KU professor Kevin Willmott wins BAFTA for ‘BlacKkKlansman’ screenplay

photo by: Associated Press

Kevin Willmott attends the premiere of "BlacKkKlansman" at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Monday, July 30, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)

University of Kansas professor Kevin Willmott received his first major award for his work on the film “BlacKkKlansman.”

On Sunday, Willmott and co-writer Spike Lee won the British Academy Film and Television Arts award, also known as BAFTA, for best adapted screenplay for their film “BlacKkKlansman.” They were selected over writers for “A Star is Born,” “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” “If Beale Street Could Talk” and “First Man.”

Set in the mid-1970s, “BlacKkKlansman” is based on the memoir of Ron Stallworth, a black police officer in Colorado Springs who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan.

The film also received BAFTA nominations for best film, best director, best actor in a supporting role and best original music.

Willmott and Lee have also been nominated for the adapted screenplay award at the Academy Awards, which will air on 7 p.m. Feb. 24 on ABC.

The film was nominated for a total of six Oscars, including best picture, film editing and original score. Actor Adam Driver was nominated for best actor in a supporting role. Lee was nominated for directing.

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