The 78th Annual BAFTA Awards Set the Stage for the Rest of the 2025 Award Season

The 78th annual BAFTA Awards took place Sunday, February 16th 2025. With returning host David Tennant, these awards honor the best artistry in British film and television, celebrating outstanding achievements in acting, directing, producing, and more.

Tennant is making his second appearance as host, and opened the ceremony with a classic hilarious monologue, filled with dad jokes and witty references to the industry’s biggest projects of the year.

Some of the BAFTA’s most notable awards include Best Film, Outstanding British Film, Leading Actor, Leading Actress, and more.

Conclave, directed by Edward Berger, won the award for ‘Best Film’. In fact, this film led with the most nominations of the night, and even took home the award for ‘Outstanding British Film,’ ‘Best Adapted Screenplay,’ and ‘Best Editing.’ This film is also nominated for eight Oscars this year.

Berger actually began his ‘Best Film’ acceptance speech by thanking his script writer, Peter Straughan.

“First of all, about seven years ago I got my hands on a script written by Peter Straughan… And I’d never read anything as full of soul as he had written… So thank you Peter for gifting us your wonderful script. You are a wonderful man and a beautiful writer.”

Moving forward, Mikey Madison won the award for ‘Leading Actress’ for her role in Anora. After being nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in this film, Madison has finally taken home an award celebrating her skills.

Madison admits in her speech, “Wow, I really wasn’t expecting this. I probably should have listened to my publicist and written a speech or something!” The film Anora, also took home the award for ‘Best Casting.’

Not only did Madison have her shining moment, but Adrian Brody took home the award for ‘Leading Actor,’ for his role in The Brutalist. 

Brody expressed his gratitude and said, “This is a testament to the collaborative efforts of our director, Brady Corbet, and the entire production team… “I dedicate this award to the pursuit of leaving something meaningful behind.”

Brody took home a similar award for his performance at the Critics Choice Awards for ‘Best Actor,’ and The Brutalist is nominated for nine Oscars.

The 78th annual BAFTA Awards celebrated outstanding film, performers, artists and the power of collaboration and artistry in film. As the 2025 award season continues, these wins are setting the stage for what’s to come at the Oscars.