British Academy Film Awards 1981
The 34th British Academy Film Awards · Held March 22, 1981 · 14 categories · everything in 1981
Best Film
- Winner The Elephant Man · Jonathan Sanger
- Nominee Being There
- Nominee Kagemusha · Akira Kurosawa, Tomoyuki Tanaka
- Nominee Kramer vs. Kramer · Stanley R. Jaffe
Best Direction
- Winner Akira Kurosawa · Kagemusha
- Nominee Alan Parker · Fame
- Nominee Robert Benton · Kramer vs. Kramer
- Nominee David Lynch · The Elephant Man
Best Actor in a Leading Role
- Winner John Hurt · The Elephant Man
- Nominee Roy Scheider · All That Jazz
- Nominee Peter Sellers · Being There
- Nominee Dustin Hoffman · Kramer vs. Kramer
Best Actress in a Leading Role
- Winner Judy Davis · My Brilliant Career
- Nominee Shirley MacLaine · Being There
- Nominee Meryl Streep · Kramer vs. Kramer
- Nominee Bette Midler · The Rose
Best Screenplay
- Winner Being There · Jerzy Kosinski
- Nominee Airplane! · Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker
- Nominee Kramer vs. Kramer · Robert Benton
- Nominee The Elephant Man · Eric Bergren, David Lynch
Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles
- Winner Judy Davis · My Brilliant Career
- Nominee Sônia Braga · Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands
- Nominee John Gordon Sinclair · Gregory's Girl
- Nominee Debra Winger · Urban Cowboy
Best Original Music
- Winner Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back · John Williams
- Nominee Breaking Glass · Hazel O'Connor
- Nominee Fame · Michael Gore
- Nominee Flash Gordon · Howard Blake
Best Cinematography
- Winner All That Jazz · Giuseppe Rotunno
- Nominee Kagemusha · Takao Saito, Shōji Ueda
- Nominee The Black Stallion · Caleb Deschanel
- Nominee The Elephant Man · Freddie Francis
Best Editing
- Winner All That Jazz · Alan Heim
- Nominee Fame · Gerry Hambling
- Nominee Kramer vs. Kramer · Gerald B. Greenberg
- Nominee The Elephant Man · Anne V. Coates
Best Production Design
- Winner The Elephant Man · Stuart Craig
- Nominee All That Jazz · Philip Rosenberg
- Nominee Flash Gordon · Danilo Donati
- Nominee Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back · Norman Reynolds
Best Costume Design
- Winner Kagemusha
- Nominee All That Jazz · Albert Wolsky
- Nominee Don Giovanni
- Nominee Flash Gordon · Danilo Donati
Best Sound
- Winner Fame · Chris Newman
- Nominee All That Jazz · Chris Newman
- Nominee Don Giovanni · Jean-Louis Ducarme, Jacques Maumont
- Nominee Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back · Peter Sutton, Ben Burtt, Bill Varney
- Nominee The Rose · Jim Webb, Kay Rose, Theodore Soderberg
Best British Short Animation
- Winner The Three Inventors · Michel Ocelot
- Nominee Bio Woman · Bob Godfrey
- Nominee Seaside Woman
- Nominee The Cube
Best British Short Film
- Winner Sredni Vashtar · Andrew Birkin
- Nominee Box On
- Nominee Possessions
- Nominee The Dollar Bottom · Roger Christian