2025 BAFTA Film Awards: ‘Conclave’ Named Best Film, Ties with ‘The Brutalist’ for Most Wins
Edward Berger’s papal thriller Conclave was named Best Film at the 2025 BAFTA Film Awards today, one of four awards it collected that also included wins for editing and adapted screenplay.
The film, which led the BAFTA nominations with 12, also won outstanding British Film, making it the first film to win that and the top film award since Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech from 2010.
The Brutalist also scored four wins, including one for Brady Corbet’s directing, who also won the Golden Globe, and for Adrien Brody’s lead performance. Brody now has BAFTA, Critics Choice and the Globe entering SAG next week and with two days of Oscar voting left.
This last week, Sean Baker’s Anora showed major guild domination, winning the DGA, PGA and WGA and came out of BAFTA with wins for its casting and leading lady star Mikey Madison. Despite being the season’s overwhelming critics leader across multiple U.S. regions, Madison had up to now lost lead actress bids to Demi Moore (The Substance) at both Critics Choice and the Golden Globes and now sets up what should be a very close pair of races next with with the Spirit Awards and Screen Actors Guild.
The festivities were hosted once again by actor David Tennant, who took aim at U.S. President Donald Trump in his opening monologue. “Donald Trump, he says he hasn’t seen ‘The Apprentice’ because it’s a 15.” referring to the U.K. film rating. It’s not on Nickelodeon. Donald Trump … I’m worried. I’ve said his name three times. It’s like Beetlejuice — I’ve summoned him. And talking of villains…” he continued.
Dune: Part Two and Wicked both picked up two technical wins apiece in the categories they were expected to win, sound and visual effects for the former and costume and production design for the latter. A Real Pain was a surprise winner in original screenplay but a predictable one for supporting actor Kieran Culkin, who was in rehearsals for a play in New York and not present to accept his award.
Emilia Pérez picked up two wins, for Zoe Saldaña in supporting actress and for film not in the English language. Nominee and titular star Karla Sofía Gascón was not present in light of the the resurfacing of offensive tweets but director Jacques Audiard, who had previously distanced himself from her and the controversy, did an about face in his acceptance speech, including her in the film’s praise.
“Above all, I would like to thank all the wonderful artists who brought this film to life and who are here with us tonight. My dear Zoe, my dear Selena, Giorgini, Paul, Juliet, Camille, Clement, Julia and your team, but also you, my dear Karla Sofia, that I kiss. I’m deeply proud of what we achieved together. Long live ‘Emilia Pérez’!”
The Substance managed just a single win, for its makeup. A pair of heavily-nominated film, A Complete Unknown and Nosferatu, both went home empty-handed.
The Belfast-based rap trio quasi-biopic Kneecap won outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer for director Rich Peppiatt, who made BAFTA history by tying the record for nominations for a debut filmmaker.
BAFTA comprises more than 8,000 film voters across more than 50 countries. Here is the complete list of winners.
BEST FILM
- ANORA Alex Coco, Samantha Quan, Sean Baker
- THE BRUTALIST Brady Corbet, D.J. Gugenheim, Brian Young, Andrew Morrison, Nick Gordon
- A COMPLETE UNKNOWN Fred Berger, Alex Heineman, James Mangold
- CONCLAVE Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell, Michael A. Jackman – WINNER
- EMILIA PÉREZ Pascal Caucheteux, Jacques Audiard
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
- BIRD Andrea Arnold, Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell, Lee Groombridge
