BAFTA chief praises 'Slumdog', 'Mamma Mia!'

BAFTA chief David Parfitt has admitted that he is pleased British productions Slumdog Millionaire and Mamma Mia! have secured nominations at this year's film awards.

Danny Boyle's Slumdog tied with US film The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button as the BAFTA frontrunner with 11 nominations, while musical Mamma Mia! scored nods in the outstanding British film, best music and Carl Foreman award categories.

Discussing the nominations with DS, Parfitt said: "I have to be unbiased and I never say what I'm voting for. I was over in the States in November when [Slumdog] was just opening and the buzz about the film was really, really good.

"It is an underdog story, it's a film that must have been quite difficult to get made. I don't think it had a huge budget but it's got a fantastic team behind it - Simon Beaufoy's script, Danny Boyle directing, that's the 'A' team."

Parfitt admitted that Mamma Mia!'s huge commercial success could have dissuaded voters from nominating it.

"You could see it as not a film professional's film because it was such a popular success and you might think that the voters are going look for the most artistically satisfying film of the year," he commented.

The 2009 Orange British Academy Film Awards ceremony takes place at London's Royal Opera on February 8.

> BAFTA Film Awards 2009: The Nominees