BAFTA has changed the titles and organization of its categories for Best Film several times since 1948. Until 1968, two Best Film awards were given each year: Best British Film and Best Film from any Source (for non-British films). It was possible for British films to be nominated in both categories and, occasionally, to win both awards. Beginning in 1969, these awards were replaced with the single 'Best Film' award, and British films were no longer distinguished.
In 1985, BAFTA began to separate English language films from films in other languages, creating the award for Best Foreign Language Film. In 1988, its title was changed to Best Film not in the English Language. As before, it is possible for foreign language films to be simultaneously nominated for Best Film; however, to date, no film has won both categories: while a few foreign language films have won Best Film since 1985, they have always failed to win Best Foreign Language Film as well.
| Category | Film | Director(s) | Producer(s) | Country |
| 2000 |
| Best Film | American Beauty | Sam Mendes | Bruce Cohen Dan Jinks | USA |
| East is East | Damien O'Donnell | Leslee Udwin | Britain |
| The End of the Affair | Neil Jordan | Neil Jordan Stephen Woolley | Britain/USA |
| The Sixth Sense | M. Night Shyamalan | Frank Marshall Kathleen Kennedy Barry Mendel | USA |
| The Talented Mr. Ripley | Anthony Minghella | William Horberg Tom Sternberg | USA |
| Best Film Not in the English Language | All About My Mother | Pedro Almodóvar | Agustín Almodóvar | Spain/France |
| Buena Vista Social Club | Wim Wenders | Rosa Bosch Ulrich Felsberg Deepak Nayar | Germany/Cuba/USA/France/UK |
| The Celebration | Thomas Vinterberg | Birgitte Hald Morten Kaufmann | Denmark/Sweden |
| Run Lola Run | Tom Tykwer | Stefan Arndt | Germany |
| Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film | East Is East | Damien O'Donnell | Leslee Udwin | UK |
| Notting Hill | Roger Michell | Duncan Kenworthy | UK/USA |
| Topsy-Turvy | Mike Leigh | Simon Channing-Williams | UK |
| Wonderland | Michael Winterbottom | Michele Camarda Andrew Eaton | UK |
| Ratcatcher | Lynne Ramsay | Gavin Emerson | UK/France |
| Onegin | Martha Fiennes | Ileen Maisel Simon Bosanquet | UK/USA |
| 2001 |
| Best Film | Gladiator | Ridley Scott | David Franzoni Branko Lustig Douglas Wick | UK/USA |
| Almost Famous | Cameron Crowe | Ian Bryce Cameron Crowe | USA |
| Billy Elliot | Stephen Daldry | Greg Brenman Jon Finn | UK/France |
| Erin Brockovich | Steven Soderbergh | Danny DeVito Michael Shamberg Stacey Sher | USA |
| Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | Ang Lee | Hsu Li Kong Bill Kong Ang Lee | Taiwan/Hong Kong/USA/ China |
| Best Film Not in the English Language | Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | Ang Lee | Hsu Li Kong Bill Kong Ang Lee | Taiwan/Hong Kong/USA/ China |
| The Girl on the Bridge | Patrice Leconte | Christian Fechner | France |
| Harry, un ami qui vous veut du bien | Dominik Moll | Michel Saint-Jean | France |
| In the Mood for Love | Wong Kar-wai | Wong Kar-wai | Hong Kong/France |
| Malèna | Giuseppe Tornatore | Harvey Weinstein Carlo Bernasconi | Italy/USA |
| Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film | Billy Elliot | Stephen Daldry | Greg Brenman Jonathan Finn | UK/France |
| Chicken Run | Nick Park | Peter Lord David Sproxton | UK |
| Sexy Beast | Jonathan Glazer | Jeremy Thomas | UK/Spain |
| Last Resort | Paweł Pawlikowski | Ruth Caleb | UK |
| The House of Mirth | Terence Davies | Olivia Stewart | UK/France/Germany/ USA |
| 2002 |
| Best Film | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Peter Jackson | Peter Jackson Barrie M. Osborne Tim Sanders Fran Walsh | New Zealand/USA |
| A Beautiful Mind | Ron Howard | Brian Grazer Ron Howard | USA |
| Amélie | Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Jean-Marc Deschamps Claudie Ossard | France/Germany |
| Moulin Rouge! | Baz Luhrmann | Fred Baron Martin Brown Baz Luhrmann | Australia/USA |
