The 79th British Academy Film Awards, colloquially known as the BAFTAs, are just around the corner.
Dubbed "Britain's biggest night in film," the BAFTAs spotlight the best and brightest in movies over the past year and will take place in London this coming weekend, marking one of the final award shows ahead of the Academy Awards in March.
This year, some of the brightest stars in entertainment -- ranging from Michael B. Jordan to Emma Stone to Timothée Chalamet -- will be competing for the top acting prizes.
Meanwhile, films that have already stacked up statuettes this awards season, such as "One Battle After Another" and "Marty Supreme," will be in the mix in several categories, including best film.
The BAFTAs will also recognize British film excellence with several categories including outstanding British film.
Read on for everything to know about the 2026 BAFTAs.
The 2026 BAFTAs will be held in London at Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall on Sunday, Feb. 22.
The awards will air at 7 p.m. GMT on BBC One and BBC iPlayer within the U.K.
In North America, the ceremony will air on E! at 8 p.m. ET, according to the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
The 2026 BAFTAs will be hosted by film, television and theater legend -- and current host of the runaway hit reality series "The Traitors" -- Alan Cumming.
Cumming, known for his roles in "X2," "The Good Wife," and several "Cabaret" stage productions, was announced as the 2026 BAFTAs host in a December 2025 press release.
Cumming reacted to the news in a statement included in the release.
"How exciting to be back in the BAFTA fold, this time hosting the EE BAFTA Film Awards, a night like no other when we celebrate and honour creativity and craftsmanship -- and also hopefully have a laugh and create some mischief as we do so!" he said at the time.
Cumming was previously recognized with an outstanding contribution to film and television award by BAFTA Scotland in 2018.
The BAFTAs will have at least two special performances coming to the stage on Sunday during the awards presentation.
The BAFTAs will see the very first performance of "Golden," the hit song from "KPop Demon Hunters," outside the United States, according to BAFTA.
Additionally, singer Jessie Ware will cover a "beloved" Barbra Streisand song during a planned "in memoriam" segment, the academy stated.
The star-studded list of presenters includes names from across entertainment, including "The White Lotus" star Aimee Lou Wood, "Breaking Bad" star Bryan Cranston, "Oppenheimer" star Cillian Murphy, "Sinners" star Delroy Lindo, "The Bride!" writer and director Maggie Gyllenhaal, "Stranger Things" star Sadie Sink, "Sinners" star Michael B. Jordan and more.
The BAFTA nominations were announced last month and closely reflect the nominees in contention for some of the top prizes across awards season thus far.
"One Battle After Another" leads the way with 14 nominations total, including a leading actor nod for Leonardo DiCaprio.
Other films with multiple nominations include "Sinners" with 13, followed by "Hamnet" and "Marty Supreme" with 11 each.
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts also highlighted first-time performance category nominees, including Robert Aramayo, Odessa A'zion, Rose Byrne, Chase Infiniti, Michael B. Jordan, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Stellan Skarsgård and Teyana Taylor.
Each year, the BAFTAs recognize excellence in film in specific categories geared toward British projects.
The outstanding British film category includes the following nominees: "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" and "Steve."
The nominees in the outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer category include "The Ceremony," "My Father's Shadow," "Pillion," "A Want In Her" and "Wasteman."
Other categories include British short animation -- "Cardboard," "Solstice" and "Two Black Boys in Paradise" are nominated -- and British short film, whose nominees include "Magid / Zafar," "Nostalgie," "Terence," "This Is Endometriosis" and "Welcome Home Freckles."
