The BAFTAs: who needs them?

The 2026 BAFTA Awards were perhaps the worst ever. First, there was the ridiculous Anglocentrism, reflected by the British media who went wild about the meagre two awards given to much-hyped Hamnet. Jessie Buckley, of course, fully deserved her award, but she is Irish not British so in fact Hamnet only received one award, for best British film. It’s worth pointing out, however, that there was absolutely no serious competition. Every year in the 2020s the Best British Film Award has gone to a deserving winner but most of the shortlisted films were poor in quality.

Compare this thin fare with the Oscars and Golden Globes this year and every year and it is perhaps worth asking why we bother with the BAFTAs at all. Despite the best efforts of the BBC to hype Hamnet and I Swear, neither film was in the same class as Sinners, Marty Supreme and One Battle After Another, nominated for 38 Oscars between them.

Then, of course, there was the controversy about John Davidson, whose life story about his battle with Tourette’s syndrome inspired the film I Swear. He shouted the “N-word” as two black actors, Sinners stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo, presented the first prize of Sunday’s ceremony. The BBC has apologised for not editing out the racial slur from its coverage, broadcast two hours later.

Not a good year for editing at the BBC, whether it was the infamous Panorama about President Trump, or their coverage of Glastonbury, when the BBC failed to edit out the vile antisemitic chants by Bob Vylan. But the point about suffering from Tourette’s is precisely that these utterances are beyond the control of the speaker. Davidson (who was so mortified that he left the ceremony early) sincerely apologised for his remarks and the BBC apologised for not editing them out properly. A number of Black celebrities and politicians have condemned the BBC and BAFTA. Apparently, they didn’t hear the remarks by the evening’s host, Alan Cummings: “Tourette syndrome is a disability, and the tics you’ve heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette syndrome has no control over their language. We apologise if you are offended tonight.” The key words here are, “has no control over their language”. Earlier on the audience applauded Davidson, but then they decided that racism trumps disability.

What is striking, though, is that there has been a lot of coverage about the Davidson affaire but hardly any about the speech by a young Black filmmaker, Akinola Davies Jr. He spoke about “those experiencing genocide” and ended by calling out “Free Palestine” to the rapturous applause of the luvvie audience at the BAFTAs. This time the BBC did manage to edit out the offending line, but it is possible to see the remark online and the applause from the audience which is sadly typical of so many British celebrities since the Israeli attempt to liberate hostages treated inhumanly by Hamas. Davies was being recognised by BAFTA for work exploring Black British life and diasporic identity. Quite what “Free Palestine” has to do with Black British life, Davies did not explain and his adoring audience did not care.

Whether at Glastonbury or the BAFTAs, it seems that British audiences cannot be trusted not to cheer antisemitic songs or speeches and the BBC certainly cannot be trusted to edit offensive material properly from broadcasts, offering one poor excuse after another. Next up are the Oscars, when we will no doubt be treated to the spectacle of Hollywood stars wearing pro-Palestine badges and ribbons.

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