The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) made a historic move this week: It nominated Navid Negahban for his acting performance in the video game 1979 Revolution: Black Friday. It makes the first time a Middle Eastern and Muslim actor has been nominated for the prestigious award.
Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Ink Stories studio developed and published the PC and mobile narrative game about the Iranian Revolution in April 2016. It earned a number of kudos for director Navid Khonsari, who is also of Iranian descent. The BAFTA awards are the United Kingdom’s equivalent of the Oscars in the U.S.
GamesBeat