- BLITZ Steve McQueen, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Anita Overland
- CONCLAVE Edward Berger, Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell, Michael A. Jackman, Peter Straughan – WINNER
- GLADIATOR II Ridley Scott, Douglas Wick, Lucy Fisher, Michael Pruss, David Scarpa, Peter Craig
- HARD TRUTHS Mike Leigh, Georgina Lowe
- KNEECAP Rich Peppiatt, Trevor Birney, Jack Tarling, Naoise Ó Cairealláin, Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, JJ Ó Dochartaigh
- LEE Ellen Kuras, Kate Solomon, Kate Winslet, Liz Hannah, Marion Hume, John Collee, Lem Dobbs
- LOVE LIES BLEEDING Rose Glass, Andrea Cornwell, Oliver Kassman, Wereonika Tofilska
- THE OUTRUN Nora Fingscheidt, Sarah Brocklehurst, Dominic Norris, Jack Lowden, Saoirse Ronan, Amy Liptrot
- WALLACE AND GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham, Richard Beek, Mark Burton
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
- HOARD Luna Carmoon (Director, Writer)
- KNEECAP Rich Peppiatt (Director, Writer) – WINNER
- MONKEY MAN Dev Patel (Director)
- SANTOSH Sandhya Suri (Director, Writer), James Bowsher (Producer), Balthazar de Ganay (Producer) [also produced by Alan McAlex, Mike Goodridge]
- SISTER MIDNIGHT Karan Kandhari (Director, Writer)
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
- ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT Payal Kapadia, Thomas Hakim
- EMILIA PÉREZ Jacques Audiard, TBD – WINNER
- I’M STILL HERE (AINDA ESTOU AQUI) Walter Salles, TBD
- KNEECAP Rich Peppiatt, Trevor Birney
- THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG Mohammad Rasoulof, Amin Sadraei
DOCUMENTARY
- BLACK BOX DIARIES Shiori Ito, Hanna Aqvilin, Eric Nyari
- DAUGHTERS Natalie Rae, Angela Patton, TBD
- NO OTHER LAND Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor
- SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY Ian Bonhôte, Peter Ettedgui, Lizzie Gilliett, Robert Ford – WINNER
- WILL & HARPER Josh Greenbaum, Rafael Marmor, Christopher Leggett, Will Ferrell, Jessica Elbaum
ANIMATED FILM
- FLOW Gints Siibalodis, Matīss Kaža
- INSIDE OUT 2 Kelsey Mann, Mark Nielsen
- WALLACE AND GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham, Richard Beek – WINNER
- THE WILD ROBOT Chris Sanders, Jeff Hermann
CHILDREN’S & FAMILY FILM
- FLOW Gints Siibalodis, Matīss Kaža
- KENSUKE’S KINGDOM Kirk Hendry, Neil Boyle, Camilla Deakin
- WALLACE AND GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham, Richard Beek – WINNER
- THE WILD ROBOT Chris Sanders, Jeff Hermann
DIRECTOR
- ANORA Sean Baker
- THE BRUTALIST Brady Corbet – WINNER
- CONCLAVE Edward Berger
- DUNE: PART TWO Denis Villeneuve
- EMILIA PÉREZ Jacques Audiard
- THE SUBSTANCE Coralie Fargeat
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
- ANORA Written by Sean Baker
- THE BRUTALIST Written by Brady Corbet & Mona Fastvold
- KNEECAP Writer Rich Peppiatt, Story by Rich Peppiatt, Naoise Ó Cairealláin, Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, JJ Ó Dochartaigh
- A REAL PAIN Written by Jesse Eisenberg – WINNER
- THE SUBSTANCE Written by Coralie Fargeat
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
- A COMPLETE UNKNOWN Screenplay by James Mangold and Jay Cocks
- CONCLAVE Screenplay by Peter Straughan – WINNER
- EMILIA PÉREZ Written by Jacques Audiard
- NICKEL BOYS Screenplay by RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes
- SING SING Screenplay by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Story by Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence ‘Divine Eye’ Maclin, John ‘Divine G’ Whitfield
LEADING ACTRESS
- CYNTHIA ERIVO Wicked
- KARLA SOFÍA GASCÓN Emilia Pérez
- MARIANNE JEAN-BAPTISTE Hard Truths
- MIKEY MADISON Anora – WINNER
- DEMI MOORE The Substance
- SAOIRSE RONAN The Outrun
LEADING ACTOR
- ADRIEN BRODY The Brutalist – WINNER
- TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET A Complete Unknown
