77th British Academy Film Awards facts for kids

The 77th British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, were held on 18 February 2024, honouring the best national and foreign films of 2023, at the Royal Festival Hall within London's Southbank Centre. Presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, accolades were handed out for the best feature-length film and documentaries of any nationality that were screened at British cinemas in 2023.

The ceremony was hosted by David Tennant for the first time; "I am delighted to have been asked to host the EE BAFTA Film Awards and help celebrate the very best of this year's films and the many brilliant people who bring them to life," said Tennant. The broadcast streamed live on BBC One and iPlayer in the UK from 19:00–21:00 GMT, and on BritBox International in Canada, Denmark, Finland, Norway, South Africa, Sweden and the US.

The BAFTA longlists were unveiled on 5 January 2024. The nominations were announced via livestream by former EE Rising Star Award nominees Naomi Ackie and Kingsley Ben-Adir, from the arts charity's HQ at 195 Piccadilly, London, on 18 January 2024; the livestream was also available to watch on BAFTA's Twitter and YouTube pages. The EE Rising Star nominees, which is the only category voted for by the British public, were unveiled on 10 January 2024. The winners were announced on 18 February 2024.

Winners and nominees

Christopher Nolan, Best Film co-winner and Best Director winner

Cillian Murphy, Best Actor winner

Emma Stone, Best Actress winner

Robert Downey Jr., Best Supporting Actor winner

Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Best Supporting Actress winner

Justine Triet, Best Original Screenplay co-winner

Hayao Miyazaki, Best Animated Film co-winner

Mstyslav Chernov, Best Documentary co-winner

Jonathan Glazer, Best Film Not in the English Language winner and Outstanding British Film co-winner

Ludwig Göransson, Best Original Score winner

Mia McKenna-Bruce, EE Rising Star Award winner

The BAFTA longlists were announced on 5 January 2024. The nominees were announced on 18 January 2024. The winners were announced on 18 February 2024.

BAFTA Fellowship

• Samantha Morton

Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema

• June Givanni

Awards

Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

Ceremony information

The broadcast was streamed live on BBC One and iPlayer in the United Kingdom, and on BritBox International in Canada, Denmark, Finland, Norway, South Africa, Sweden and the United States; due to the significant time difference, Australia-based BritBox subscribers were able to watch the awards on-demand. The red carpet was hosted by Clara Amfo and Alex Zane, live on BAFTA's social channels Facebook, X and YouTube, while Zainab Jiwa was live from the red carpet exclusively on BAFTA's TikTok channel from 15:00–16:00 GMT.

The trio of Barbie, Killers of the Flower Moon, and Oppenheimer led the longlists, tying with fifteen nods each; this haul of fifteen longlist mentions equalled the record held by the previous year's All Quiet on the Western Front. Poor Things and Maestro followed with fourteen and twelve, respectively. Ultimately, Oppenheimer received the most nominations with thirteen, followed by Poor Things with eleven. Conversely, the fantasy comedy Barbie underperformed, only receiving five nominations, and without nods for Best Film and Best Director (Greta Gerwig). "There's no such thing as expected at BAFTA," said Anna Higgs, chair of BAFTA's film committee, speaking to Variety following the nominations announcement. "I think to play a guessing game with our expert members and where they can go, particularly in a year that's so competitive, is really hard." Another notable omission was Lily Gladstone for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her portrayal of Mollie Burkhart in Killers of the Flower Moon; the "snub" irked many fans, who took to social media to express their confusion and frustration. Furthermore, the cultural phenomenon of "Barbenheimer" received a total of eighteen nominations: five for Barbie and thirteen for Oppenheimer; the two films competed against each other in three categories.

English singer and songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor performed her 2001 chart-topper "Murder on the Dancefloor", most recently known as the concluding viral song from the five-time BAFTA-nominated film Saltburn. Returning to the charts twenty-two years after its first release, "Murder on the Dancefloor" and Ellis-Bextor attracted a whole new crowd of younger, largely online fans following the release of the aforementioned film. The classic "became one of the most talked about moments in cinema this year and a viral sensation, taking the song back into the music charts 22 years after the first release of the song," BAFTA said. "Old and new fans are streaming the track which is being used as a trending audio for millions of videos on Instagram and TikTok and [it] continues to mark new achievements on Spotify, YouTube and TikTok globally alongside newfound success in America, where it entered the Billboard Top 100 for the first time and continues to climb." Additionally, British actress and television presenter Hannah Waddingham delivered an exclusive music performance of the Cyndi Lauper song "Time After Time" during the "In Memoriam" segment.

After a two-year in-person absence, BAFTA president Prince William and his wife, Catherine, attended the ceremony in 2023; the couple also made their debut at the BAFTAs as the Prince and Princess of Wales, respectively. However, this year, Prince William attended the BAFTAs without his wife as she continues her recovery from abdominal surgery. Kensington Palace confirmed this news on 16 February 2024 and also added that the Prince of Wales "will watch the awards ceremony before meeting category winners and EE Rising Star Award nominees".

Moreover, the BAFTA Awards did not stream the final four categories live this year, the producers confirmed. They instead were broadcast as-live on the BBC with a two-hour delay along with the rest of the awards. The star-studded three hour ceremony was, as usual, edited down by an hour to make for a 120-minute run-time. Last year, for the first time ever, the show ran with its usual two-hour delay but the final four categories were broadcast live. "Every year we look at the show differently," BAFTA Awards director Emma Baehr told Variety. "We've tried lots of different things. Last year we went live… We're not going to be doing that this year. We tried it. It was good at the time, but it didn't add any more than what we needed." Lee Connolly, creative director of production company Penny Lane Entertainment, who are producing the awards show, pointed out that although audiences at home will watch an edited version with a slight delay, there are no do-overs in the room. "In effect it is live," he said. "Just because we're a couple of hours ahead of time, you can't change anything, you can't stop, you can't reset. And we would never do that anyway because you don't want anybody in the room, in the audience, to feel as though they're making a TV show. They're not, they're there to enjoy an awards ceremony. And it's our job to then take that and make that feel that it's for the viewer."

Leading up the ceremony, Baehr also said: "It is a privilege to welcome so many nominees to the EE BAFTA Film Awards this Sunday, representing some of the best on-screen and behind-the-screen creative talent working in film today who have provided audiences worldwide with an incredible year of film. It is a joy to bring these 38 remarkable films and the teams that made them to public attention. With host David Tennant bringing his charm and charisma to the ceremony, and performances from Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Hannah Waddingham, it promises to be an entertaining show for all our nominees and guests at the Royal Festival Hall and the millions of people watching at home around the world."

Statistics

In Memoriam

The In Memoriam montage was played to the song "Time After Time", performed by Hannah Waddingham.

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Premios BAFTA 2023 para niños