Peter Greenaway to Receive BAFTA for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is delighted to announce that Peter Greenaway CBE will receive the Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award at the EE British Academy Film Awards ceremony at London's Royal Opera House on Sunday February 16th.

The Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award is presented annually in honour of Michael Balcon. Previous recipients include Mike Leigh, Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jarman, Mary Selway, Ridley and Tony Scott, Working Title Films, Lewis Gilbert, John Hurt and the Harry Potter series of films. Last year's recipient was Tessa Ross, the controller of Film and Drama at Channel 4 who heads up feature film division Film4.

Nik Powell, Chairman of BAFTA's Film Committee, said: "Peter Greenaway is an iconic British filmmaker who has worked with many of our most accomplished actors including Michael Gambon, Tim Roth, Ewan McGregor and the recipient of this year's BAFTA Fellowship, Dame Helen Mirren. I'd delighted that Peter is being recognised with this award for his distinctive and innovative filmmaking career."

Peter Greenaway said: "Given the always complex effort involved, to be permitted in the first place to make films with so many collaborators always astonishes me, and to be permitted the licence to do so with such freedom to continually experiment even more so. Everyone agrees that cinema is changing its characteristics very fast and to be awarded a BAFTA for trying to contribute to that change is a pleasure and a delight, an encouragement and an acknowledgment that the effort is valuable, certainly for myself and certainly for all those numerous collaborators who have assisted me in this effort over more than thirty years."

Greenaway, the award-winning British writer and director who originally trained as a painter, is renowned for his exploration of the cinematic medium, of eroticism and death, and for his innate ability to integrate Renaissance art into his work. His most recent artistic project, entitled 'Nine Classic Paintings', uses state-of-the-art image technology to explore key masterpieces of Renaissance art and their key themes, restoring the paintings pixel by pixel. His latest film, Eisenstein in Guanajuato, is scheduled for release later this year.

Early in his career, Greenaway worked at the Central Office of Information (COI) for fifteen years, during which time he directed and edited a series of short films, the first of which was Death of Sentiment. He made his first feature film in 1980, entitled The Falls, and was the first of many collaborations with composer Michael Nyman. His critical breakthrough came in 1982 with 17th century drama The Draughtsman's Contract, establishing him as one of the most important filmmakers of his time. He went on to make the seminal The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover. Over the course of his career, Greenaway has been nominated for a total of thirty seven awards, twice for Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or for 8 ½ Women and The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story. He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2007 Queen's New Year's Honors List for his services to film.

The EE British Academy Film Awards will take place on 16 February at The Royal Opera House in London's Covent Garden. Stephen Fry will be returning to host this year's ceremony, which will be broadcast exclusively on BBC One in the UK and in all major territories around the world. On the night, www.bafta.org will also feature red carpet highlights, photography and winners interviews, as well as dedicated coverage on its social networks including Facebook ( /BAFTA ), Twitter ( @BAFTA / #EEBAFTAs ), Tumblr and Instagram.

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