Actress and director Michaela Coel. – Alberto Pezzali / AP / SIPA
A work finally rewarded at its fair value. The Bafta, the British awards devoted to television on Sunday evening, crowned the British series I May Destroy you and its director Michaela Coel for her performance. Released in the summer of 2020 on the BBC and HBO, this 12-part work follows successful black author Arabella as she rebuilds herself after being raped in a London bar, while partying there with her friends.
Last February, the absence of I May Destroy You at the Golden Globes had aroused misunderstanding, the series being critically acclaimed and hailed for its innovative character and the power of its purpose.
An “essential” job
During the ceremony, Michaela Coel paid tribute to Ita O’Brien, her “privacy coordinator” on set, whom she thanked “for existing in our industry, for making space safe to create physical, emotional and professional boundaries so that we can do work on exploitation, loss of respect, abuse of power, without being exploited or abused in the process ”.
Her work was “essential” in this series just as it should be “for each production company that wishes to produce a work on the theme of consent”, underlined Micheala Coel. At the ceremony, held in front of a hall that was purposefully sparse due to the coronavirus, and partially online, the hit Netflix series The Crown on the other hand left empty-handed.