On Sunday, the 25th British Independent Film Awards took place at Old Billingsgate in London, England, honoring the best in independent British films. The biggest honoree was A24’s “Aftersun” and director Charlotte Wells. Together, they won seven awards, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Debut Director. Another big winner was “Blue Jean,” which won both Lead and Supporting Performances and Best Casting. “Winners” won a pair of awards, including the Raindance Discovery Award, which honors unique low-budget films. The Sinéad O’Connor documentary “Nothing Compares” also won two awards, including Best Feature Documentary.
Best British Independent Film
“Aftersun”
Directed by Charlotte Wells
Produced by Adele Romanski, Amy Jackson, Barry Jenkins, and Mark Ceryak
A24
NOMINEES
Blue Jean • BBC Film
Georgia Oakley, Hélène Sifre
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande • Searchlight Pictures
Sophie Hyde, Katy Brand, Debbie Gray, Adrian Politowski
Living • Lionsgate
Oliver Hermanus, Kazuo Ishiguro, Stephen Woolley, Elizabeth Karlsen
The Wonder • Netflix
Sebastián Lelio, Emma Donoghue, Alice Birch, Juliette Howell, Andrew Lowe, Tessa Ross, Ed Guiney
Best Director
sponsored by Sky Cinema
Charlotte Wells
“Aftersun”
Produced by Adele Romanski, Amy Jackson, Barry Jenkins, and Mark Ceryak
A24
NOMINEES
Best Screenplay
“Aftersun”
Written and Directed by Charlotte Wells
Produced by Adele Romanski, Amy Jackson, Barry Jenkins, and Mark Ceryak
A24
NOMINEES
Best Lead Performance
Rosy McEwen
“Blue Jean”
Directed by Georgia Oakley
Produced by Hélène Sifre
BBC Film
NOMINEES
Best Supporting Performance
Kerrie Hayes
“Blue Jean”
Directed by Georgia Oakley
Produced by Hélène Sifre
BBC Film
NOMINEES
Best Joint Lead Performance
Tamara Lawrance / Letitia Wright
“The Silent Twins”
Directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska
Produced by Klaudia Śmieja-Rostworowska, Joshua Horsfield, Ben Pugh, Ewa Puszczynska, Anita Gou, Alicia Van Couvering, and Letitia Wright
Focus Features
NOMINEES
Best Ensemble Performance
“Our River…Our Sky”
Ensemble including Zainab Joda, Darina Al Joundi, Amed Hashimi, Mahmoud Abo Al Abbas,
Basim Hajar, Labwa Arab, Meriam Abbas, Siham Mustafa
Directed by Maysoon Pachachi
Produced by Talal Al-Muhanna, Maysoon Pachachi, and Alexander Ris
MUBI
NOMINEES
BLUE JEAN • BBC Film
Ensemble including Rosy McEwen, Kerrie Hayes, Lucy Halliday, Lydia Page, Stacy Abalogun, Farrah Cave, Amy Booth-Steel
EMILY • Bleecker Street
Ensemble including Amelia Gething, Emma Mackey, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Fionn Whitehead, Alexandra Dowling, Gemma Jones, Adrian Dunbar
FLUX GOURMET • IFC Films
Ensemble including Makis Papadimitriou, Gwendoline Christie, Asa Butterfield, Fatma Mohamed, Ariane Labed, Richard Bremmer
THE WONDER • Netflix
Ensemble including Kíla Lord Cassidy, Florence Pugh, Tom Burke, Toby Jones, Niamh Algar, Elaine Cassidy, Ciarán Hinds, Brían F. O’Byrne, Josie Walker
The Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director)
sponsored by BBC Film
Charlotte Wells
“Aftersun”
Produced by Mark Ceryak, Amy Jackson, Barry Jenkins, and Adele Romanski
A24
NOMINEES
Breakthrough Producer
sponsored by Pinewood and Shepperton Studios
Nadira Murray
“Winners”
Directed by Hassan Nazer
Co-Produced by Paul Welsh
Edge City Films
NOMINEES
Best Debut Screenwriter
sponsored by Film4
Georgia Oakley
“Blue Jean”
Directed by Georgia Oakley
Produced by Hélène Sifre
BBC Film
NOMINEES
Best Debut Director – Feature Documentary
Kathryn Ferguson
“Nothing Compares”
Produced by Eleanor Emptage and Michael Mallie
Showtime Documentary Films
NOMINEES
The Raindance Discovery Award
“Winners”
Directed by Hassan Nazer
Produced by Nadira Murray and Paul Welsh
Edge City Films
NOMINEES
Best Feature Documentary
sponsored by Intermission
“Nothing Compares”
Directed by Kathryn Ferguson
Produced by Eleanor Emptage and Michael Mallie
Showtime Documentary Films
NOMINEES
MY CHILDHOOD, MY COUNTRY – 20 YEARS IN AFGHANISTAN • Phil Grabsky, Shoaib Sharifi, Amanda Wilkie
Seventh Art Productions
MY OLD SCHOOL • Jono McLeod, John Archer, Olivia Lichtenstein
Magnolia Pictures
NASCONDINO [HIDE & SEEK] • Victoria Fiore, Jennifer Corcoran, Aleksandra Bilić
My Accomplice
YOUNG PLATO • Neasa Ní Chianáin, Declan McGrath, David Rane
Soilsiú Films
Best British Short Film
supported by BFI Network
“Too Rough”
Directed by Sean Lìonadh
Produced by Ross McKenzie and Alfredo Covelli
NOMINEES
Best International Independent Film
sponsored by Champagne Taittinger
“The Worst Person in the World”
Directed by Joachim Trier
Written by Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt
Produced by Andrea Berentsen Ottmar and Thomas Robsahm
Neon
NOMINEES
ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED • Neon
Laura Poitras, Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Nan Goldin, Yoni Golijov
CLOSE • A24
Lukas Dhont, Angelo Tijssens, Michiel Dhont, Dirk Impens
DECISION TO LEAVE • MUBI
Park Chan-Wook, Chung Seo-Kyung
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE • A24
Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, Jonathan Wang, Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, Mike Larocca
Best Cinematography
sponsored by Dirty Looks & Kodak
“Aftersun”
Cinematography by Gregory Oke
A24
NOMINEES
Best Costume Design
“Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris”
Costume Design by Jenny Beavan
Focus Features
NOMINEES
Best Editing
“Aftersun”
Edited by Blair McClendon
A24
NOMINEES
Best Original Music
sponsored by Universal Music Publishing
“The Wonder”
Composed by Matthew Herbert
Netflix
NOMINEES
Best Make-Up & Hair Design
“Medusa Deluxe”
Makeup by Eugene Souleiman
Hairstyling by Scarlett O’Connell
BBC Film
NOMINEES
Best Sound
supported by Halo
“Flux Gourmet”
Sound by Tim Harrison, Raoul Brand, and Cassandra Rutledge
IFC Films
NOMINEES
Best Production Design
“Living”
Production Design by Helen Scott
Lionsgate
NOMINEES
The Richard Harris Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Actor to British Film
Samantha Morton
About the British Independent Film
BIFA (British Independent Film Awards) is an internationally renowned organisation that celebrates, promotes, and supports independent filmmaking and filmmakers in the UK.
Founded in 1998, BIFA has championed the best and most innovative independently funded British filmmaking for over 20 years, working at the heart of the industry to nurture emerging talent, promote fair practice, and develop a broader, more inclusive audience for British independent film.
