It was a terrific evening for many in the film industry as the 2026 EE BAFTA Film Awards took place in London last night.

As predicted, One Battle After Another tightened its grip on the Oscar race by picking up six accolades, including the all-important Best Film Prize ahead of the likes of Hamnet and Sinners.

The political thriller, which centres on a washed-up revolutionary and his search for his missing teenage daughter, also landed writing and directing awards for seasoned filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, while an absent Sean Penn was named Best Supporting Actor for his turn as the sinister Col. Steven J. Lockjaw.

Anderson told the audience: “Anybody that says movies aren’t any good any more can piss right off because this is a great fucking year. Let’s keep making movies without fear.”

In addition to those wins, the film also prevailed in the Best Editing and Best Cinematography categories, and will look to strengthen its frontrunner status during next week’s Actor Awards ceremony.

Elsewhere, Robert Aramayo produced one of the great upsets in BAFTA after landing the Leading Actor prize for his lauded portrayal of Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson in the autobiographical drama I Swear which also won Best Casting.

The Hull-born star was in tears as he collected his award, having overcome the likes of Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another), Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon) and current Oscar favourite Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme).

Aramayo described Davidson as “the most amazing person I’ve ever met.” and also thanked fellow nominee Hawke for an inspiring talk that he gave at Juilliard years earlier.

Prior to that stunning victory, Aramayo also won the EE Rising Star Award ahead of fellow British newcomers Archie Madekwe and Posy Sterling, and joins an exclusive club of recipients that include James McAvoy, Tom Hardy, and Daniel Kaluuya.

There was no such upset in the Leading Actress category, as Jessie Buckley cemented her Oscar bid by taking home the gong for her powerful performance as Agnes Shakespeare in the historical drama Hamnet.

In a stirring speech, the Irish star said:

“This is nuts. This really does belong to the women past, present and future that taught me and continue to teach me how to do it differently.”

Hamnet itself also prevailed in the Outstanding British Film field, with victory coming at the expense of other high-profile contenders including I Swear, The Ballad of Wallis Island and Pillion.

Meanwhile, the period horror Sinners secured three accolades, with British star Wunmi Moskau the winner of Best Supporting Actress for her role as Hoodoo practitioner Annie.

The Mancunian actress said she “found a part of myself in Annie, a part of my hopes, my ancestral power and connection, parts I thought I had lost or tried to dim as an immigrant trying to fit in.”

Additionally, versatile filmmaker Ryan Coogler picked up the Best Original Screenplay prize, while absent composer Ludwig Göransson was awarded Best Original Score.

There was also a hat-trick of prizes for the gothic drama Frankenstein as it prevailed in the Best Production Design, Best Costume Design and Best Makeup & Hair categories.

The Norwegian drama Sentimental Value was named Best Film Not in the English Language, while the Disney sequel Zootropolis 2 picked up the Best Animated Film accolade.

The rest of the notable winners on the night were F1 (Sound), Avatar: Fire and Ash (Special Visual Effects), Boong (Children & Family’s Film), Mr Nobody Against Putin (Documentary), This is Endometriosis (British Short Film), Two Black Boys in Paradise (British Short Animation), and My Father’s Shadow (Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer).

Finally, Dame Donna Langley was awarded the BAFTA Fellowship for her “tireless” advocacy for British storytelling, while Claire Binns was presented with the Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award for “championing diverse and fiercely independent work on big-screens around the UK”.

However, it was a disastrous night for Marty Supreme as the sports-based dramedy came away from the ceremony empty-handed from a mighty eleven nominations – a feat only matched by Women in Love (1969) and Finding Neverland (2004).

In the meantime, the full list of EE BAFTA winners were…

BEST FILM
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
HAMNET

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

BEST LEADING ACTRESS
Jessie Buckley, HAMNET

BEST LEADING ACTOR
Robert Aramayo, I SWEAR

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Wunmi Mosaku, SINNERS

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sean Penn, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (Paul Thomas Anderson)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
SINNERS (Ryan Coogler)

BEST CASTING
I SWEAR (Lauren Evans)

BEST EDITING
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
FRANKENSTEIN

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
FRANKENSTEIN

BEST MAKEUP & HAIR
FRANKENSTEIN

BEST SOUND
F1

BEST SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
SINNERS (Ludwig Göransson)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
ZOOTROPOLIS 2

BEST CHILDREN’S AND FAMILY FILM
BOONG

BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
SENTIMENTAL VALUE

BEST DOCUMENTARY
MR NOBODY AGAINST PUTIN

BEST BRITISH SHORT FILM
THIS IS ENDOMETRIOSIS

BEST BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
TWO BLACK BOYS IN PARADISE

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
MY FATHER’S SHADOW (Akinola Davies Jr. & Wale Davies)

EE RISING STAR AWARD
Robert Aramayo

BAFTA FELLOWSHIP
Dame Donna Langley

OUTSTANDING BRITISH CONTRIBUTION TO CINEMA
Clare Binns