Awarded by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the BAFTAs are the official expression of a tradition and heritage inseparable from the British royal family — William and Catherine, the Princes of Wales, attended the ceremony, with William being the current president of the Academy. Hence, on a symbolic level, the The best British film category is as important as the best film of the year: Hamnetthe drama centered on the couple Agnes/William Shakespeare, obtained this distinctionwith Jessie Buckley (player of Agnes), receiving the BAFTA for best actress — she is also the obvious favorite for the Oscar for best actress.
The value of tradition
Thanks to some rather hasty statistics, the Golden Globes (from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association) are often cited as an “anticipation” of the Oscars. In fact, although there is nothing scientific about such parallelism, The BAFTA can be seen as awards that reveal more of the trends that will decide the Oscars, if only because the two Academies (British and American) intersect through the centuries-old collaboration between the industries of the two countries.
When thanking the BAFTA for best director, Paul Thomas Anderson rightly highlighted this collaboration, saying that the “greatest exports” of British cinema were not Alfred Hitchcock or Charlie Chaplin, but the prestigious producer Adam Sumner. Passing away at the end of 2024, at the age of 57, Sumner left his name linked to several titles by Ridley Scott, Martin Scorsese and Anderson (Battle After Battle it was his last work). This without forgetting that Sam Mendes, as producer, upon receiving the BAFTA for best British film for Hamnetrecalled the decisive contribution of its American producer, that is, Steven Spielberg.
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