Britain's motion picture academy on Thursday suspended actor-director Noel Clarke after a newspaper reported that multiple women had accused him of sexual harassment or bullying.
The film and television academy said it was also suspending Clarke's award for outstanding British contribution to cinema, given to him earlier this month at a ceremony in London.
It said in light of the allegations reported by The Guardian, "BAFTA has taken the decision to suspend his membership and the Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema award immediately and until further notice."
The Guardian reported that it had spoken to 20 women who accused Clarke of misconduct including sexual harassment, unwanted touching, sexually inappropriate behavior on set and bullying. It named several of the women.
Clarke, 45, who starred in "Doctor Who" and created the film trilogy "Kidulthood," "Adulthood" and "Brotherhood," strongly denied all the claims.
"In a 20-year career, I have put inclusivity and diversity at the forefront of my work and never had a complaint made against me," he said in a statement. "If anyone who has worked with me has ever felt uncomfortable or disrespected, I sincerely apologize. I vehemently deny any sexual misconduct or wrongdoing and intend to defend myself against these false allegations."
Avid completes acquisition of Wolftech
Avid®, known for software solutions for professional media production, has completed the acquisition of Wolftech Broadcast Solutions, a leader in cloud-based multiplatform news planning, production and publishing solutions.
The acquisition enables Avid to combine its digital-first, end-to-end media solution with Wolftech’s expertise in story-centric workflow management. News organizations will be able to increase efficiency and accelerate story delivery through enhanced remote collaboration and multiplatform amplification.
Avid CEO Wellford Dillard stated, “Wolftech is unquestionably on the leading edge of where the industry is going, and this acquisition demonstrates Avid’s commitment to transform news, sports, and live production workflows. We are delighted to welcome Wolftech into the Avid family.”
Wolftech CEO Arne Berven added, “We were focused on finding a partner that could accelerate the adoption of our platform globally. We explored a number of possibilities, but when we talked to Avid, we knew it was the right match.”
The closing of the acquisition follows Avid’s announcement on October 7 that the company had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Wolftech.
With this acquisition, Avid deepens the integration between the two toolsets while continuing to embrace an open approach in partnering with a wide range of media production tools and newsroom systems. Existing Wolftech customers will benefit from Avid’s global scale for customer support and professional services.
Ian Axton, head of production operations for ITV News, said, “As a customer of both Avid and Wolftech we’re excited about the benefits this acquisition will bring to our users and our business. Wolftech has transformed... Read More