A history of recognising British talent

BAFTA has always been proud to recognise British talent and this year is no different. For 2026 we’ve strengthened the rules around the  Outstanding British Film  category and raised the profile of British Short Animation and British Short Film –  preserving the long legacy of celebrating British talent in the process.

The first time the BAFTA for Outstanding British Film was awarded was 2009 and it went to Man on Wire. A documentary chronicling French artist Phillipe Petit’s 1974 high-wire walk between New York’s Twin Towers, Man on Wire, combined actual event footage with re-enactments to breathtaking visual effect.

More recently, 2025’s BAFTA for Outstanding British Film was awarded to Conclave. A political thriller that invited audiences into a world of papal intrigue and religious mystery.

Meet this year’s nominees…

• 28 Years Later
• The Ballad of Wallis Island
• Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy
• Die My Love
• H is for Hawk
• Hamnet
• I Swear
• Mr Burton
• Pillion
• Steve

Awarded for the first time in 2014 the inaugural British Short Animation award went to Sleeping with the Fishes. Written by BAFTA Elevate participant Sarah Farinha, Sleeping with the Fishes is an eight-minute tale of a lonely fishmonger who falls in love with a delivery man ‘who looks like a rainbow trout’.

Jumping to last year, 2025’s BAFTA for British Short Animation was awarded to Wander to Wonder. A magical stop motion short Wander to Wonder draws audiences into an imagined world where a trio of tiny performers from a children’s television show are left to fend for themselves after their creator dies.

Meet this year’s nominees…

• Cardboard
• Solstice
• Two Black Boys in Paradise

Receiving the very first British Short Film award, given in 2014, was the seven-minute-long Room 8. Telling the tale of a British prisoner attempting a surreal escape from a Russian prison Room 8 is about the temptation of curiosity and the consequences of giving in to it.

Fast-forwarding to 2025, last-year’s BAFTA for British Short Film went to Rock, Paper, Scissors. Based on a true story about a Ukrainian father and son operating a makeshift frontline hospital Rock, Paper, Scissors was a timely snapshot of impossible choices.

Meet this year’s nominees…

• Magid / Zafar
• Nostalgie
• Terence
• This Is Endometriosis
• Welcome Home Freckles

The 2026 EE BAFTA Film Awards will be announced on 22 February. The awards are one of the most highly anticipated nights on the global film calendar.  You can see this year’s list of nominated films now.

Get ready ahead of time by exploring this year’s nominees and share which films you are most excited to see nominated on socials and make sure to tag @BAFTA.  You can also check out where to watch the action on our Public FAQs page.