Highlights from the 79th BAFTA Film Awards: A Night of Surprises
Overview of the 79th BAFTA Film Awards
The 79th BAFTA Film Awards have commenced, celebrating one of the most esteemed evenings in international cinema. Taking place at the Royal Festival Hall in London, this ceremony honors the outstanding accomplishments in film from the previous year. With no single film emerging as a clear favorite and various winners across different award ceremonies, this year's BAFTAs turned out to be an exciting and competitive event. Hosted by Alan Cumming from The Traitors, the 2026 BAFTAs showcased a wide range of nominees in various categories, leading to a diverse set of winners. The film One Battle After Another stood out as the biggest winner of the night, securing six awards. Following closely were Sinners and Frankenstein, each with three wins, while Hamnet and I Swear each took home two awards. Sentimental Value won one award, whereas Marty Supreme left without any accolades, tying the record for the most BAFTA losses.
2026 BAFTA Film Award Winners
Best Film
One Battle After Another - Adam Somner, Sara Murphy, Paul Thomas Anderson (WINNER)Hamnet — Liza Marshall, Pippa Harris, Nicolas Gonda, Steven Spielberg, Sam Mendes
Marty Supreme — Timothée Chalamet, Anthony Katagas, Eli Bush, Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie
Sentimental Value — Maria Ekerhovd, Andrea Berentsen Ottmar
Sinners — Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian, Ryan Coogler
Best Director
Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another (WINNER)Yorgos Lanthimos, Bugonia
Chloé Zhao, Hamnet
Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme
Joachim Trier, Sentimental Value
Ryan Coogler, Sinners
Leading Actress
Jessie Buckley, Hamnet (WINNER)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
Robert Aramayo, I Swear (WINNER)Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan, Sinners
Jesse Plemons, Bugonia
Supporting Actress
Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners (WINNER)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
Sean Penn, One Battle After Another (WINNER)Benicio del Toro, One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein
Paul Mescal, Hamnet
Peter Mullan, I Swear
Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value
Adapted Screenplay
One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson (WINNER)The Ballad of Wallis Island, Tom Basden and Tim Key
Bugonia, Will Tracy
Hamnet, Chloé Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell
Pillion, Harry Lighton
Original Screenplay
Sinners, Ryan Coogler (WINNER)I Swear, Kirk Jones
Marty Supreme, Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie
The Secret Agent, Kleber Mendonça Filho
Sentimental Value, Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier
Outstanding British Film
Hamnet — Chloé Zhao, Liza Marshall, Pippa Harris, Nicolas Gonda, Steven Spielberg, Sam Mendes, Maggie O’Farrell (WINNER)28 Years Later — Danny Boyle, Andrew Macdonald, Peter Rice, Bernard Bellew, Alex Garland
The Ballad of Wallis Island — James Griffiths, Rupert Majendie, Tom Basden, Tim Key
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy — Michael Morris, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Jo Wallett, Helen Fielding, Dan Mazer, Abi Morgan
Die My Love — Lynne Ramsay, Martin Scorsese, Jennifer Lawrence, Justine Ciarrocchi, Andrea Calderwood, Enda Walsh, Alice Birch
H Is for Hawk — Philippa Lowthorpe, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Emma Donoghue
I Swear — Kirk Jones, Georgia Bayliff, Piers Tempest
Mr. Burton — Marc Evans, Ed Talfan, Josh Hyams, Hannah Thomas, Trevor Matthews, Tom Bullough
Pillion — Harry Lighton, Emma Norton, Lee Groombridge, Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe
Steve — Tim Mielants, Alan Moloney, Cillian Murphy, Max Porter
Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer
My Father’s Shadow — Akinola Davies Jr. (Director), Wale Davies (Writer) (WINNER)The Ceremony — Jack King (Director, Writer), Hollie Bryan (Producer), Lucy Meer (Producer)
Pillion — Harry Lighton (Director, Writer)
A Want in Her — Myrid Carten (Director)
Wasteman — Cal McMau (Director), Hunter Andrews (Writer), Eoin Doran (Writer)
Children’s & Family Film
