The 79th British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards were held at the Royal Festival Hall in London on February 22, celebrating excellence in global cinema.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s political thriller One Battle After Another led the night with 14 nominations and walked away with six awards, including Best Film and Best Director, cementing its position as the biggest winner. The film’s lead actor, Leonardo DiCaprio, and supporting actor Sean Penn also received top honours.

Ryan Coogler’s vampire drama Sinners, which had 13 nominations, won three awards, marking a record for a film directed by a Black filmmaker. Its supporting actress Wunmi Mosaku and original score by Ludwig Göransson were recognised.

India celebrated a milestone with the Manipuri-language film BOONG, backed by Farhan Akhtar, winning in the Children’s & Family Film category. Other notable winners included Hamnet (Outstanding British Film), I Swear (Supporting Actor Robert Aramayo), and Frankenstein, which won multiple technical awards such as Costume Design, Production Design, and Make-up & Hair.

The awards were hosted by Scottish actor and writer Alan Cumming, who guided the ceremony through a star-studded evening celebrating both established and emerging talents in the film industry.

Other major categories recognised works across Cinematography, Editing, Sound, Special Visual Effects, and animated films, with Zootropolis 2 taking the animated film prize. The public-voted EE BAFTA Rising Star Award went to Robert Aramayo.

The ceremony highlighted the growing diversity in cinema, recognising global voices alongside British talent, and celebrated achievements across storytelling, performance, and technical excellence.

With inputs from NDTV