Movies

There’s a Weird Reason Why These BAFTA Nominees Weren’t at the Ceremony

written by Violetta Efimova

February 17, 2025 1:00 pm

There’s a Weird Reason Why These BAFTA Nominees Weren’t at the Ceremony — Image credit: BAFTA, A24, Legion-Media

One of those movies’ success still wasn’t able to overcome some legal issues.

They can make a movie about you, but they won’t forget your crimes. Last night’s BAFTA ceremony was an unexpected reminder of this as some noted the absence of two lead stars whose movie was one of the frontrunners for a prestigious award.

The movie itself was almost completely snubbed by BAFTA voters, who only gave it two nominations in the Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor categories; however, the nominees were nowhere to be found at the ceremony as, well, they just weren’t allowed to travel to the UK anyway.

Clarence Maclin and John ‘Divine G’ Whitfield Couldn’t Be at the BAFTAs Due to Legal Issues

As Deadline reported earlier, both Maclin and Whitfield, who got nominated for their prison drama Sing Sing, weren’t even expected to attend the ceremony as their applications for entry visas to the UK had been denied not so long before.

Despite having a forcible argument under their belt, both couldn’t convince the UK Home Office that had released an official refusal based on Maclin and Whitfield’s criminal records in the US.

There’s a Weird Reason Why These BAFTA Nominees Weren’t at the Ceremony - image 1

Naturally, in the movie Maclin portrayed himself, taking on the role of a prisoner who served 17 years of sentence at the maximum-security facility called Sing Sing on a robbery conviction. Whitfield, in turn, was on board for the movie as a script writer as his role was given to Colman Domingo.

Maclin and Whitfield were both released back in 2012, though the latter had repeatedly stated that he had been convicted for wrong reasons.

Maclin and Whitfield Are Also Oscar Nominees, but This Time Attending Won’t Be a Problem

Having secured way less nominations than expected, Sing Sing is still an Oscar contender with three nominations for Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Song.

There’s a Weird Reason Why These BAFTA Nominees Weren’t at the Ceremony - image 2

Both Maclin and Whitfield are mentioned as co-writers of the movie and expected to attend the ceremony on March 2, though, luckily, this time they are very unlikely to have issues with the entry.

The event will be traditionally held at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and will wrap this year’s awards season up.