On an evening full of energy and excitement, a wonderful blur of people entered my studio. Jeff Goldblum gave me an impromptu tap dance, Zoe Saldaña glowed with joy and Adrien Brody was mesmeric. I can also confirm that yes, Kate Winslet is just as charming as you think.

Although it all happens in just one night, it’s something I spend almost every spare moment dreaming about for months in advance. Testing lights, tweaking props, scribbling down set design ideas, and building moodboards of hundreds of references. For that Sunday night in February everything must be just right – my little backstage studio flooded with soft light, ready to celebrate, to create, and to capture something beautiful.

These are not photos that I could ever make alone – the BAFTA photography team are the very best partners. It’s been a true honour to work with such amazing people again to capture the smallest slither of the magic of cinema.

BAFTA: Claire Rees, Ellie Elliott, and Rebecca Gray
Photo assistants: George Hall and Philip Hardman
Set build: Simon Godfrey
Lighting hire: Danny Murphy at TSC and Direct Digital
Retouching: Melissa Morgan