Boong — Lakshmipriya Devi, Ritesh Sidhwani (WINNER)Arco — Ugo Bienvenu, Félix De Givry, Sophie Mas, Natalie Portman
Lilo & Stitch — Dean Fleischer Camp, Jonathan Eirich
Zootropolis 2 — Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino
Film Not in the English Language
Sentimental Value — Joachim Trier, Maria Ekerhovd, Andrea Berentsen Ottmar (WINNER)It Was Just an Accident — Jafar Panahi, Philippe Martin
The Secret Agent — Kleber Mendonça Filho, Emilie Lesclaux
Sirât — Oliver Laxe, Domingo Corral
The Voice of Hind Rajab — Kaouther Ben Hania, Nadim Cheikhrouha
Costume Design
Frankenstein, Kate Hawley (WINNER)Hamnet, Malgosia Turzanska
Marty Supreme, Miyako Bellizzi
Sinners, Ruth E. Carter
Wicked: For Good, Paul Tazewell
Special Visual Effects
Avatar: Fire and Ash — Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Daniel Barrett, Eric Saindon (WINNER)F1 — Ryan Tudhope, Keith Alfred Dawson, Nicolas Chevallier, Robert Harrington
Frankenstein — Dennis Berardi, Ayo Burgess, Ivan Busquets, José Granell
How to Train Your Dragon — Christian Mänz, Francois Lambert, Glen McIntosh, Terry Palmer
The Lost Bus — Charlie Noble, Brandon K. McLaughlin, David Zaretti
Documentary
Mr. Nobody Against Putin — David Borenstein, Helle Faber, Radovan Síbrt, Alžběta Karásková (WINNER)2,000 Meters to Andriivka — Mstyslav Chernov, Michelle Mizner, Raney Aronson-Rath
Apocalypse in the Tropics — Petra Costa, Alessandra Orofino
Cover-Up — Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus, Olivia Streisand, Yoni Golijev
The Perfect Neighbor — Geeta Gandbhir, Alisa Payne, Nikon Kwantu, Sam Bisbee
Animated Film
Zootopia 2 — Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino (WINNER)Elio — Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina, Mary Alice Drumm
Little Amélie — Mailys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han, Nidia Santiago, Edwina Liard, Claire Le Combe, Henri Magalon
Casting
I Swear, Lauren Evans (WINNER)Marty Supreme, Jennifer Venditti
One Battle After Another, Cassandra Kulukundis
Sentimental Value, Yngvill Kolset Haga and Avy Kaufman
Sinners, Francine Maisler
Cinematography
Sinners, Autumn Durald Arkapaw (WINNERS)Frankenstein, Dan Laustsen
Marty Supreme, Darius Khondji
One Battle After Another, Michael Bauman
Train Dreams, Adolpho Veloso
Editing
One Battle After Another, Andy Jurgensen (WINNER)F1, Stephen Mirrione
A House of Dynamite, Kirk Baxter
Marty Supreme, Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie
Sinners, Michael P. Shawver
Make-Up & Hair
Frankenstein — Jordan Samuel, Cliona Furey, Mike Hill, Megan Many (WINNER)Hamnet — Nicole Stafford
Marty Supreme — Kyra Panchenko, Kay Georgiou, Mike Fontaine
Sinners — Siân Richards, Shunika Terry, Ken Diaz, Mike Fontaine
Wicked: For Good — Frances Hannon, Laura Blount, Mark Coulier, Sarah Nuth
Original Score
Sinners, Ludwig Göransson (WINNER)Bugonia, Jerskin Fendrix
Frankenstein, Alexandre Desplat
Hamnet, Max Richter
One Battle After Another, Jonny Greenwood
Production Design
Frankenstein, Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau (WINNER)Hamnet, Fiona Crombie and Alice Felton
Marty Supreme, Jack Fisk and Adam Willis
One Battle After Another, Florencia Martin and Anthony Carlino
Sinners, Hannah Beachler and Monique Champagne
Sound
F1 — Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Gary A. Rizzo, Juan Peralta (WINNER)Frankenstein — Greg Chapman, Nathan Robitallie, Nelson Ferreira, Christian Cooke, Brad Zoem
One Battle After Another — Jose Antonio Garcia, Christopher Scarabosio, Tony Villaflor
Sinners — Chris Welcker, Benny Burtt, Brandon Proctor, Steve Boeddeker, Felipe Pacheco
Warfare — Mitch Low, Ben Barker, Howard Bargroff, Richard Spooner, Glenn Freemantle
British Short Animation
Two Black Boys in Paradise — Baz Sells, Dean Atta, Ben Jackson (WINNER)Cardboard — J.P. Vine, Michaela Manas Malina
Solstice — Luke Angus
British Short Film
This Is Endometriosis — Georgie Wileman, Matt Houghton, Harriette Wright (WINNER)Magid/Zafar — Luis Hindman, Sufiyaan Salam, Aidan Robert Brooks
Nostalgie — Kathryn Ferguson, Stacey Gregg, Marc Robinson, Kath Mattock
Terence — Edem Kelman, Noah Reich
EE Rising Star Award (voted by the public)
Robert Aramayo (WINNER)Miles Caton
Chase Infiniti
Archie Madekwe
Posy Sterling