Wunmi Mosaku Shows 'Ancestral Power' With Bafta Win — Independent London Designer Dresses the Star
wunmi mosaku spoke of shock and a personal awakening after taking the Bafta for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Sinners, and her win — plus gown choice from an independent London designer — became one of the evening’s defining moments.
Wunmi Mosaku: Bafta victory and immediate reaction
The 39-year-old said she was really shocked when she won the Bafta for her role in Sinners, losing her breath and finding it hard to believe the announcement. Mosaku is the first black British winner of the supporting actress category at the Bafta film awards. Her award was noted alongside praise for co-star Jack O'Connell and the film’s win for best original screenplay, and Mosaku has also been tipped for an Oscar for her portrayal of Annie.
Portrayal of Annie and the 'ancestral power' she reclaimed
Mosaku drew widespread acclaim for playing Annie, a Hoodoo priestess in the musical horror film. She said the role allowed her to find parts of herself she thought she had lost or tried to dim as an immigrant trying to fit in, describing a regained ancestral power and connection. At a winners' press conference she welcomed the way her story and experience were represented with integrity and creativity and highlighted the response from black women who said they felt seen, loved, valued and treasured — a reaction that made her realise how lonely she had felt and created feelings of kinship with women she had never met.
Background: Zaria to Manchester, past awards and personal reflection
Mosaku was born in Nigeria and grew up in Manchester, having moved with her family from the historic Nigerian city of Zaria when she was a one-year-old baby. Her Bafta film award arrives nine years after she won the same category at the television Baftas for her role in Damilola, Our Loved Boy, a programme about the death of 10-year-old Damilola Taylor, who was stabbed while walking home from a library in London. Reflecting on her upbringing when that programme aired, she recalled growing up on an estate in Manchester where people she knew from school had died in gang trouble and how she sometimes believed it could have been her in different circumstances.
Red carpet, wider winners and the mood of the night
The awards night saw One Battle After Another take best film, beating Hamnet and Sinners, while Robert Aramayo was named best actor for I Swear and Jessie Buckley won best actress for Hamnet. The ceremony opened with a long roll call of films set to a Goldfrapp song and a red carpet montage featured many attendees who had never been at the awards before — one person was said to have threatened to vomit. Timothée Chalamet appeared in a recent video on the ceremony’s official social feed walking the red carpet. On the carpet, Paul Mescal and Gracie Abrams made a public red carpet debut as a couple with a kiss; Mescal wore Prada and Abrams chose a beaded floral look from Chanel. Teyana Taylor leaned into a dramatic trench and ruff, while Archie Madekwe helped make collars a talking point. The red carpet also included Wale Davies and Akinola Davies among those described as looking notably suave. During the arrivals, someone shouted “Is the monarchy in peril?” at Prince William as he walked the red carpet, and he was reported to have called One Battle After Another “weird”, said he had not seen Sinners because it was “a bit dark”, and mentioned that he liked F1.
Gown, inspirations and the film’s breadth
Mosaku called on an independent London designer for her BAFTAs gown. In the run-up to the ceremony she described a hectic schedule — saying she was on day five of what she called a “14-day week” — and was even trying to secure theatre tickets while having hair and make-up done. Her role in Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler, casts Annie as the Hoodoo priestess and wife of Smoke (Michael B. Jordan) in a film that mixes musical, vampire thriller, romance epic and period drama against a Jim Crow-era Mississippi Delta backdrop. Mosaku characterised the film as being about capitalism and the cost of freedom, posing the question of whether one stays in their truth or goes where the money and power are. The film has been described as a box-office smash and a critical darling, with Mosaku meeting audience members who have seen it more than 20 times.
Career touchstones and family notes
Earlier inspiration for Mosaku came from watching the 1980s musical film Annie every day after school; that childhood ambition, questioned by family, led her to research the film’s cast and discover drama schools after learning that Salford-born actor Albert Finney had trained at RADA. She has appeared in television dramas including Luther and Black Mirror as well as in Marvel movies. Speaking about her win, Mosaku — who is pregnant — thanked her daughter and called her “my greatest teacher. ”
