One Battle After Another sweeps Baftas as Hamnet and I Swear also triumph

One Battle After Another was the big winner at the 2026 Bafta Film Awards, where British films Hamnet and I Swear also received plaudits.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s film about a washed-up revolutionary searching for his missing teenage daughter won six categories from 14 nominations, including best film, best director, best adapted screenplay and best supporting actor for Sean Penn.

Collecting the biggest award of the night, Anderson said it was a “tremendous honour”, adding: “Anybody who says that movies aren’t good any more can piss right off because this is great f****** year.”

“We have a line from Nina Simone that we used in our film, ‘I know what freedom is, it’s no fear’.

“Let’s keep making things without fear, it’s a good idea. See you at the bar.”

I Swear, the real story of a man with Tourette syndrome growing up in 1980s Scotland, won two awards including a surprise victory for British star Robert Aramayo, who was named best actor and the EE Rising Star at the ceremony at the Royal Festival Hall in London.

He defeated Hollywood heavyweights including Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothee Chalamet and Ethan Hawke for the best actor prize and gave Hawke a special mention as he accepted his trophy.

He said: “When I was in school, Ethan Hawke came in to speak to us at Juilliard and he gave an amazing talk on longevity as an actor, about protecting your instrument and avoiding self-destructive behaviours, and it had a great impact on everyone in the room.

“So to be in this category with you tonight is incredible. Thank you Ethan.”

I Swear also won the Bafta for best casting.

Irish actress Jessie Buckley continued her domination of awards season as she was named best actress for Hamnet.

She has proved unbeatable for her performance as Shakespeare’s wife Agnes Hathaway – historically known as Anne – in the big-screen adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s award-winning novel about the family life of William Shakespeare and the death of their young son.

The film, directed by Chloe Zhao, was also named outstanding British film.

Accepting the award, Buckley said: “As a little girl, I never in a million years thought I would get to make a film.”

Recalling her early days as an actress, she said: “I had nuclear bad fake tan on, white hoop earrings, a polka-dot red skirt and had the audacity to say one day I wanted to be like Judi Dench.

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

Addressing her fellow nominees, Buckley said: “You are all just radical and you are doing it for the naughty girls, and I’m in awe of all your incredible performances.”

She added: “I love films and I believe in storytelling. I believe in women’s voices to tell those stories.”

Buckley, who had her first child last year, continued: “I share this with my daughter, who has been with me since she was six weeks old on the road with this.

“It’s the best role of my life being your mum and I promise to continue to be disobedient so you can belong to a world in all your complete wildness as a young woman. I am very grateful for this.”

British-Nigerian actress Wunmi Mosaku won the best supporting actress prize, beating nominees including Teyana Taylor for One Battle After Another and Emily Watson for Hamnet.

Referencing her role in the highly acclaimed vampire film, Mosaku said: “I 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.”

Addressing director Ryan Coogler, she told him: “I felt the presence of the ancestors’ pride and joy daily on your set.”

Coogler won the Bafta for best original screenplay, while the film also won the prize for best score.

Avatar: Fire And Ash won the first award of the night for best visual effects.

Host Alan Cumming opened the 2026 Bafta film awards, saying that “watching films this year was like taking part in a collective nervous breakdown”.

He referred to the distress and anxiety of films including Hamnet, One Battle After Another and Frankenstein, saying: “It’s almost like there are events in the real world that are influencing filmmakers”, before suggesting: “It would be a good idea if we had one big collective primal scream.”

The in memoriam section of the Bafta ceremony featured tributes to late stars Diane Keaton, Terence Stamp, Catherine O’Hara, Rob Reiner and Robert Duvall.

Jessie Ware sang The Way We Were during the segment, which also featured tributes to playwright Sir Tom Stoppard, Brigitte Bardot and Robert Redford.

Sentimental Value won the Bafta for best film not in the English language, while Zootropolis 2 was named best animated film.

The outstanding British contribution to cinema was presented to creative director of Picturehouse, Clare Binns.

Universal Pictures chief Dame Donna Langley was presented with the Fellowship – Bafta’s highest honour – by the academy’s president, the Prince of Wales, who was seated in the front row of the audience with the Princess of Wales.