BAFTA Film Awards 2021 — Winners and Highlights
For the first time in its history, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts staged the BAFTA Film Awards across two nights — Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 April — combining a live in-person presentation from London’s Royal Albert Hall with a studio broadcast from Los Angeles, while many nominees participated remotely via video calls. The hybrid format reflected the challenges of a year in which cinemas were largely closed, but the ceremony still celebrated the best of cinema from 2020 and early 2021.
The combined broadcast ran approximately two hours and forty-five minutes in primetime weekend television. Nomadland emerged as one of the biggest winners, taking home Best Film among other major awards, while Bukky Bakray received the EE Rising Star Award in an emotional moment that included embraces from family during her acceptance. The ceremony also honoured international and British cinema across categories from acting and directing to technical crafts and short films.
Musical performances were woven into the show. Celeste performed “Hear My Voice” from The Trial of the Chicago 7 at the Royal Albert Hall, and Corinne Bailey Rae joined Leslie Odom, Jr. for a moving duet of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come,” with Odom appearing from a US studio. The evening opened with an augmented-reality performance by Liam Payne. In addition to celebrating current films, the BAFTAs included a prolonged In Memoriam segment to remember filmmakers and industry professionals we have lost since the previous ceremony.
Although pared back compared with pre-pandemic editions, the event included memorable moments, such as Thomas Vinterberg’s stirring acceptance speech when Another Round won Film Not in the English Language. The two-night format allowed the Academy to showcase a broader range of winners and nominees while remaining sensitive to the ongoing public health situation.
Winners and Nominees — BAFTA Film Awards 2021
BEST FILM – NOMADLAND
The Father
The Mauritanian
Promising Young Woman
The Trial of the Chicago 7
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM – PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
Calm with Horses
The Dig
The Father
His House
Limbo
The Mauritanian
Mogul Mowgli
Rocks
Saint Maud
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE – ANOTHER ROUND
Dear Comrades!
Les Misérables
Minari
Quo Vadis, Aida?
DOCUMENTARY – MY OCTOPUS TEACHER
Collective
David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet
The Dissident
The Social Dilemma
ANIMATED FILM – SOUL
Onward
Wolfwalkers
DIRECTOR – CHLOE ZHAO (NOMADLAND)
Thomas Vinterberg (Another Round)
Shannon Murphy (Babyteeth)
Lee Isaac Chung (Minari)
Jasmila Žbanić (Quo Vadis, Aida?)
Sarah Gavron (Rocks)
LEADING ACTRESS – FRANCES MCDORMAND (NOMADLAND)
Bukky Bakray (Rocks)
Radha Blank (The Forty-Year-Old Version)
Vanessa Kirby (Pieces of a Woman)
Wunmi Mosaku (His House)
Alfre Woodard (Clemency)
CASTING – ROCKS
Calm with Horses
Judas and the Black Messiah
Minari
Promising Young Woman
LEADING ACTOR – ANTHONY HOPKINS (THE FATHER)
Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal)
Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom)
Adarsh Gourav (The White Tiger)
Mads Mikkelsen (Another Round)
Tahar Rahim (The Mauritanian)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS – YUH-JUNG YOUN (MINARI)
Niamh Algar (Calm with Horses)
Kosar Ali (Rocks)
Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm)
Dominique Fishback (Judas and the Black Messiah)
Ashley Madekwe (County Lines)
SUPPORTING ACTOR – DANIEL KALUUYA (JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH)
Barry Keoghan (Calm with Horses)
Alan Kim (Minari)
Leslie Odom, Jr. (One Night in Miami)
Clarke Peters (Da 5 Bloods)
Paul Raci (Sound of Metal)
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY – EMERALD FENNELL (PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN)
Thomas Vinterberg, Tobias Lindholm (Another Round)
Jack Fincher (Mank)
Theresa Ikoko, Claire Wilson (Rocks)
Aaron Sorkin (The Trial of the Chicago 7)
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY – FLORIAN ZELLER, CHRISTOPHER HAMPTON (THE FATHER)
Moira Buffini (The Dig)
M.B. Traven, Rory Haines, Sohrab Noshirvani (The Mauritanian)
Chloé Zhao (Nomadland)
Ramin Bahrani (The White Tiger)
CINEMATOGRAPHY – JOSHUA JAMES RICHARDSON (NOMADLAND)
Judas and the Black Messiah
Mank
The Mauritanian
News of the World
PRODUCTION DESIGN – MANK
The Dig
The Father
News of the World
Rebecca
COSTUME DESIGN – MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
Ammonite
The Dig
Emma.
Mank
MAKE UP & HAIR – MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
The Dig
Hillbilly Elegy
Mank
Pinocchio
EDITING – SOUND OF METAL
The Father
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
The Trial of the Chicago 7
ORIGINAL SCORE – JON BATISTE, TRENT REZNOR, ATTICUS ROSS (SOUL)
Mank
Minari
News of the World
Promising Young Woman
SOUND – SOUND OF METAL
Greyhound
News of the World
Nomadland
Soul
SPECIAL EFFECTS – TENET
Greyhound
The Midnight Sky
Mulan
The One and Only Ivan
BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION – THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT
The Fire Next Time
The Song of a Lost Boy
BRITISH SHORT FILM – THE PRESENT
Eyelash
Lizard
Lucky Break
Miss Curvy
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER – REMI WEEKES (HIS HOUSE)
Ben Sharrock, Irune Gurtubai (Limbo)
Jack Sidey (Moffie)
Theresa Ikoko, Claire Wilson (Rocks)
Rose Glass, Oliver Kassman (Saint Maud)
EE RISING STAR AWARD – BUKKY BAKRAY
Conrad Khan
Kingsley Ben-Adir
Morfydd Clark
Sọpẹ́ Dìrísù
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO BRITISH CINEMA – NOEL CLARKE
BAFTA FELLOWSHIP AWARD – ANG LEE
The 2021 BAFTAs offered a snapshot of a unique year for film: despite the disruption of the pandemic, independent and mainstream productions alike found recognition, and performances and technical achievements received deserved celebration. As cinemas began to plan re-openings, the awards provided a preview of the films and talent likely to shape the year ahead.