One Battle After Another triumphs at BAFTAs that honour British talent
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(From left) Andy Jurgensen, Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Paul Thomas Anderson, Sara Murphy, Chase Infiniti, Benicio del Toro, Cassandra Kulukundis and Michael Bauman after One Battle After Another won the Best Film, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Cinematography awards at the EE BAFTA Film Awards 2026.
PHOTO: EPA
LONDON – American film-maker Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another continued its awards season streak by winning the top prize at the BAFTAs on Feb 22, with the British awards also recognising home-grown talent across categories.
Following in the footsteps of Hollywood ceremonies in January, the BAFTAs gave the Best Film award to the political thriller.
Anderson, 55, won the Best Director award for the film, which has struck a chord with its portrayal of a deeply polarised United States. It also won the most prizes of the night with a tally of six.
“Unfortunately, the title makes sense,” he told reporters after the ceremony. “It just does start to seem like one battle after another these days. But stay hopeful.”
American-French actor Timothee Chalamet’s ping-pong drama Marty Supreme left the night with no awards – having been nominated in 11 categories – but Mexican film-maker Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein walked off with three wins in the technical categories.
Vampire period film Sinners left the night with three awards, including for Best Original Score and Best Original Screenplay.
The BAFTAs ceremony, often seen as a weather vane for the Oscars in three weeks’ time, recognised British and Irish talent in some of the top categories.
Aramayo, local hero
Loud cheers erupted in London’s Southbank Centre when British actor Robert Aramayo triumphed over established stars such as Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio to snag the Best Actor honour.
Aramayo, the underdog in the category, won for his portrayal of a man with Tourette syndrome in I Swear, inspired by the real-life story of Scot campaigner John Davidson, whose life was irrevocably changed by the condition.
“I honestly cannot believe I won this award. I really, really cannot,” said a tearful Aramayo, who had already won in the Rising Star category.
“I’m just really happy that I Swear has shown a spotlight on something that is really, really misunderstood,” the 33-year-old added.
Ireland’s Jessie Buckley continued her winning streak for her heart-rending portrayal of English playwright William Shakespeare’s wife Agnes in Hamnet, scooping the Best Actress award, beating strong competition from stars including Kate Hudson and Emma Stone
“This really does belong to the women past, present and future that have taught me and continue to teach me how to do it differently,” said Buckley, who made history as the first Irish actress to win a BAFTA in the category.
Royals in attendance
Unlike France’s Cesar Awards or Spain’s Goya Awards, which champion national cinema, the BAFTAs are open to all nationalities. As a consequence, the awards have previously faced some criticism for the American-dominated roster.
However, local talent got wide recognition in 2026.
Hamnet won Outstanding British film, and Nigerian-British actress Wunmi Mosaku won Best Supporting Actress for her role in Sinners.
Adapted from a novel by Northern Irish author Maggie O’Farrell, Hamnet follows Shakespeare and Agnes as they navigate the loss of their son in plague-ravaged Elizabethan England.
Sentimental Value won in the Best Film Not in the English Language category, becoming the first Norwegian film to win at the BAFTAs, according to director Joachim Trier.
The intimate drama follows the relationship between two daughters and their estranged father, as he struggles to reconnect with them while making a film in their now hollowed-out family home.
“We felt ready to try to talk about family life, intergenerational trauma and all those things we don’t know how to talk about,” Danish-Norwegian film-maker Trier told reporters.
Hollywood and British royalty were in attendance, including BAFTA president Prince William, his wife Princess Catherine, and A-listers DiCaprio, Chalamet and Cillian Murphy.
William, the elder son of King Charles III, was the latest royal to go about business-as-usual at the end of a dramatic week that saw his uncle and ex-prince Andrew arrested.
The Prince of Wales said he was not calm “at the moment” when asked about whether he had watched Hamnet, according to the PA news agency.
“I need to be in quite a calm state and I’m not at the moment,” William told Ms Elaine Bedell, chief executive of the Southbank Centre.
But even the heir-to-the-throne smiled wide as Paddington Bear came onto the stage to present the award for Best Children’s and Family Film for India’s Boong. AFP
