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AWARD WINNERS

Critically-acclaimed Sky Original film The United States vs Billie Holiday secured an award at the 78th Golden Globe Awards ceremony this week. Andra Day, who plays jazz icon Billie Holiday in the biographical film, won Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture.

The United States vs Billie Holiday follows the legendary Holiday, one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time, who spent much of her career being adored by fans across the globe. However, beginning in the 1940’s in New York City, the federal government targeted Holiday in a growing effort to escalate and racialise the war on drugs, ultimately aiming to stop her from singing her controversial and heart-wrenching ballad, “Strange Fruit”.

Led by Oscar-nominated director Lee Daniels and penned by screenplay writer Suzan-Lori Parks, the first African American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for drama, The United States v Billie Holiday unapologetically presents the icon’s complicated, irrepressible life, whose defiance through music helped usher in the civil rights movement.

The United States v Billie Holiday is one of 30 Sky Original films that will air in 2021, and is available now on Sky Cinema and NOW TV.

Meanwhile, Sky has received a record-breaking 13 nominations at the 2021 Royal Television Society Programme Awards, across all key programme genres, beating its previous best of eight nominations in 2020 and 2019. The nominees include Lennie James for Save Me Too and the drama series I Hate Suzie.

The winners will be announced during a live-streamed awards ceremony on Tuesday March 16 at 6.30pm via The Royal Television Society.