Baftas 2025: Paul Thomas Anderson’s Film Dominates Awards Night

Paul Thomas Anderson’s sprawling black comedy, One Battle After Another, dominated the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday, securing six wins including best film, best director, and best adapted screenplay. The film, inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s novel Vineland, was the night’s biggest winner, taking home awards for best cinematography, best editing, and best supporting actor as well.

Accepting the award for best director, Anderson dedicated the honor to Adam Somner, the film’s late producer, who died in 2024. “You may think your greatest export was Alfred Hitchcock or Charlie Chaplin, but to me it was Adam Somner,” Anderson said, recalling how Somner continued working through illness during the film’s production. “If you’ve ever worked with somebody who is very ill, it is very miraculous, it makes you pay attention and it reminds you of the privilege of this work we do. Thank you for sending him to me.”

One Battle After Another, released in September 2025, features an ensemble cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, and Chase Infiniti in her film debut. The film follows an ex-revolutionary forced back into a combative lifestyle when he and his daughter are pursued by a corrupt military officer, according to Wikipedia.

Anderson also offered a spirited defense of cinema itself during his acceptance speech. “Anybody who says movies aren’t good anymore can piss right off, because this is a great fucking year,” he declared, referencing a lyric from Nina Simone used in the film: “I know what freedom is, it’s no fear.” He urged continued filmmaking “without fear.”

Ryan Coogler’s vampire thriller, Sinners, also garnered significant recognition, winning three awards: best original screenplay, best original score, and best supporting actress for Wunmi Mosaku. Mosaku, a British-Nigerian actor, portrayed a hoodoo practitioner and healer in the film, and spoke of finding a connection to her ancestral power through the role.

Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, Hamnet, received two awards, including outstanding British film and a leading actress award for Jessie Buckley. Buckley, the first Irish performer to win a leading actress Bafta, was praised for her portrayal of a mother grieving the loss of her son. She is also a contender for the best actress award at the upcoming Oscars in March.

Robert Aramayo secured the best actor award for his performance in I Swear, a biopic about writer and campaigner John Davidson, in a surprise victory over favorites Timothée Chalamet and Leonardo DiCaprio. Aramayo, who also won the EE Bafta rising star award, delivered an emotional acceptance speech.

Sean Penn won best supporting actor for his role as Colonel Steven J Lockjaw in One Battle After Another, though he was not present to accept the award. Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein took home three awards for costume design, production design, and make-up and hair. Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value won best film not in the English language.

The Bafta for outstanding contribution to cinema was awarded to Clare Binns, while Donna Langley, a British film executive, received the Bafta fellowship, the organization’s highest honor, presented by Prince William.