- COLMAN DOMINGO Sing Sing
- RALPH FIENNES Conclave
- HUGH GRANT Heretic
- SEBASTIAN STAN The Apprentice
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- SELENA GOMEZ Emilia Pérez
- ARIANA GRANDE-BUTERA Wicked
- FELICITY JONES The Brutalist
- JAMIE LEE CURTIS The Last Showgirl
- ISABELLA ROSSELLINI Conclave
- ZOE SALDAÑA Emilia Pérez – WINNER
SUPPORTING ACTOR
- YURA BORISOV Anora
- KIERAN CULKIN A Real Pain – WINNER
- CLARENCE MACLIN Sing Sing
- EDWARD NORTON A Complete Unknown
- GUY PEARCE The Brutalist
- JEREMY STRONG The Apprentice
CASTING
- ANORA Sean Baker, Samantha Quan – WINNER
- THE APPRENTICE Stephanie Gorin, Carmen Cuba
- A COMPLETE UNKNOWN Yesi Ramirez
- CONCLAVE Nina Gold, Martin Ware
- KNEECAP Carla Stronge
CINEMATOGRAPHY
- THE BRUTALIST Lol Crawley – WINNER
- CONCLAVE Stéphane Fontaine
- DUNE: PART TWO Greig Fraser
- EMILIA PÉREZ Paul Guilhaume
- NOSFERATU Jarin Blaschke
EDITING
- ANORA Sean Baker
- CONCLAVE Nick Emerson – WINNER
- DUNE: PART TWO Joe Walker
- EMILIA PÉREZ Juliette Welfling
- KNEECAP Julian Ulrichs, Chris Gill
COSTUME DESIGN
- BLITZ Jacqueline Durran
- A COMPLETE UNKNOWN Arianne Phillips
- CONCLAVE Lisy Christl
- NOSFERATU Linda Muir
- WICKED Paul Tazewell – WINNER
MAKE UP & HAIR
- DUNE: PART TWO Love Larson, Eva Von Bahr
- EMILIA PÉREZ Julia Floch Carbonel, Emmanuel Janvier, Jean-Christophe Spadaccini, Romain Marietti
- NOSFERATU David White, Traci Loader, Suzanne Stokes-Munton
- THE SUBSTANCE Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon, Frédérique Arguello, Marilyne Scarselli – WINNER
- WICKED Frances Hannon, Laura Blount, Sarah Nuth
ORIGINAL SCORE
- THE BRUTALIST Daniel Blumberg – WINNER
- CONCLAVE Volker Bertelmann
- EMILIA PÉREZ Camille, Clément Ducol
- NOSFERATU Robin Carolan
- THE WILD ROBOT Kris Bowers
PRODUCTION DESIGN
- THE BRUTALIST Judy Becker, Patricia Cuccia
- CONCLAVE Suzie Davies, Cynthia Sleiter
- DUNE: PART TWO Patrice Vermette, Shane Vieau
- NOSFERATU Craig Lathrop
- WICKED Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales – WINNER
SOUND
- BLITZ John Casali, Paul Cotterell, James Harrison
- DUNE: PART TWO Ron Bartlett, Doug Hemphill, Gareth John, Richard King – WINNER
- GLADIATOR II Stéphane Bucher, Matthew Collinge, Paul Massey Danny Sheehan
- THE SUBSTANCE Valérie Deloof, Victor Fleurant, Victor Praud, Stéphane Thiébaut, Emmanuelle Villard
- WICKED Robin Baynton, Simon Hayes, John Marquis, Andy Nelson, Nancy Nugent Title
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
- BETTER MAN Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft, Peter Stubbs
- DUNE: PART TWO Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Gerd Nefzer, Rhys Salcombe – WINNER
- GLADIATOR II Mark Bakowski, Neil Corbould, Nikki Penny, Pietro Ponti
- KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Erik Winquist, Rodney Burke, Paul Story, Stephen Unterfranz
- WICKED Pablo Helman, Paul Corbould, Jonathan Fawkner, Anthony Smith
BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
- ADIÓS José Prats, Natalia Kyriacou, Bernardo Angeletti
- MOG’S CHRISTMAS Robin Shaw, Joanna Harrison, Camilla Deakin, Ruth Fielding
- WANDER TO WONDER Nina Gantz, Stienette Bosklopper, Simon Cartwright, Maarten Swart – WINNER
BRITISH SHORT FILM
- THE FLOWERS STAND SILENTLY, WITNESSING Theo Panagopoulos, Marissa Keating
- MARION Joe Weiland, Finn Constantine, Marija Djikic
- MILK Miranda Stern, Ashionye Ogene
- ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS Franz Böhm, Ivan, Hayder Rothschild Hoozeer – WINNER
- STOMACH BUG Matty Crawford, Karima Sammout-Kanellopoulou
EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
- MARISA ABELA
- JHARREL JEROME
- DAVID JONSSON – WINNER
- MIKEY MADISON
- NABHAAN RIZWAN
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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