BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay facts for kids

Quick facts for kids BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
The 2025 recipient: Paul Thomas Anderson
Presented by	British Academy of Film and Television Arts
Location	United Kingdom
Currently held by	Paul Thomas Anderson for One Battle After Another (2025)

The BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is a special prize given out every year at the British Academy Film Awards. It celebrates the best screenwriter who has turned a book, play, or other story into a movie script. This award comes from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). BAFTA is a group in the UK that gives out awards for amazing work in movies, TV shows, and video games. Filmmakers have been receiving the BAFTA award for Best Adapted Screenplay at a yearly ceremony since 1983.

History of the Adapted Screenplay Award

The BAFTA award for Best Adapted Screenplay started in 1968. Before that, there was just one award for all screenplays. But then, BAFTA decided to create two separate awards: one for scripts based on existing stories (Adapted Screenplay) and another for completely new stories (Original Screenplay).

Some screenwriters have won this award more than once! Christopher Hampton and Peter Straughan have each won it twice. Also, Ronald Harwood, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Eric Roth, and Aaron Sorkin have been nominated four times each, showing how talented they are.

Did you know that the animated movie Shrek is the only cartoon film to win a BAFTA award for its screenplay? That's a pretty cool achievement!

Celebrating Amazing Adapted Screenplays

Many talented screenwriters have won the BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay over the years. These awards recognize the hard work of turning a beloved book, play, or real-life event into a captivating movie script. For example, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala won for Heat and Dust in 1983. Later, Christopher Hampton won twice, including for Dangerous Liaisons in 1989 and The Father in 2020. More recently, Sian Heder won for CODA in 2021, and Cord Jefferson won for American Fiction in 2023. These writers brought incredible stories to life on the big screen.

Screenwriters with Multiple Wins and Nominations

It's a big honor to win or be nominated for a BAFTA award. Some screenwriters have been recognized many times for their amazing work in adapting stories for film.

Most Wins for Adapted Screenplay

Most Nominations for Adapted Screenplay

Images for kids

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  Ruth Prawer Jhabvala won for Heat and Dust (1983)

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  Philip Kaufman won The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)

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  Christopher Hampton won twice for Dangerous Liaisons (1989) and The Father (2020)

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  Martin Scorsese won for Goodfellas (1990)

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  Nicholas Pileggi won for Goodfellas (1990)

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  Michael Tolkin won for The Player (1992)

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  Baz Luhrmann won for Romeo + Juliet (1997)

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  Elaine May won for Primary Colors (1998)

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  Neil Jordan won for The End of the Affair (1999)

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  Charlie Kaufman won for Adaptation. (2002)

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  Peter Jackson won for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

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  Alexander Payne won for Sideways (2004)

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  Peter Morgan won for The Last King of Scotland (2006)

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  Jason Reitman won for Up in the Air (2009)

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  Aaron Sorkin won for The Social Network (2010)

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  David O. Russell won for Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

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  Steve Coogan won for Philomena (2013)

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  Adam McKay won for The Big Short (2015)

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  James Ivory won for Call Me by Your Name (2017)

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  Spike Lee won for BlacKkKlansman (2018)

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  Taika Waititi won for Jojo Rabbit (2019)

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  Sian Heder won for CODA (2021)

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  Edward Berger won for All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

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  Cord Jefferson won for American Fiction (2023)

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:BAFTA al mejor guion adaptado para niños

• Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay
• Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
• AACTA International Award for Best Screenplay
• Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
• Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay