With The Great
Hack nominated for best documentary, the Observer journalist was invited to walk the red carpet. How was her night with the stars?
There are those who have dreamed their whole life of walking the red carpet. And then there are those whose first instinct is to be on an entirely different continent. On 7 January, The Great Hack – a
Netflix film that shines a light on the murky world of
Cambridge Analytica and its role in Trump and
Brexit (and in which I play a small part) – is nominated for a Bafta for best documentary, and via a series of increasingly complicated emails cc-ed to a dozen or more people detailing car logistics and dietary requirements, it’s revealed that I’ve been invited to the ceremony. This is unfortunate as I have zero intention of going.
“I’m afraid I’m out of the country,” I email back. “But have a wonderful time!” I’m thrilled for Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer, the film-makers, but it’s their work, not mine, and anyone who has ever been to a
British journalism award ceremony bears the scars. There’s only a certain number of times you can politely applaud a story about Barbara Windsor having Alzheimer’s as “scoop of the year” while eating unidentifiable brown matter in a pair of Spanx. From everything I’ve seen, the Baftas take the standard black tie nightmare to new levels: a 3pm start for a ceremony that begins at 7, with dinner not served until 10. And, anyway, I really am out of the country. “You have to come!” Karim yells down the phone at me. “We’re the underdogs. We’re the nerds who’ve got invited to the school prom.”