BAFTA, the British Academy of Film and Television Awards, have moved their eligibility deadline for some reason to February the 11th from the end of March. So what I hear you cry? Well that means that Letters From Iwo Jima, The Good German and The Good Shepherd will wait until next year to compete.

Initially there doesn't seem anything to really worry about, but then when you think about Iwo Jima being released on February the 23rd and waiting until 2008 to be reviewed by the BAFTA board, you've got to wonder if that's killing some of the drive of the film. After all by then the buzz will have died and a great majority of people will already have seen it.

According to United Press International BAFTA had nothing official to say other than confirming the date change.

Okay, so it's a blow to films released just after the deadline, particularly this year, but is that really such a problem? In past years films just released after the deadline of March would hit the same problem so by next year it should all have evened out again and the scheduling will deal with it, but this time around and for 2008 the BAFTA losers could just be those listed above.