| Shrek | Andrew Adamson Vicky Jenson | Jeffrey Katzenberg Aron Warner John H. Williams | USA |
| Best Film Not in the English Language | Amores Perros | Alejandro González Iñárritu | Alejandro González Iñárritu | Mexico |
| Amélie | Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Claudie Ossard | France/Germany |
| Behind the Sun | Walter Salles | Arthur Cohn | Brazil/France/Switzerland |
| Monsoon Wedding | Mira Nair | Caroline Baron | India/USA/France/ Italy/Germany |
| The Piano Teacher | Michael Haneke | Veit Heiduschka | France/Germany/Poland/ Austria |
| Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film | Gosford Park | Robert Altman | Bob Balaban David Levy | UK/USA/Germany/ Italy |
| Bridget Jones's Diary | Sharon Maguire | Tim Bevan Eric Fellner Jonathan Cavendish | UK/France |
| Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | Chris Columbus | David Heyman | UK/USA |
| Iris | Richard Eyre | Robert Fox Scott Rudin | UK/USA |
| Me Without You | Sandra Goldbacher | Finola Dwyer | UK/Germany |
| 2003 |
| Best Film | The Pianist | Roman Polanski | Robert Benmussa Roman Polanski Alain Sarde | France/Germany/Britain/ Poland |
| Chicago | Rob Marshall | Martin Richards | USA/Germany |
| Gangs of New York | Martin Scorsese | Alberto Grimaldi Harvey Weinstein | USA/Germany/Italy/ Britain/ Netherlands |
| The Hours | Stephen Daldry | Robert Fox Scott Rudin | USA |
| The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | Peter Jackson | Peter Jackson Barrie M. Osborne Fran Walsh | New Zealand/USA |
| Best Film Not in the English Language | Talk to Her (Hable con ella) | Pedro Almodóvar | Agustín Almodóvar | Spain |
| And Your Mother Too (Y tu mamá también) | Alfonso Cuarón | Jorge Vergara | Mexico |
| City of God (Cidade de Deus) | Fernando Meirelles Kátia Lund | Andrea Barata Ribeiro Mauricio Andrade Ramos | Brazil/France/USA |
| Devdas | Sanjay Leela Bhansali | Bharat Shah | India |
| The Warrior | Asif Kapadia | Bertrand Faivre | UK/France/Germany |
| Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film | The Warrior | Asif Kapadia | Bertrand Faivre | UK/France/Germany |
| The Hours | Stephen Daldry | Scott Rudin Robert Fox | USA/UK |
| Dirty Pretty Things | Stephen Frears | Tracey Seaward Robert Jones | UK |
| Bend It Like Beckham | Gurinder Chadha | Deepak Nayar | UK/Germany/USA |
| The Magdalene Sisters | Peter Mullan | Frances Higson | UK |
| 2004 |
| Best Film | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Peter Jackson | Peter Jackson Barrie M. Osborne Fran Walsh | USA/New Zealand/Germany |
| Big Fish | Tim Burton | Bruce Cohen Dan Jinks Richard D. Zanuck | USA |
| Cold Mountain | Anthony Minghella | Albert Berger William Horberg Sydney Pollack Ron Yerxa | USA/UK |
| Lost in Translation | Sofia Coppola | Sofia Coppola Ross Katz | USA/Japan |
| Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World | Peter Weir | Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. Duncan Henderson Peter Weir | USA |
| Best Film Not in the English Language | In This World | Michael Winterbottom | Andrew Eaton Anita Overland | UK |
| The Barbarian Invasions (Les invasions barbares) | Denys Arcand | Denise Robert Daniel Louis | Canada |
| The Triplets of Belleville (Les triplets de Belleville | Sylvain Chomet | Didier Brunner | France/Belgium/Canada/ UK |
| To Be and To Have | Nicolas Philibert | Gilles Sandoz | France |
| Good Bye Lenin! | Wolfgang Becker | Stefan Arndt | Germany |
| Spirited Away | Hayao Miyazaki | Toshio Suzuki | Japan |
| Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film | Touching the Void | Kevin Macdonald | John Smithson | UK |
| Cold Mountain | Anthony Minghella | Sydney Pollack William Horberg Albert Berger Ron Yerxa | USA/UK |
| Girl with a Pearl Earring | Peter Webber | Anand Tucker Andy Paterson | USA/UK/Luxembourg |
| Love Actually | Richard Curtis | Duncan Kenworthy Tim Bevan Eric Fellner | UK/USA |
| In This World | Michael Winterbottom | Andrew Eaton Anita Overland | UK |
