A feminist group wearing "Time's Up Theresa" T-shirts has stormed the Bafta red carpet in London to protest against the Government's Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill.
The Sisters Uncut demonstrators - whose customised T-shirts referenced the entertainment industry's movement against harassment and gender inequality - linked arms and lined up along the carpet at the event at the Royal Albert Hall.
They then lay on the floor, where they chanted: "The DV Bill's a cover-up, Theresa May your time is up."
Time's Up campaigners storm the red carpet wearing tops reading 'Times Up Theresa' at the EE British Academy Film Awards held at the Royal Albert Hall. Source: AAP
The group claims the Bill will criminalise survivors while distracting from funding cuts to domestic violence services nationwide.
They posted on Twitter: "We just crashed the #EEBAFTAs red carpet to say #TimesUpTheresa: your DV bill is a dangerous distraction from what we really need, funding for refuges and specialist domestic violence services."
Red carpet goes black
Stars dressed mainly in black in a show of support for the fight against sexual harassment as The Shape of Water topped the nominations list.
With Hollywood still reeling from the fallout of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, the all-black dress theme mirrors other recent American red carpets - including last month's Golden Globes - showing solidarity with the #MeToo and Time's Up anti-sexual harassment campaigns.
Darkest Hour star and supporting actress nominee Kristin Scott Thomas was among the first to arrive on Sunday evening, while actress Andrea Riseborough was joined on the red carpet by Phyll Opoku-Gyimah of LGBT rights group for ethnic minorities, UK Black Pride.
US actress Jennifer Lawrence poses on the red carpet upon arrival at the BAFTA British Academy Film Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Source: AFP
The Baftas are being hosted this year by British film and TV star Joanna Lumley who praised the gender equality movement as a continuation of the work of the Suffragettes a century ago.
She hailed the "determination to eradicate the abuse of women the world over" as she took to the stage.
Jane Lush, chair of Bafta, opened the evening soberly telling the star-studded audience it was important to acknowledge a "difficult" past year, and noted efforts to tackle gender imbalance issues.
"Brave revelations have followed brave revelations of bullying and sexual harassment, and which to all our shame has been hidden in plain sight for decades," she said.
"This is a moment in history, it should be a watershed, a catalyst for lasting change."
All-male line-up
Guillermo del Toro's fantasy film The Shape of Water leads the nominations with 12 nods.
Crime drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Darkest Hour about British wartime leader Winston Churchill, each have nine.
All three are up for the best film award, along with another World War II drama, Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk and Luca Guadagnino's coming-of-age romance Call Me By Your Name.
Del Toro, Guadagnino, Nolan and Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards) were up for best director alongside Denis Villeneuve for "Blade Runner 2049" - an all-male lineup that has drawn criticism, particularly this year.
'Justice and equality fund'
British royals avoid making overtly political statements or gestures and the Duchess of Cambridge chose to wear dark green as she accompanied husband Prince William, president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, to the ceremony.
In an open letter published Sunday before the awards, almost 200 British and Irish stars backed a new fund to help women facing sexual harassment and abuse at work.
It echoes a similar initiative launched in Hollywood last month and was kick-started with a £1 million ($1.8 million) donation from actress and activist Emma Watson.
Other signatories to the letter included Kate Winslet, Keira Knightley - who donated £10,000 ($17,734) - and Bafta nominees Kristin Scott Thomas and Saoirse Ronan.
"As we approach the Baftas, our industry's time for celebration and acknowledgement, we hope we can celebrate this tremendous moment of solidarity and unity across borders by coming together and making this movement international," the letter says.
