Nigerians Make the 2026 BAFTA List – Full Nominees

Akinola Davies Jr., Wale Davies, and Wunmi Mosaku are the Nigerian names on the 2026 BAFTA nominations list, and their nominations are tied to films that have already garnered serious global attention.

The most direct Nigerian-leaning nomination is My Father’s Shadow, nominated for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer. The nominated team is Akinola Davies Jr. (director) and Wale Davies (co-writer/producer). 

Both brothers are British-born, which fits BAFTA’s eligibility framework, but the film itself is firmly Nigerian in language, setting, and political memory.

Shot in Lagos and Ibadan, and performed largely in Yoruba and Nigerian Pidgin, My Father’s Shadow is set against the tension of the 1993 election crisis. 

The story follows two young brothers who unexpectedly reunite with their father, Folarin, and spend a tense day moving through Lagos as the city braces for uncertainty. 

Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù plays the father with restrained urgency, carrying personal burdens while the country’s wider pressure builds around them.

The BAFTA nod also builds on a strong festival run. The film became the first Nigerian title selected into Cannes’ Official Selection, where it received a Special Mention for the Caméra d’Or. 

In 2025, it was also picked as the UK’s official entry for the Oscars’ Best International Feature Film category,an unusual decision that underlined how far a Yoruba-language Nigerian story can travel inside global institutions.

The other Nigerian name on the list is Wunmi Mosaku, nominated for Supporting Actress for Sinners, a film that picked up multiple nominations across major categories.

The 79th BAFTA Film Awards will be held on February 22, 2026, at London’s Royal Festival Hall, with Alan Cumming hosting.

Full List:

Best Film

Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners

Outstanding British Film

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

Director

Yorgos Lanthimos: Bugonia
Chloé Zhao: Hamnet
Josh Safdie: Marty Supreme
Paul Thomas Anderson: One Battle After Another
Joachim Trier: Sentimental Value
Ryan Coogler: Sinners

Leading Actor

Robert Aramayo: I Swear
Timothee Chalamet: Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio: One Battle After Another
Ethan Hawke: Blue Moon
Michael B. Jordan: Sinners
Jesse Plemons: Bugonia

Leading Actress

Jessie Buckley: Hamnet
Rose Byrne: If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Kate Hudson: Song Sung Blue
Chase Infiniti: One Battle After Another
Renate Reinsve: Sentimental Value
Emma Stone: Bugonia

Supporting Actor

Benicio Del Toro: One Battle After Another
Jacob Elordi: Frankenstein
Paul Mescal: Hamnet
Peter Mullan: I Swear
Sean Penn: One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgard: Sentimental Value

Supporting Actress

Odessa A’zion: Marty Supreme
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleas: Sentimental Value
Wunmi Mosaku: Sinners
Carey Mulligan: The Ballad of Wallis Island
Teyana Taylor: One Battle After Another
Emily Watson: Hamnet

Special Visual Effects

Avatar: Fire and Ash
F1
Frankenstein
How to Train Your Dragon
The Lost Bus

Costume Design

Frankenstein
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
Sinners
Wicked: For Good

Film Not in The English Language

It Was Just An Accident
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sirat
The Voice of Hind Rajab

Children’s & Family Film

Arco
Boong
Lilo & Stitch
Zootropolis 2

Original Screenplay

I Swear
Marty Supreme
The Secret Agent
Sentimental Value
Sinners

Adapted Screenplay

The Ballad of Wallis Island
Bugonia
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
Pillion

Outstanding Debut (By a British Writer, Director, or Producer)

Jack King, Hollie Bryan, Lucy Meer: The Ceremony
Akinola Davies Jr., Wale Davies: My Father’s Shadow
Harry Lighton: Pillion
Myrid Carten: A Want in Her
Cal McMau, Hunter Andrews, Eoin Doran: Wasteman