What are the Oscars and Baftas and what's the difference?

Image source, AFP/Getty Images

Each year, the film industry's top talent gather to recognise and award the stars who have lit up the silver screen.

Among the best known and most sought after awards are the Oscars and Baftas.

Film directors, producers, actors, technicians, musicians and animators can all be nominated and anyone can win.

Here's all you need to know about the biggest film award ceremonies in showbiz.

The Oscars

Video caption, Which award category would you invent?

The Oscars are thought to be the most prestigious film awards in the world.

They're organised by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which is made up of professional people in the film business.

It was set up in 1927 with just 36 members, but now there's more than 6,000 and they vote for who wins in each category.

Everyone who wins an Oscar is automatically asked to be an Academy member.

Video caption, Which films should win at the Oscars?

They're called the Oscars after the golden statue which is given out to the winners. No one's quite sure why the statue's called Oscar, but it's rumoured to be because one of the Academy members thought the statue looked a bit like her Uncle Oscar, and it stuck.

Oscar facts:

  • Walt Disney has won more Oscars than anyone else. He was nominated for 64, and won 26!
  • The youngest ever Oscar winner is actress Tatum O'Neal who was 10 when she won best supporting actress for the film Paper Moon.
  • During World War II, the winners were given Oscar statues made of plaster instead of the usual golden ones, to mark the war effort.
  • Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is the only film ever to have won every single Oscar it was nominated for.
  • And, in 2013 Daniel Day Lewis made Oscar history by becoming the first man to win the best actor prize three times.

When: This year's were announced at a ceremony in Hollywood on 26 February.

The Baftas

Image source, AFP/Getty Images

Image caption, Bafta awards are based on the theatrical masks of ancient Greece

The Baftas are the biggest film awards in Britain. They're run by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

The Academy was formed in 1947 by a group of British film producers, it aims to develop and celebrate film, television and games.

The Academy is an independent charity and in the early 1970s, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh made the decision to gift royalties to the organisation.

It has around 7,500 members and holds the film awards once a year.

Video caption, Watch Jenny's report on how Bafta awards are made

There are also special awards to celebrate children's television and video games.

The most prestigious award is The Fellowship. It's given for outstanding achievement in films throughout long careers: previous winners include Steven Spielberg, Sir Michael Caine and Charlie Chaplin.

Bafta facts:

  • The bronze Bafta award, or mask, was designed by American sculptor Mitzi Cunliffe.
  • Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, has been President of the Academy since February 2010.
  • In 2013 The Queen was presented with an honorary award to recognise her outstanding support of the film and television industries.

When: This year's winners were announced on 12 February 2017.