| 2005 |
| Best Film | The Aviator | Martin Scorsese | Sandy Climan Charles Evans Jr. Graham King Michael Mann | USA/Germany |
| The Motorcycle Diaries | Walter Salles | Michael Nozik Edgard Tenenbaum Karen Tenkhoff | USA/Germany/UK/ Argentina/Chile/Peru/ France |
| Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind | Michel Gondry | Anthony Bregman Steve Golin | USA |
| Finding Neverland | Marc Forster | Nellie Bellflower Richard N. Gladstein | UK/USA |
| Vera Drake | Mike Leigh | Simon Channing-Williams Alain Sarde | Britain/France/New Zealand |
| Best Film Not in the English Language | The Motorcycle Diaries | Walter Salles | Michael Nozik Edgard Tenenbaum Karen Tenkhoff | Argentina/Peru/Chile/ UK/USA/France/ Germany |
| The Chorus | Christophe Barratier | Arthur Cohn Nicolas Mauvernay Jacques Perrin | France/Switzerland/Germany |
| A Very Long Engagement | Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Francis Boespflug | France/USA |
| Bad Education | Pedro Almodóvar | Agustín Almodóvar | Spain |
| House of Flying Daggers | Zhang Yimou | William Kong | China/Hong Kong |
| Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film | My Summer of Love | Paweł Pawlikowski | Tanya Seghatchian Chris Collins | UK |
| Vera Drake | Mike Leigh | Simon Channing-Williams Alain Sarde | UK/France/New Zealand |
| Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | Alfonso Cuarón | David Heyman Chris Columbus Mark Radcliffe | UK/USA |
| Shaun of the Dead | Edgar Wright | Nira Park | UK/France |
| Dead Man's Shoes | Shane Meadows | Mark Herbert | UK |
| 2006 |
| Best Film | Brokeback Mountain | Ang Lee | Diana Ossana James Schamus | USA |
| Capote | Bennett Miller | Caroline Baron Michael Ohoven William Vince | USA/Canada |
| The Constant Gardener | Fernando Meirelles | Simon Channing Williams | Germany/Britain |
| Crash | Paul Haggis | Don Cheadle Cathy Schulman Bob Yari | USA |
| Good Night, and Good Luck. | George Clooney | Grant Heslov | USA |
| Best Film Not in the English Language | The Beat That My Heart Skipped (De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté) | Jacques Audiard | Pascal Caucheteux | France |
| Le Grand Voyage | Ismaël Ferrouhki | Humbert Balsan | France/Morocco |
| Joyeux Noël | Christian Carion | Christophe Rossignon | France/Germany/Belgium/ UK/Romania |
| Kung Fu Hustle | Stephen Chow | Po Chu Chui Jeffrey Lau | China/Hong Kong |
| Tsotsi | Gavin Hood | Peter Fudakowski | South Africa/UK |
| Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film | Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit | Nick Park Steve Box | Claire Jennings David Sproxton Bob Baker | UK |
| The Constant Gardener | Fernando Meirelles | Simon Channing-Williams Jeffrey Caine | Germany/UK |
| Pride & Prejudice | Joe Wright | Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner Paul Webster, Deborah Moggach | France/UK |
| A Cock and Bull Story | Michael Winterbottom | Andrew Eaton Martin Hardy | UK |
| Festival | Annie Griffin | Christopher Young | UK |
| 2007 |
| Best Film | The Queen | Stephen Frears | Tracey Seaward Christine Langan Andy Harries | UK/France/Italy |
| Babel | Alejandro González Iñárritu | Alejandro González Iñárritu Jon Kilik Steve Golin | USA/Morocco/Mexico |
| The Departed | Martin Scorsese | Brad Pitt Brad Grey Graham King | USA |
| The Last King of Scotland | Kevin Macdonald | Andrea Calderwood Lisa Bryer Charles Steel | USA/UK |
| Little Miss Sunshine | Jonathan Dayton Valerie Faris | David T. Friendly Peter Saraf Marc Turtletaub | USA |
| Best Film Not in the English Language | Pan's Labyrinth (El laberinto del fauno) | Guillermo del Toro | Alfonso Cuarón Bertha Navarro Frida Torresblanco | Mexico/Spain |
| Apocalypto | Mel Gibson | Bruce Davey | USA |
| Black Book (Zwartboek) | Paul Verhoeven | Teun Hilte, San Fu Maltha Jens Meurer | Netherlands/Belgium/UK/ Germany |
| Paint It Yellow (Rang De Basanti) | Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra | Ronnie Screwvala | India |
