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34th British Academy Film Awards (1981)
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BAFTA 1981 Winners & Nominees

The 34th British Academy Film Awards (1981) took place on March 22, 1981. The Elephant Man won Best Film and 2 more awards. Every winner and nominee in all 12 categories is below.

All 12 categories Most wins
categories
12
nominations
44
films nominated
14
winners
12
Held on
Best Film
The Elephant Man
Headline winners

BAFTA 1981: The Winners

The Elephant Man won Best Film against 3 other nominees. Akira Kurosawa (Best Director), John Hurt (Best Actor) and Judy Davis (Best Actress) took the main individual prizes.

The Elephant Man (1980) movie poster Best Film

Best Film

The Elephant Man

1980 · Biography, Drama · $26M worldwide

With Jonathan Sanger

3 wins from 7 nominations at the 34th British Academy Film Awards (1981)

  • Best Actor
  • Best Production Design

John Merrick endures a life of isolation due to severe physical deformities. Exploited and mistreated, he finds an unexpected advocate in surgeon Frederick Treves, who sees beyond Merrick’s appearance and recognizes his inherent dignity. Treves attempts to provide Merrick with a more humane existence, but struggles against the pervasive cruelty and prejudice of Victorian society. The story explores themes of compassion, acceptance, and the definition of humanity itself, challenging viewers to confront their own biases.

About The Elephant Man
Scoreboard

BAFTA 1981: Which Films Won the Most

The Elephant Man won 3 awards from 7 nominations. 7 films won at least once, while Kramer vs. Kramer went home empty-handed from 6 nominations. Green is wins, blue is nominations.

  1. The Elephant Man (1980) movie poster
    The Elephant Man 3 / 7
    1980 · Biography, Drama · 3 wins from 7 nominations
  2. All That Jazz (1979) movie poster
    All That Jazz 2 / 6
    1979 · Drama, Fantasy · 2 wins from 6 nominations
  3. Kagemusha (1980) movie poster
    Kagemusha 2 / 3
    1980 · Drama, History · 2 wins from 3 nominations
  4. My Brilliant Career (1979) movie poster
    My Brilliant Career 2 / 2
    1979 · Biography, Drama · 2 wins from 2 nominations
  5. Fame (1980) movie poster
    Fame 1 / 4
    1980 · Drama, Music · 1 win from 4 nominations
  6. Being There (1979) movie poster
    Being There 1 / 4
    1979 · Drama, Comedy · 1 win from 4 nominations
  7. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) movie poster
    Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back 1 / 3
    1980 · Action, Adventure · 1 win from 3 nominations
  8. Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) movie poster
    Kramer vs. Kramer 0 / 6
    1979 · Drama · 0 wins from 6 nominations
  9. Flash Gordon (1980) movie poster
    Flash Gordon 0 / 3
    1980 · Action, Adventure · 0 wins from 3 nominations
  10. The Rose (1979) movie poster
    The Rose 0 / 2
    1979 · Drama, Romance · 0 wins from 2 nominations
Full results

All 12 BAFTA 1981 Categories: Winners & Nominees

12 categories and 44 nominations. The winner of each comes first, on a green row. Search for a film or a person, show only the winners, or jump straight to a category.

12 categories · 44 nominations

Jump to a category
By genre

The Genres Behind the BAFTA 1981 Winners

Drama led with 36 nominations across 10 films and won 11. A film with several genres counts for each one.

  1. Drama 11 wins · 36 nominations · 31%
  2. Music 3 wins · 12 nominations · 25%
  3. Musical 3 wins · 10 nominations · 30%
  4. Biography 5 wins · 9 nominations · 56%
  5. Adventure 1 win · 7 nominations · 14%
  6. Romance 2 wins · 6 nominations · 33%
  7. Fantasy 2 wins · 6 nominations · 33%
  8. Action 1 win · 6 nominations · 17%
  9. Sci-Fi 1 win · 6 nominations · 17%
  10. Comedy 1 win · 5 nominations · 20%
1981 season

How the Rest of the 1981 Awards Season Voted

The other 5 ceremonies of 1981, with the winner of each top prize. Ordinary People won the most of them: 2.

All 1981 awards
Earlier years

Previous BAFTA Ceremonies

The 6 ceremonies before this one, with the winner of each top prize. The BAFTA page has every year back to 1949.

Every BAFTA ceremony

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FAQ

BAFTA 1981: Questions & Answers

The top prize, the film that won the most, the most-nominated film, the individual winners and the date of the 34th British Academy Film Awards (1981), answered from the results on this page.

Who won Best Film at the 34th British Academy Film Awards (1981)?

The Elephant Man (1980) won Best Film. The other nominees were Being There, The French Lieutenant's Woman and Kramer vs. Kramer.

About The Elephant Man

Which film won the most awards at the 34th British Academy Film Awards (1981)?

The Elephant Man (1980) won the most: 3 awards from 7 nominations. All That Jazz, Kagemusha and My Brilliant Career followed with 2 wins each.

Which film had the most nominations at the 34th British Academy Film Awards (1981)?

The Elephant Man (1980) led with 7 nominations and won 3 of them.

Who won the acting and directing awards at the 34th British Academy Film Awards (1981)?

Best Director: Akira Kurosawa for Kagemusha. Best Actor: John Hurt for The Elephant Man. Best Actress: Judy Davis for My Brilliant Career.

When was the 34th British Academy Film Awards (1981)?

The 34th British Academy Film Awards (1981) took place on March 22, 1981. The database has 12 categories and 44 nominations for it.