It was the BAFTA Awards this past weekend, a ceremony to not just celebrate the world of film, but in particular British film. Many of the nominees that were exclusive ranged from the amazing Paddington 2 (which I have only just seen so hasn't made it into my best of 2017, sorry!) and Jamie Bell's Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool. It got me wondering though, what makes a film British? I mean there are lots of contributing factors to this, setting, actors, filmmakers... so let's have a look and see what we can discover shall we?

Starting with Paddington 2, I remember loving the film so much for the primary reason which I said was: ''It's so British.'' Is that really the reason I liked it so much? I mean the writing and humour were fantastic, as were the performances. And in terms of Britishness, the film features some extremely iconic British actors who are impeccable at what they do. Hugh Grant is charming and so great in his comically villainous role, and then you have Joanna Lumley, Sally Fields and Brendan Gleeson (yeah he's Irish I know) who all represent the best of iconic and great British acting. Then I have to mention that films such as Love Actually and Edgar Wright's The Cornetto Trilogy also have a plethora of phenomenal British talent, and you have to admit that the actors are a massive part as to what makes a film British, and why we love them so much.

Speaking of The Cornetto Trilogy, these films are incredibly British but are really British spoofs of other films of certain genres. Shaun of the Dead is a classic George A. Romero style zombie film set in London with a pub being the main goal for our heroes to survive. Hot Fuzz is a spoof of American action/buddy cop films that use the British police as the main focus, and The Worlds End is an Invasion of the Body Snatchers spoof set in a little British village during a bar crawl. So this is pretty British, and Wright's spoofing feels very self aware with the blending of British culture into film's we've seen. 

But then, is a film British because it's set in the UK? Not really. In fact, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri won Best British Film at the BAFTA's and that film is set in the US, obviously, with American characters and actors and what have you. It feels very American, but is of course directed and wrote by Martin McDonagh, a British guy. So does that make the film British? So yeah, there's a lot of contributing factors to say why or why not a film is British. Maybe it depends on what we as an audience perceive to be a British film, right?

I loved Paddington 2 because of how British it was. The source material is without a doubt British but it's iconic actors and backdrop really help to reinforce this, and I may be biased but there's something special about a film that's been made in your own country and has reached so much success all over the world. This is where I want to be in the future, and maybe the charm, wit and creativity put into films like this is what inspires me and makes me proud to be British and have such a great film industry in our country. And of course, the BAFTA's are amazing and genuine as always. This topic can be hard to pin down sometimes, but for me, it's ever-changing.