“Achievers” seems to be the best description of who Africans are. Aside from the wealth of culture and nature’s blessings, this continent is also blessed with people of excellence. If that was ever in doubt, BAFTAs 2026 has cleared those doubts, with actress Wunmi Mosaku and Lagos-set ‘My Father’s Shadow’ by Akinola Davies Jr. among the biggest winners.
The 2026 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Film Awards in London handed honours to standout creatives in acting and filmmaking. Here are the African creatives that made their mark on the night, and a full list of other winners.
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BAFTAs 2026 Winners: Wunmi Mosaku Wins Again
Wunmi Mosaku delivered one of the night’s defining moments, winning Best Supporting Actress for her role as Annie in ‘Sinners.’ Her performance as a Hoodoo priestess drove the emotional and spiritual core of the musical horror film. This role has already generated several award recognitions.
With this win, Mosaku became the first Black British actress to take the supporting actress prize at the BAFTA film awards. It also marks her return to BAFTA glory nine years after winning at the Television Awards for ‘Damilola, Our Loved Boy.’
Born in Nigeria and raised in Manchester, Mosaku has often spoken about navigating identity and belonging. After her win, she shared that the role allowed her to reconnect with parts of herself she once felt pressured to suppress. Her growing body of work, from ‘Luther’ to Marvel productions, continues to position her as one of the most compelling African actors on the global stage.
Akinola Davies Jr. Brings Lagos to BAFTA with ‘My Father’s Shadow’
‘My Father’s Shadow,’ directed by Akinola Davies Jr. and written with his brother Wale Davies, won Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer.
Set in Lagos during the annulled 1993 presidential election, the film follows a father and his two sons navigating protests and political tension. Davies Jr. has described it as a tribute to their late father, whose passing shaped the film’s emotional depth and themes of memory and resilience.
The project previously made history as the first Nigerian film selected for the official lineup at Cannes. Its BAFTA win underscores how distinctly Nigerian stories are now commanding global attention.
BAFTAs 2026 Winners Full List
- Best Film: One Battle After Another
- Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another)
- Best Actor: Robert Aramayo (I Swear)
- Best Actress: Jessie Buckley (Hamnet)
- Best Supporting Actor: Sean Penn (One Battle After Another)
- Best Supporting Actress: Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners)
- Best Adapted Screenplay: One Battle After Another
- Best Original Screenplay: Sinners
- Outstanding British Film: Hamnet
- Best Animated Film: Zootopia 2
- Best Film Not in the English Language: Sentimental Value
- Best Documentary: Mr. Nobody Against Putin
- Outstanding Debut: My Father’s Shadow
- EE Rising Star Award: Robert Aramayo
In Closing
While ‘One Battle After Another’ led with six wins, the night belonged equally to African excellence. From Mosaku’s historic acting triumph to a Lagos-rooted story claiming one of the ceremony’s most prestigious debut honours, BAFTAs 2026 is another proof that African voices are leading.
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