The 79th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) showcased an evening filled with glamour and recognition at the Royal Festival Hall in London on February 22, 2026. Alan Cumming charismatically hosted the event, presenting many of the prominent figures in global cinema.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s film, 'One Battle After Another', emerged as the leading winner of the night, claiming six awards including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. However, a significant highlight of the ceremony was the representation of Nigerian talent, shining brightly on one of the UK’s most illustrious film stages.
Wunmi Mosaku secured the award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Ryan Coogler’s film 'Sinners', a poignant moment especially as she accepted the award while significantly pregnant, delivering a moving speech that resonated with the audience. Meanwhile, directors Akinola Davies Jr. and Wale Davies made history by winning the BAFTA for Outstanding British Debut with 'My Father’s Shadow', marking them as the first Nigerian filmmakers to achieve this feat in that specific category. 'Sinners' also had a remarkable evening, securing three BAFTAs in total, reinforcing its status as one of the year’s most praised films.
The ceremony also featured the Prince and Princess of Wales in attendance, and was broadcast nationwide on BBC One and iPlayer throughout the UK.
Overall, it was not just a remarkable night for the film industry, but a particularly significant one for Nigeria, showcasing its growing influence in cinema. The winners' list is available below.
Best Film
\- Winner: One Battle After Another
\- Nominees: Hamnet, Marty Supreme, Sentimental Value, Sinners
Outstanding British Film
\- Winner: Hamnet
\- Nominees: 28 Years Later, The Ballad of Wallis Island, Bridget Jones: Mad about the Boy, Die My Love, H Is For Hawk, I Swear, Mr Burton, Pillion, Steve
Leading Actress
\- Winner: Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
\- Nominees: Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Kate Hudson – Song Sung Blue, Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another, Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value, Emma Stone – Bugonia
Leading Actor
\- Winner: Robert Aramayo – I Swear
\- Nominees: Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme, Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another, Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon, Michael B Jordan – Sinners
Supporting Actress
\- Winner: Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
\- Nominees: Odessa A’zion – Marty Supreme, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value, Carey Mulligan – The Ballad of Wallis Island, Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another, Emily Watson – Hamnet
Supporting Actor
\- Winner: Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
\- Nominees: Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another, Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein, Paul Mescal – Hamnet, Peter Mullan – I Swear, Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value
Director
\- Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
\- Nominees: Yorgos Lanthimos – Bugonia, Chloé Zhao – Hamnet, Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme, Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value, Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer
\- Winner: My Father’s Shadow
\- Nominees: The Ceremony, Pillion, A Want In Her, Wasteman
Film Not in the English Language
\- Winner: Sentimental Value
\- Nominees: It Was Just An Accident, The Secret Agent, Sirât, The Voice of Hind Rajab
Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema
\- Winner: Clare Binns, Creative Director of Picturehouse Cinemas and Picturehouse Entertainment
Documentary
\- Winner: Mr Nobody Against Putin
\- Nominees: 2000 Meters to Andriivka, Apocalypse in the Tropics, Cover-Up, The Perfect Neighbor
Animated Film
\- Winner: Zootropolis 2
\- Nominees: Elio, Little Amélie
Children’s and Family Film
\- Winner: Boong
\- Nominees: Arco, Lilo & Stitch, Zootropolis 2
Original Screenplay
\- Winner: Sinners
\- Nominees: I Swear, Marty Supreme, The Secret Agent, Sentimental Value
Adapted Screenplay
\- Winner: One Battle After Another
\- Nominees: The Ballad of Wallis Island, Bugonia, Hamnet, Pillion
EE Bafta Rising Star Award (voted for by the public)
\- Winner: Robert Aramayo
\- Nominees: Miles Caton, Chase Infiniti, Archie Madekwe, Posy Sterling
Original Score
\- Winner: Sinners – Ludwig Göransson
\- Nominees: Bugonia – Jerskin Fendrix, Frankenstein – Alexandre Desplat, Hamnet – Max Richter, One Battle After Another – Jonny Greenwood
Casting
\- Winner: I Swear
\- Nominees: Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, Sentimental Value, Sinners
Cinematography
\- Winner: One Battle After Another
\- Nominees: Frankenstein, Marty Supreme, Sinners, Train Dreams
Costume Design
\- Winner: Frankenstein
\- Nominees: Hamnet, Marty Supreme, Sinners, Wicked: For Good
Editing
\- Winner: One Battle After Another
\- Nominees: F1, A House of Dynamite, Marty Supreme, Sinners
Production Design
\- Winner: Frankenstein
\- Nominees: Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, Sinners
Make-up and Hair
\- Winner: Frankenstein
\- Nominees: Hamnet, Marty Supreme, Sinners, Wicked: For Good
Sound
\- Winner: F1
\- Nominees: Frankenstein, One Battle After Another, Sinners, Warfare
Special Visual Effects
\- Winner: Avatar: Fire and Ash
\- Nominees: F1, Frankenstein, How to Train Your Dragon, The Lost Bus
British Short Film
\- Winner: This Is Endometriosis
\- Nominees: Magid / Zafar, Nostalgie, Terence, Welcome Home Freckles
British Short Animation
\- Winner: Two Black Boys in Paradise
\- Nominees: Cardboard, Solstice.
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