London, Thursday 14 August 2025: BAFTA today confirms the categories, eligibility, voting rules and timeline for the 2026 EE BAFTA Film Awards. Entries open today, marking the start of the countdown to one of the most highly anticipated nights on the global film calendar. Earlier this year, three million people tuned in to watch the ceremony on BBC One, alongside over 64 million video views across BAFTA’s social platforms, with Conclave, The Brutalist, Anora, and Emilia Pérez leading the wins.
BAFTA reviews all aspects of the EE BAFTA Film Awards annually with BAFTA’s Film Committee and film sector peers. The guiding principles are to celebrate creative excellence, level the playing field, provide a fair and robust process, encourage positive change, and evolve alongside the ever-changing industry landscape.
The 79th edition of the Awards will take place on Sunday 22 February 2026. Several updates have been introduced:
The Outstanding British Film category is of national and international significance to BAFTA, showcasing the very best of British-made films. The Outstanding British Film eligibility has been strengthened, which means that the candidates for nomination should reach a minimum of 60% of the available points with either the Director or Writer being British in order to qualify. It ensures that the category celebrates films that add significant value to our film industry, whether the teams that made them, the source material, the setting, or the partners involved.
We are refining the opt-in chapter profile for the Documentary category to ensure this category is voted for by members with specific documentary/non-fiction experience in Round One, with the full voting membership selecting the winner. This change recognises the specialist nature of the category and the craft of documentary filmmaking.
For the first time, full voting members will decide the winners of British Short Film and British Short Animation, raising the profile of these films and making the categories more competitive than ever.
The full EE BAFTA Film Awards rulebook for 2026 can be found HERE.
KEY CHANGES
Outstanding British Film
The points system, successfully introduced for the 2025 Awards, will continue, with an iteration on points for the candidates for nomination who should reach a minimum of 60% of those available points – within this points system, either a Director or Writer should be British in order to qualify. Films that reach the 60% British candidates threshold without a British Writer or Director, will be considered on appeal. This points system has a minimum number of points for British candidates for nomination, HODs, cast, and production, etc, so the eligibility process removes any ambiguity and is more transparent for entrants and for BAFTA.
Documentary
The Documentary opt-in chapter profile in Round One has been further refined to allow for specialist voting in Round One (to determine the longlist), and to optimise the Documentary voting process, ensuring that both the chapter and category best reflect the work of documentary filmmakers and sector in the coming years. The documentary jury will remain in place in Round Two, selecting all five nominations, and the full voting membership will select the overall winner.
British Short Animation
Introduced for the 2025 Awards, shorts for this category must now qualify via at least one festival on the Qualifying Festivals List. Rather than being solely determined by a, the Longlist will be determined by a new Shorts chapter and jury in Round One (similar to British Short Film). The full film voting membership will now vote to determine the winner in Round Three.
British Short Film
The full film voting membership will now vote to determine the winner in Round Three.
Eligibility
The Awards year, during which films must be released theatrically in the UK, is from 1 January 2025 to 20 February 2026. There is an exception for films eligible for Documentary and Film Not in the English Language (FNIEL), which can be released up to and including 20 March 2026 (films releasing after 20 February 2026 will not qualify for Best Film).
TIMELINE
Thursday 14 August 2025 – Entries open
Friday 5 December 2025 – Round One voting opens
Friday 9 January 2026 – Longlists announcement
Friday 9 January 2026 – Round Two voting opens
Tuesday 27 January 2026 – Nominations Announcement
Wednesday 28 January 2026 – Round Three voting opens
Sunday 22 February 2026 – EE BAFTA Film Awards
Anna Higgs, BAFTA Film Committee Chair, said: “As we look ahead to the 79th EE BAFTA Film Awards on Sunday 22 February 2026, we’re proud to introduce a series of updates that reflect our ongoing commitment to recognising excellence and evolving with the industry. By making the voting process for Documentary even more specialist in the earlier rounds, we’re honouring the unique craft, artistry and expertise required in nonfiction storytelling. Strengthening the eligibility criteria for Outstanding British Film reinforces this award’s national and international importance as a celebration of the very best in British filmmaking. And for the first time, empowering our full voting membership to select the winners of British Short Film and British Short Animation will not only raise the profile of these exceptional works from emerging filmmakers, but also ensure greater alignment and consistency across our voting processes. These changes are rooted in our dedication to fairness, rigour, and the recognition of creative excellence in all its forms.”
