From My Father’s Shadow Statement Victory to Wumi Mosaku's Oscars Race Upset: 3 Significant Black Moments From the 2026 BAFTAs

Our breakdown of 3 significant Black moments from the 2026 BAFTAs: Wumi Mosaku's upset win, Ryan Coogler's historic Sinners victories, and My Father's Shadow impact.

The 2026 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards took place yesterday, 22nd February 2026, at the Royal Festival Hall, London. The Awards, which serve as one of the major stops in the 2026 Awards season, leading up to the Oscars in March, proved to be eventful with a myriad of moments and takeaways. This included everything from an awkward yet inspiring speech from Best Actress winner Jessie Buckley (Hamnet), to a more lighthearted one by Ryan Coogler on behalf of Ludwig Göransson for Best Score (Sinners), and an appearance by everyone’s favourite Marmalade-maker, Paddington Bear. 

In the mix of all these, there were three moments that stood out for us at Black Film Wire, all involving Black talent. These moments carry immense cultural significance and represent the future, one way or the other. In no particular order, here they are: 

1. Wumi Mosaku’s Best Supporting Actress Win Upsets the Oscars Scales: 

Nigerian-British actress Wumi Mosaku was one of four Acting winners for her emotional performance as Hoodoo priestess Annie in Ryan Coogler’s seminal vampire thriller, Sinners. In her speech during the winners’ press conference, she said, “It always feels good when you walk into a room, and you’re not the only one. It always feels good when you feel like your story and your experience are being represented with integrity and creativity.” She added, “Since the film came out, just seeing the response of black women feeling seen, loved, valued, treasured, and the power of our ancestry and spirituality. For me, seeing that response made me realise how lonely I felt and all of a sudden these women were in my life who I’d never met, I felt a kinship to.”, per The Standard UK. 

Her win, alongside Sean Penn’s (One Battle After Another) in the Supporting category, heralds a competitive showdown at the Academy Awards on March 16. None of the recurring nominees had claimed the win more than once at the other major ceremonies leading up to the BAFTAs. Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another) and Stellan Skarsgård (Sentimental Value) won at the Golden Globes. Amy Madigan (Weapons) and Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein) won at the Critics' Choice Awards. With only the Actor Awards left in the run-in, predictions in both categories remain far from locked in. 

The story is different in the lead categories with Jessie Buckley (Hamnet) a sure shoo-in for the Best Actress statuette, while Timothée Chalamet (Marty Supreme) is primed to win the Male category, barring any surprises from Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent). 

All in all, it was wonderful seeing Wumi receive her flowers on another large awards stage (she won at the Gotham Awards). 

2. Sinners Making Black History:

When this writer saw Sinners at the cinemas last year, the first of multiple viewings, he was certain the movie was headed for greatness. On Sunday, Ryan Coogler’s feature affirmed that further by making BAFTA history, and becoming the most decorated movie by a Black director in the Awards’ 79 editions of existence. Its three wins for Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Supporting Actress surpassed Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave (Best Film and Best Lead Actor for Chiwetel Ejiofor). 

Ryan Coogler made further history as the first Black winner in the Best Original Screenplay category, beating out I Swear, Marty Supreme, The Secret Agent, and Sentimental Value. His acceptance speech contained one of the night’s touchstone statements, “For all the writers out there, when y’all look at that blank page, think of who you love, think of anybody who you’ve seen in pain that you identify with and wish they felt better and let that love motivate you.” It made the film’s ten other losses pale in comparison, bolstering overall sentiment beyond Awards season. And what better month to do it than this one?

Sinners’ three wins being a record was a reminder of the extent to which Black and other people of colour have to go in the film and TV industry. In one of the less memorable moments of the night, John Davidson, Tourette’s syndrome campaigner and inspiration behind the film, I Swear, involuntarily uttered a racial slur while Sinners’ stars Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting. An apology followed from presenter Alan Cumming later in the ceremony, and today, the BBC issued an apology for not editing out the slur. Commentators have rightly pointed out that this was an avoidable mistake as there was a two-hour tape delay specifically to account for such edits. 

3. My Father’s Shadow Caps Amazing Post-Cannes Run:

Everyone who saw brothers and co-writers of My Father’s Shadow, Wale Davies and Akinola Davies Jr., rock up to the BAFTAs in those suave overcoats must have known that the pair were bound to walk away with the coveted bronze marks. Sure enough, they picked up the award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer. The pair were joined on stage by producers Rachel Dargavel and Funmbi Ogunbanwo to mark a watershed moment in Nigerian cinema that has hopefully made certain stakeholders understand just what is possible with adequate resources. 

In his speech, Akinola Davies Jr. acknowledged "the ancestors and the path laid before him”, his brother’s role as a father figure, stars Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù and the Egbo brothers, his producers, BFI and a host of others. He concluded by calling for attendees to “archive their stories, archive their loved ones” before shouting out Nigeria, London, and in one of the night’s most powerful gestures, alluding to an end to the genocides in Congo, Sudan, and Palestine — this was cut out from the BBC’s live broadcast. 

This win is the latest in a list of laurels for the semi autobiographical film based on the Davies’ brothers’ lives, including; the Caméra d’Or Special Mention at theCannes Film Festival, Best Director win at the British Independent Film Awards, Breakthrough Director and Outstanding Lead Performance (Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù) at the Gotham Independent Film Awards, Special Mention at the Chicago International Film Festival, and Special Jury Award (Silver Peacock) at the International Film Festival of India (all in 2025). 

For more about My Father’s Shadow, read Jerry Chiemeke and the Black Film Wire’s extensive interview with Akinola, Rachel Dargavel, and Funmbi Ogunbanwo, where they break down memory, the character of Lagos, maintaining cultural authenticity, production scale, and so much more about this remarkable father-son story.