London’s 5 Hertford Street was abuzz on February 22, 2026, as the city’s film elite gathered for the annual pre-BAFTA party hosted by Charles Finch and sponsored by Chanel. This “dysfunctional evening,” as Finch affectionately dubbed it, has become a fixture in the awards season calendar, drawing industry heavyweights, rising stars, and international filmmakers into a single, glittering room. As the champagne flowed and conversations buzzed, the event provided a lively prelude to the BAFTA Awards, which play a unique—if sometimes misunderstood—role in the global film awards circuit.
Among the throng was Wagner Moura, whose performance in The Secret Agent has not only earned him a place at the top of the guest list but also made history. According to Elements of Madness and the BBC, Moura is the first Brazilian actor to receive a Best Actor Oscar nomination, thanks to his turn as Marcelo in the politically charged thriller directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho. The film, set in 1977 Recife during Carnival week, follows Marcelo—a widower and technology researcher—caught in the crosshairs of Brazil’s dictatorship, desperate to escape with his young son. Released in select theaters in November 2025 and on digital platforms in February 2026, The Secret Agent has quickly become a critical darling, scooping up four Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Best International Film, Best Casting, and, of course, Best Actor for Moura.
“Film will find its way like water,” Finch told his guests, as reported by Deadline, reflecting on the resilience of cinema in the face of shifting technologies and industry upheavals. “They can try and suppress it, they can change it, change the form of it … have optimism in that, no matter what happens with AI, the studio system…no matter what, it’s like a dream that finds its way. The story-telling format is so important for our passion for cinema. This is an art form that is so important for preservation and for the communication to the human soul; cherish it.” His words resonated in a room packed with talent—Dame Donna Langley, Michael De Luca, Wagner Moura, Kate Hudson, Jesse Plemons, Stellan Skarsgård, Wunmi Mosaku, and directors like Ryan Coogler, Chloé Zhao, and Jafar Panahi, to name just a few.
But as the BAFTA Awards approached, a question simmered beneath the surface: does a strong showing at the UK’s top film ceremony actually influence the outcome at the Oscars? The answer, as explored in a recent BBC News Brazil analysis, is nuanced. While the BAFTAs can boost a film’s international profile, experts caution against reading too much into the results. The voting bodies for the BAFTAs and the Oscars are structurally and culturally distinct. As critic Rodrigo Salem put it, “The overlap between the voting bodies of the BAFTA and the Oscars is minimal. Being part of the BAFTA academy isn’t very exclusive. You pay the fee, register online, and that’s it.”
Professor Nik Steffens of the University of Queensland, who analyzed thousands of nominations and awards, found that cultural identity plays a significant role. “Both awards claim to celebrate the ‘best performance.’ But psychology shows us that ‘better’ is never something understood in a social vacuum. It is shaped by groups that make assessments according to their sense of belonging to the world,” Steffens explained. “Our identity shapes what we value and what we consider exceptional. Awards ceremonies serve as collective celebrations of who we are and who we want to be. In other words, the choice goes beyond technique. It involves cultural identification and belonging.”
That sense of identity was palpable at the Mayfair gathering, where Brazilian creatives mingled with Hollywood’s elite. Besides Moura, other Brazilian talents were in the BAFTA spotlight: Adolpho Veloso, nominated for cinematography for Dreams on a Train, and Petra Costa, recognized for her documentary Apocalypse in the Tropics. Yet, as history shows, triumph at the BAFTAs doesn’t guarantee Oscar glory. Central Station won the BAFTA for Best Foreign Language Film in 1999 but missed out at the Oscars. City of God took home the BAFTA for Best Editing but left the Academy Awards empty-handed. The reverse has happened too, with some films succeeding at the Oscars after being overlooked in London.
Still, there’s no denying that BAFTA visibility can help. “It’s an exposure, because, from the moment you win the BAFTA, more people who vote for the Oscars and haven’t yet seen your film may finally give it a chance,” Veloso told BBC News Brazil. “It may not be a barometer, but it’s a push towards the Oscars.” For independent films like The Secret Agent, this kind of spotlight can be crucial—sometimes the hardest part isn’t winning votes, but simply getting Academy members to watch your film at all.
Back at 5 Hertford Street, conversations ranged from the technical (Ryan Coogler and Doug Liman chatting about budgeting) to the whimsical (BAFTA chief Jane Millichip and Bridgerton’s Regé-Jean Page discussing figure-skating at the upcoming Winter Olympics). Page, for his part, is set to star later this year in a new interpretation of The Great Gatsby directed by Michael Longhurst. Mark Strong, another attendee, has just wrapped up a Broadway run and is now starring in Tom Ford’s new film Cry to Heaven, a project shrouded in secrecy but boasting a cast that includes Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ciarán Hinds, Thandiwe Newton, Nicholas Hoult, Colin Firth, and George McKay.
The party also celebrated new faces making waves. Norwegian actress Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, previously little-known, was recognized for her breakout role in Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value—a Cannes favorite starring Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, and Elle Fanning. Meanwhile, Kristin Scott Thomas revealed her return to the West End in a new adaptation of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard this October, directed by Ian Rickson.
Not even logistical mishaps could dampen the mood. Last year’s fire at the Chiltern Firehouse Hotel forced Netflix to relocate its annual post-BAFTA bash to The Twenty Two in Grosvenor Square—a move orchestrated overnight by Claire Ingle-Finche and her team. Top awards executive Lisa Taback and others lost their luggage, but the party, like the film industry itself, found a way to carry on.
Earlier that day, the EE BAFTA nominees reception at the National Gallery saw stars and filmmakers alike racing from the art-lined halls to their limousines, eager to make it to the “dysfunctional” party of the year. For many, it was a night to celebrate not just awards and nominations, but the enduring power of cinema to connect, challenge, and inspire—no matter which side of the Atlantic the trophies end up on.
As the awards season barrels toward the Oscars in Los Angeles on March 15, all eyes remain on The Secret Agent and Wagner Moura’s groundbreaking campaign. Whether or not BAFTA success translates into Oscar gold, the journey itself—marked by parties, passionate speeches, and a global celebration of storytelling—reminds us why the world keeps gathering, year after year, to honor the magic of film.