the public.

Juror Gemma Arterton commented: “I’m honoured to be part of this year’s EE Rising Star Award jury. I know industry support and recognition is crucial for success when you are starting out. This is always an exciting category and I’m intrigued to see who will take the award in 2014”.

Spencer McHugh, Director of Brand at EE, commented: “Winners of the EE Rising Star Award have all gone on to land significant roles in successful films and this of course makes us very proud of the award and what it stands for. We’re thrilled to be working with our partners at BAFTA again to continue to celebrate up-and-coming talent.”

EE Rising Star Award Jury Chair Pippa Harris added: “This is my third year as jury chair and every year we think we can’t possibly match the calibre of the last shortlist, but, once again, the quality of emerging acting talent from the last 12 months is breathtaking. I’m confident the list of EE Rising Star nominees for 2014 will inspire the British public to get voting.”

About the Award

The EE Rising Star Award honours a young actor or actress who has demonstrated exceptional talent and ambition and has begun to capture the imagination of the British public. Previous winners have included Juno Temple, Tom Hardy, Kristen Stewart, Noel Clarke, Eva Green and James McAvoy. 2013’s nominees were Elizabeth Olsen, Andrea Riseborough, Suraj Sharma, Alicia Vikander and winner Juno Temple.

The award was created in honour of the late Mary Selway. A highly respected, BAFTA-winning casting director, Selway’s career spanned three decades and over ninety films. She worked with notable directors such as Steven Spielberg, Roman Polanski, Clint Eastwood and Ridley Scott, contributing to the creation of some of the silver screen's most memorable characters.

The nominee announcement will be on Monday 6 January, at which point public voting will be opened and available to all UK residents, regardless of which phone network they are on.

The 2014 EE Rising Star Award Jury

Gemma will join a raft of leading film industry figures, including jury chair Pippa Harris, Deputy Chairman of BAFTA’s Film Committee and producing partner of Sam Mendes (Starter for Ten, Revolutionary Road), film critic Mark Kermode, casting director Karen Lindsay-Stewart (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, The Woman in Black), producer Pete Czernin (In Bruges, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), director Kirk Jones (What to Expect When You’re Expecting, Nanny McPhee) and film publicist Kate Lee.

Alongside Arterton and other jurors are leading film and arts journalists Chris Hewitt (Empire), Priya Elan (Grazia), Charles Gant (Heat), Larushka Ivan-Zadeh (Metro) and Martin Robinson (Shortlist).

The EE Rising Star Award jury’s role is to select a shortlist of five nominees from the hundreds of submissions made by BAFTA members and film industry figures.

For more information on EE please visit www.ee.co.uk.

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For more information, please contact M&C Saatchi PR;

Olivia BurrellOlivia.Burrell@mcsaatchi.com0203 617 6531

Polly GoddardPolly.Goddard@mcsaatchi.com020 3617 8461

Sarah JonesSarah.jones@mcsaatchi.com07718 093115

About EE

EE is the largest and most advanced digital communications company in Britain, delivering mobile and fixed communications services to consumers, businesses, government and the wholesale market. With more than 15,000 employees and 600 retail stores, EE serves more than 27 million mobile and broadband customers on EE, Orange and T-Mobile plans.

EE runs the UK's biggest and fastest mobile network, having introduced the UK's first and only superfast 4G mobile service in 2012. In September 2013 EE's 4G coverage reached more than 60% of the UK population, with plans to cover 98% of the population by 2014. EE’s 2G coverage today reaches 99% of the population and 3G reaches 98% of the population. EE's superfast fibre broadband service covers 54% of the UK population, and ADSL broadband service covers 98.7% of the population.

EE has received extensive independent recognition including being ranked the UK's best overall network by RootMetrics®, and Best Network for Business at the 2013 Mobile Industry awards.

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About BAFTA

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is an independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public. In addition to its awards ceremonies, BAFTA has a year-round, international programme of learning events and initiatives that offers unique access to some of the world’s most inspiring talent through workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes, connecting with audiences of all ages and backgrounds across the UK, Los Angeles and New York. BAFTA relies on income from membership subscriptions, individual donations, trusts, foundations and corporate partnerships to support its ongoing outreach work. To access the best creative minds in film, TV and games production, visit www.bafta.org/guru. For more information, visit www.bafta.org.