BAFTA WIN FOR WESTCOUNTRY FILM MAKER
CORNWALL’S Joshua James Richards has accepted a BAFTA after Nomadland won the best cinematography prize at Sunday evening’s awards.
Richards, from Penzance, paid a touching tribute to his family and name-checked his home town in a heartfelt acceptance speech (pictured, right) via his computer.
“Oh goodness, thank you! I am so thrilled, my gratitude is more than I can say,” he said.
“My fellow nominees, congratulations and thank you. I am so inspired by all of you, you are such incredible artists.
“There is a Morrissey line in Nomadland: ‘Home, is it just a word, or something that you carry in you?’
“I grew up in Penzance, Cornwall, and moved to America 11 years ago with the dream of being a storyteller, and I’ve realised something in that time. I want to say to my family back home in England, although I don’t get to see you all as much as I’d like to: You are my home.
“I love you all, I’ve carried you with me, and things will get better – they always do.”
Written, edited and directed by Chloe Zhao, the film stars Frances McDormand as a woman who loses everything in the recession and leaves home to travel as a modernday nomad around the American West.
The film, which has yet to be released in this country, is likely to be one of the big winners on both sides of the Atlantic. It has earned six nominations at the 93rd Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress, and seven nominations at the BAFTAs.
It also received four nominations at the 78th Golden Globe Awards, winning Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director for Chloe, who became the second woman and the first Asian woman to win the prestigious award.
Joshua grew up in Penzance and then studied at Bournemouth University film and television school for film and creative writing, before receiving his MFA at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he studied directing. He now lives in California.
Chloe’s partner in life and film, Joshua was also responsible for the cinematography on her award-winning films The Rider and Songs My Brother Taught Me. He was nominated for a Critics Circle Award for best technical achievement for his second feature, the BAFTA-nominated God’s Own Country.
Joshua has also shot a wide range of commercials and music videos, for artists including Jay-Z, collaborating with directors around the world. His work has screened at festivals worldwide, including Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, Telluride, Berlin, and at exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art and MOMA PS1 in New York.
He won the Best Cinematography award for Nomadland at the annual Hollywood Critics Association Film Awards earlier this month. His use of natural light in film has been commended by film fans and critics across the globe.