"12 Years a Slave" wins BAFTA

Congratulations to Chiwetel Ejiofor and the team behind the BAFTA Best Film 2014, and commiserations to Steve McQueen. The vote to choose Alfonso Cuaron over McQueen as Best Director must have been a close one, judging by the clips of both films shown on TV.

I have a sneaking feeling that the film will not do so well at the Academy Awards. It has a worthy subject, but one that the Americans still do not like to be reminded of. Spielberg's "Amistad", also dealing with slavery, was nominated in only four categories and did not win one. There is also likely to be resentment that it is a Brit who brings the dark past of both our nations to the fore again.