Bafta awards 2026: Who are the potential history-makers and record-breakers?

This year’s Bafta film awards could see a number of landmark firsts, as well as some long-standing records tumble.

Chloe Zhao will make history if she is named best director for her film Hamnet at the ceremony on Sunday.

It would make her the first woman to win the award twice, coming five years after her success in 2021 with Nomadland.

Zhao is one of only three women in history to have won the Bafta for best director.

The other two are Kathryn Bigelow (for The Hurt Locker in 2010) and Jane Campion (The Power Of The Dog in 2022).

Hamnet has already set a new Bafta record for the most nominations for a film directed by a woman, with nods in 11 categories.

The movie’s star, Jessie Buckley, has the chance to make history for her home nation of Ireland.

She is nominated for best actress and if she wins, it would be the first time an Irish performer has received this award.

It would also mean Ireland has now triumphed in all four of the main Bafta acting categories, following wins for Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon in 2023 (best supporting actor and supporting actress respectively, for The Banshees of Inisherin) and Cillian Murphy in 2024 (best actor for Oppenheimer).

Two of Buckley’s fellow nominees for best actress have their own chance to make history.

If Renate Reinsve wins, for her role in the film Sentimental Value, she would be the first person from Norway to take home the award.

And if Chase Infiniti wins, for One Battle After Another, she would be the first non-white person to be named best actress.

British talent failed to win any of the four main acting categories in 2025 – the third year in a row this has happened.

There could be a fourth consecutive washout in 2026, given that none of the bookies’ favourites or industry frontrunners are from the UK.

No British performers have been nominated for best actress this year, the first time this has happened since 2020.

The strongest category for the UK is best supporting actress, where three of the six nominees are British: Wunmi Mosaku (for Sinners), Carey Mulligan (The Ballad Of Wallis Island) and Emily Watson (Hamnet) – though all face strong competition from US frontrunner Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another).

Robert Aramayo is the sole UK hopeful in the best actor category, while Peter Mullan is the only UK nominee for best supporting actor – both for their roles in the film I Swear.

Mullan would be the first person from Scotland to win the Bafta for best supporting actor.

Elsewhere, history has already been made in the category for best cinematography, where Autumn Durald Arkapaw from the United States is the first ever non-white woman to be nominated, for her work on the film Sinners.

If she triumphs on Sunday night, she will be not only the first ever non-white female to win the award, but also the first woman to take home the prize.

The first non-white man to win the Bafta for best cinematography was Remi Adefarasin in 1999, for the film Elizabeth.

The record for the most Bafta awards won in a single evening is nine, set by Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid in 1971.

Four films have a chance of breaking this record at Sunday’s ceremony: One Battle After Another, which has received 14 nominations; Sinners (13 nominations); Hamnet (11) and Marty Supreme (11).

If the votes go a different way, Sentimental Value could set a new record for the most awards picked up by a non-English language film.

This title is currently held by All Quiet On The Western Front, which bagged seven awards in 2023.

Sentimental Value has eight nominations this year.