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Last night (Sunday 22nd February), the 79th British Academy Film Awards were given out in a star-studded ceremony, hosted by Alan Cumming for the first time.
Here's a full list of BAFTA winners.
Best Film: One Battle After Another
Outstanding British Film: Hamnet
Leading Actor: Robert Aramayo (I Swear)
Leading Actress: Jessie Buckley (Hamnet)
Supporting Actor: Sean Penn (One Battle After Another)
Supporting Actress: Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners)
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another)
Original Screenplay: Sinners
Adapted Screenplay: One Battle After Another
Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director Or Producer: Akinola Davies Jr. (director) and Wale Davies (writer) (My Father's Shadow)
Animated Film: Zootropolis 2
Documentary: Mr. Nobody Against Putin
Film Not In The English Language: Sentimental Value
Cinematography: One Battle After Another
Costume Design: Frankenstein
Editing: One Battle After Another
Make Up And Hair: Frankenstein
Original Score: Sinners
Production Design: Frankenstein
Sound: F1
Special Visual Effects: Avatar: Fire And Ash
Casting: I Swear
Short Animation: Two Black Boys In Paradise
Short Film: This Is Endometriosis
Children's & Family Film: Boong
Rising Star: Robert Aramayo
Outstanding British Contribution To Cinema: Clare Binns
BAFTA Fellowship: Donna Langley (chair of Universal Pictures)
One Battle After Another was the biggest winner of the evening with six BAFTAs, whilst Frankenstein and Sinners are tied for second place with three each. The only other films to win multiple awards were Hamnet and I Swear with two apiece.
Despite multiple nominations, Marty Supreme, Bugonia, The Ballad Of Wallis Island, Pillion, and The Secret Agent didn't win anything. Marty Supreme joins Women In Love (1969) and Finding Neverland (2004) as the films to have the most BAFTA nominations (11) without any wins.
In some respects, the results are what may have been expected. In many, however, the BAFTAs have provided a couple of curveballs. Oscar voting is still going on until the start of March, so the results here- and the upcoming Actor Awards- could have some sway on the final result. This is more in the case of the supporting acting categories rather than the leads (which I'll go into in a bit).
Unlike last year, where Zoe Saldaña and Kieran Culkin were the runaway supporting acting winners throughout the entirety of the 2025 awards season, this year, it's been much more fluid. Of the three major awards bodies that give Best Supporting Actor and Actress awards, there have been three different winners in each: Jacob Elordi and Amy Madigan at Critics' Choice, Stellan Skarsgård and Teyana Taylor at the Golden Globes, and now Sean Penn and Wunmi Mosaku at the BAFTAs. It's always nice when things aren't just a straightforward coronation, even if it might play merry hell with my predictions
That said, it feels like a couple of races are now secure, with Paul Thomas Anderson and One Battle After Another needing a La La Land-scale upset to not hear "And the Oscar goes to..." in a couple of weeks' time. Same with Jessie Buckley whose anguished and emotional performance in Hamnet grounds the movie.
Robert Aramayo's Best Actor win was probably the biggest surprise of the evening, but it's a feat that obviously won't be repeated on 15th March (I still think Timothée Chalamet is the most likely Best Actor winner). Also, the BAFTAs do tend to favour British talent so it's not a massive shock that Aramayo won. Aramayo plays the Tourette's campaigner John Davidson in the bopic I Swear and puts in a truly committed performance, also winning the Rising Star Award (the only BAFTA voted for by the public).
On that note, Davidson's attendance at the event has sparked something of a controversy (putting it mildly). Davidson has an element of Tourette's known as coprolalia, which is the impulse to swear and use other inappropriate language. Whilst it's probably the most often depicted presentation of Tourette's, it's less common than you might think (only around 10-15% of those with the condition actually have coprolalia). The main thing to remember with this is it's involuntary; the person hasn't got control over what they tic and- due to brain chemistry and other things- the tics will usually be the worst things you can think of in the given situation.
At the ceremony, and in the Sunday night telecast, Davidson can be heard cursing heavily at several points and used a racial slur when Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo presented the Special Visual Effects award. Attendees at the ceremony were advised that they may hear some strong and offensive language due to Davidson's condition. Host Alan Cumming also mentioned it and apologised for any offence caused twice as part of his hosting duties.
Understandably, people are upset. Rightly so. It's a fairly horrendous situation. But here's the thing: the BAFTAs are not broadcast live; they have a two-hour delay. And the telecast apparently edited out a political statement from Akinola Davies Jr. when he accepted his award. So, whilst Davidson's language was unacceptable (and he appearently left the ceremony of his own volition about 25 minutes in after his outbursts), it was involuntary.
The BBC's choice to let it go to air wasn't.
That was a conscious decision made, and a bloody stupid one too. The knives are out for the BBC on multiple fronts and making a deliberate choice to air one of the worst slurs a person can be called plays right into the hands of those who wish to criticise our national broadcaster. They have pulled the show from iPlayer and have now edited the slur out but, really, that should have been done straight away. It doesn't minimise the effect that word had on those in the room, but it would have stopped further controversy. The right-wing morons have just been given another stick to beat the BBC with, and the Corporation willingly handed it to them.
In any case, congratulations to all winners!
The next clutch of awards season news comes this coming weekend, with the Producers Guild Awards on Saturday 28th February and the Actor Awards on Sunday 1st March.
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