The 1st British Film Academy Awards (retroactively known as the British Academy Film Awards), were handed out on 29 May 1949 at the Odeon Cinema, Leicester Square, in London, for films shown in the United Kingdom in 1947 and 1948. They were presented by the British Film Academy (currently, British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA)), an organisation established in 1947 by filmmakers from Great Britain, for the "advancement of the art and technique of the film".
The first British Academy Film Awards, held on May 29, 1949, at the Odeon Cinema in Leicester Square, London, recognized films shown in the UK during 1947 and 1948. These awards were given by BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts), established in 1947 by filmmakers from Great Britain, to "advocate for film art and technique."