| To Return (Volver) | Pedro Almodóvar | Agustín Almodóvar | Spain |
| Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film | The Last King of Scotland | Kevin Macdonald | Andrea Calderwood Lisa Bryer Charles Steel Peter Morgan | UK |
| The Queen | Stephen Frears | Tracey Seaward Christine Langan Andy Harries Peter Morgan | UK/France/Italy |
| Casino Royale | Martin Campbell | Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade Paul Haggis | USA/Germany/UK/ Czech Republic |
| United 93 | Paul Greengrass | Tim Bevan Lloyd Levin | France/UK/USA |
| Notes on a Scandal | Richard Eyre | Scott Rudin Robert Fox | UK |
| 2008 |
| Best Film | Atonement | Joe Wright | Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster | UK/France |
| American Gangster | Ridley Scott | Brian Grazer, Ridley Scott | USA |
| The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen) | Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck | Quirin Berg, Max Wiedemann | Germany |
| No Country for Old Men | Ethan and Joel Coen | Ethan Coen, Joel Coen Scott Rudin | USA |
| There Will Be Blood | Paul Thomas Anderson | JoAnne Sellar, Daniel Lupi | USA |
| Best Film Not in the English Language | The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen) | Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck | Quirin Berg, Max Wiedemann | Germany |
| The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le scaphandre et le papillon) | Julian Schnabel | Kathleen Kennedy, Jon Kilik | France/USA |
| The Kite Runner | Marc Forster | William Horberg, Walter Parkes, Rebecca Yeldham, E. Bennett Walsh, Laurie Macdonald | USA |
| La Vie en Rose (La môme) | Olivier Dahan | Alain Goldman | France/UK/Czech Republic |
| Lust, Caution (Se, jie) | Ang Lee | Ang Lee William Kong James Schamus | USA/China/Taiwan/ Hong Kong |
| Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film | This Is England | Shane Meadows | Mark Herbert | UK |
| Atonement | Joe Wright | Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster | UK/France |
| The Bourne Ultimatum | Paul Greengrass | Patrick Crowley, Frank Marshall, Paul L. Sandberg, Doug Liman | USA/UK |
| Control | Anton Corbijn | Tony Wilson, Deborah Curtis | UK |
| Eastern Promises | David Cronenberg | Paul Webster, Robert Lantos | UK/Canada/USA |
| 2009 |
| Best Film | Slumdog Millionaire | Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan | Christian Colson | UK |
| The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | David Fincher | Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Ray Stark | USA |
| Frost/Nixon | Ron Howard | Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner | UK/USA |
| Milk | Gus Van Sant | Dan Jinks, Bruce Cohen | USA |
| The Reader | Stephen Daldry | Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack, Scott Rudin | UK/Germany |
| Best Film Not in the English Language | I've Loved You So Long (Il y a longtemps que je t'aime) | Philippe Claudel | Sylvestre Guarino, Yves Marmion | France |
| The Baader Meinhof Complex (Der Baader Meinhof Komplex) | Uli Edel | Bernd Eichinger | Germany |
| Gomorrah (Gomorra) | Matteo Garrone | Domenico Procacci | Italy |
| Persepolis | Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud | Xavier Rigault, Marc-Antoine Robert | France |
| Waltz with Bashir (Vals im Bashir) | Ari Folman | Ari Folman, Serge Lalou, Gerhard Meixner, Yael Nahlieli, Roman Paul | Israel/Germany/France/USA |
| Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film | Man on Wire | James Marsh | Simon Chinn | UK |
| Hunger | Steve McQueen | Laura Hastings-Smith, Robin Gutch | UK/Ireland |
| In Bruges | Martin McDonagh | Graham Broadbent, Peter Czernin | UK |
| Mamma Mia! The Movie | Phyllida Lloyd | Judy Craymer, Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus, Phyllida Lloyd, Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson | UK/Greece/USA |
| Slumdog Millionaire | Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan | Christian Colson | UK |