My Father’s Shadow has won the award for ‘Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer’ at the 79th British Academy Film Awards. The film was directed and produced by Nigerian-British filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr, marking a big achievement for him and for Nigerian stories on the global stage.
The movie is set during Nigeria’s 1993 presidential election, which was cancelled by the military government. Davies said he created the story with his older brother, Wale, who is part of the music duo Show Dem Camp. They made the film in honour of their late father. My Father’s Shadow first premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received strong reviews.
It was also a big night for Nigerian-British actress Wunmi Mosaku, who won the Best Supporting Actress award for her role in the 2025 film Sinners. Another film, One Battle After Another, won the most awards of the night with six wins, including Best Film and Best Director. Other movies like I Swear, Sinners, and Frankenstein won three awards each, while Hamnet took home two awards.
Below is the full list of the winners:
Best film
- Winner: One Battle After Another
- Hamnet
- Marty Supreme
- Sentimental Value
- Sinners
Outstanding British film
- Winner: Hamnet
- 28 Years Later
- The Ballad of Wallis Island
- Bridget Jones: Mad about the Boy
- Die My Love
- H Is For Hawk
- I Swear
- Mr Burton
- Pillion
- Steve
Leading actress
- Winner: Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
- Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
- Kate Hudson – Song Sung Blue
- Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
- Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value
- Emma Stone – Bugonia
Leading actor
- Winner: Robert Aramayo – I Swear
- Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme
- Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
- Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
- Michael B Jordan -Sinners
- Jesse Plemons – Bugonia
Supporting actress
- Winner: Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
- Odessa A’zion – Marty Supreme
- Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
- Carey Mulligan – The Ballad of Wallis Island
- Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another
- Emily Watson – Hamnet
Supporting actor
- Winner: Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
- Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another
- Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
- Paul Mescal – Hamnet
- Peter Mullan – I Swear
- Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value
Director
- Winner: One Battle After Another – Paul Thomas Anderson
- Bugonia – Yorgos Lanthimos
- Hamnet – Chloé Zhao
- Marty Supreme – Josh Safdie
- Sentimental Value – Joachim Trier
- Sinners – Ryan Coogler
Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer
- Winner: My Father’s Shadow
- The Ceremony
- Pillion
- A Want In Her
- Wasteman
Film not in the English language
- Winner: Sentimental Value
- It Was Just An Accident
- The Secret Agent
- Sirât
- The Voice of Hind Rajab
Outstanding British contribution to cinema
Winner: Claire Binns, creative director of Picturehouse Cinemas and Picturehouse Entertainment
Documentary
- Winner: Mr Nobody Against Putin
- 2000 Meters to Andriivka
- Apocalypse in the Tropics
- Cover-Up
- The Perfect Neighbor
Animated film
- Winner: Zootropolis 2
- Elio
- Little Amélie
Children’s and family film
- Winner: Boong
- Arco
- Lilo & Stitch
- Zootropolis 2
Original screenplay
- Winner: Sinners
- I Swear
- Marty Supreme
- The Secret Agent
- Sentimental Value
Adapted screenplay
- Winner: One Battle After Another
- The Ballad of Wallis Island
- Bugonia
- Hamnet
- Pillion
EE Bafta rising star award (voted for by the public)
- Winner: Robert Aramayo
- Miles Caton
- Chase Infiniti
- Archie Madekwe
- Posy Sterling
Original score
- Winner: Sinners – Ludwig Göransson
- Bugonia – Jerskin Fendrix
- Frankenstein – Alexandre Desplat
- Hamnet – Max Richter
- One Battle After Another – Jonny Greenwood
Casting
- Winner: I Swear
- Marty Supreme
- One Battle After Another
- Sentimental Value
- Sinners
Cinematography
- Winner: One Battle After Another
- Frankenstein
- Marty Supreme
- Sinners
- Train Dreams
Costume design
- Winner: Frankenstein
- Hamnet
- Marty Supreme
- Sinners
- Wicked: For Good
Editing
- Winner: One Battle After Another
- F1
- A House of Dynamite
- Marty Supreme
- Sinners
Production design
- Winner: Frankenstein
- Hamnet
- Marty Supreme
- One Battle After Another
- Sinners
Make-up and hair
- Winner: Frankenstein
- Hamnet
- Marty Supreme
- Sinners
- Wicked: For Good
Sound
- Winner: F1
- Frankenstein
- One Battle After Another
- Sinners
- Warfare
Special visual effects
- Winner: Avatar: Fire and Ash
- F1
- Frankenstein
- How to Train Your Dragon
- The Lost Bus
British short film
- Winner: This Is Endometriosis
- Magid / Zafar
- Nostalgie
- Terence
- Welcome Home Freckles
British short animation
Solstice
Winner: Two Black Boys in Paradise
Cardboard
