James R | On 07, Dec 2015

Ex Machina swept the board last night at the 2015 Moet British Independent Film Awards. The MBIFAs gave Alex Garland’s sci-fi four prizes, including three of the big gongs: Best British Independent Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay, plus Outstanding Achievement in Craft for Visual Effects.

The surprising decision saw contenders such as Macbeth and Andrew Haigh’s 45 Years – released day-and-date in the UK – brushed aside by the tale of artificial intelligence, starring Oscar Isaac and Domhnall Gleeson. It’s the kind of left-field choice that makes the MBIFAs what they are: the awards already go against the grain of traditional Hollywood awards by celebrating small productions and often overlooked talent. The crossover between VOD releases and the full list of nominees reveals how equally vital the two are in providing a showcase for indie filmmaking. For Ex Machina to beat Macbeth to Best Director may upset some, but it also gives a deserving prize to both genre cinema, which is usually ignored by awards ceremonies, and acknowledges one of Britain’s most interesting writers and directors.

Performance awards, meanwhile, were just as unexpected: Saoirse Ronan picked up Best Actress for Brooklyn and Tom Hardy won Best Actor for his dual role as Ronnie and Reggie Kray in Legend. Olivia Colman won her third BIFA for her Best Supporting Actress performance in The Lobster, while even Suffragette’s win was typically idiosyncratic, taking home a prize not for a woman, but for Brendan Gleeson as Best Supporting Actor. Colin Farrell presented the Most Promising Newcomer award to Abigail Hardingham for her breakthrough performance in Nina Forever, while Orion: The Man Who Would Be King – currently available on BBC iPlayer – won the Raindance Discovery Award.

Here’s a full list of the nominees and winners for 2015 – plus where you can watch them online.

Best British Independent Film sponsored by Moët & Chandon

EX MACHINA Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich, Alex Garland
Watch it online
45 YEARS Tristan Goligher, Andrew Haigh
Watch it online
AMY James Gay-Rees, Asif Kapadia
Watch it online
THE LOBSTER Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday, Efthymis Filippou, Yorgos Lanthimos
Currently unavailable on VOD
MACBETH Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Laura Hastings-Smith, Todd Louiso, Jacob Koskoff, Michael Lesslie, Justin Kurzel
Currently unavailable on VOD

Best Director

EX MACHINA Alex Garland
Watch it online
45 YEARS Andrew Haigh
Watch it online
AMY Asif Kapadia
Watch it online
THE LOBSTER Yorgos Lanthimos
Currently unavailable on VOD
MACBETH Justin Kurzel
Currently unavailable on VOD

Best Screenplay sponsored by BBC Films

EX MACHINA Alex Garland
Watch it online
45 YEARS Andrew Haigh
Watch it online
BROOKLYN Nick Hornby
Currently unavailable on VOD
HIGH-RISE Amy Jump
Currently unavailable on VOD
THE LOBSTER Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthymis Filippou
Currently unavailable on VOD

Best Actress sponsored by MAC

SAOIRSE RONAN Brooklyn
Currently unavailable on VOD
MARION COTILLARD Macbeth
Currently unavailable on VOD
CAREY MULLIGAN Suffragette
Currently unavailable on VOD
CHARLOTTE RAMPLING 45 Years
Watch it online
ALICIA VIKANDER The Danish Girl
Currently unavailable on VOD

Best Actor sponsored by Movado

TOM HARDY Legend
Currently unavailable on VOD
TOM COURTENAY 45 Years
Watch it online
COLIN FARRELL The Lobster
Currently unavailable on VOD
MICHAEL FASSBENDER Macbeth
Currently unavailable on VOD
TOM HIDDLESTON High-Rise
Currently unavailable on VOD

Best Supporting Actress

OLIVIA COLMAN The Lobster
Currently unavailable on VOD
HELENA BONHAM CARTER Suffragette
Currently unavailable on VOD
ANNE-MARIE DUFF Suffragette
Currently unavailable on VOD
SIENNA MILLER High-Rise
Currently unavailable on VOD
JULIE WALTERS Brooklyn
Currently unavailable on VOD

Best Supporting Actor

BRENDAN GLEESON Suffragette
Currently unavailable on VOD
LUKE EVANS High-Rise
Currently unavailable on VOD
DOMHNALL GLEESON Brooklyn
Currently unavailable on VOD
SEAN HARRIS Macbeth
Currently unavailable on VOD
BEN WHISHAW The Lobster
Currently unavailable on VOD

Most Promising Newcomer sponsored by The London Edition

ABIGAIL HARDINGHAM Nina Forever
Currently unavailable on VOD
AGYNESS DEYN Sunset Song
Currently unavailable on VOD
MIA GOTH The Survivalist
Currently unavailable on VOD
MILO PARKER Mr Holmes
Watch it online
BEL POWLEY A Royal Night Out
Available on Netflix UK from 31st December

The Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director) sponsored by 3 Mills Studios

THE SURVIVALIST Stephen Fingleton
Currently unavailable on VOD
THE HALLOW Corin Hardy
Currently unavailable on VOD
KAJAKI: THE TRUE STORY Paul Katis
Watch on Amazon Instant Video
NINA FOREVER Chris & Ben Blaine
Currently unavailable on VOD
SLOW WEST John Maclean
Watch it online

The Discovery Award sponsored by Raindance

ORION: THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING Jeanie Finlay
Watch it online
AAAAAAAAH! Andrew Starke, Steve Oram
Watch it online
BURN BURN BURN Daniel-Konrad Cooper, Tim Phillips, Charlie Covell, Chanya Button
Currently unavailable on VOD
THE RETURN Oliver Nias
Currently unavailable on VOD
WINTER Tilly Wood, Paula Crickard, Heidi Greensmith
Currently unavailable on VOD

Best Documentary

DARK HORSE: THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF DREAM ALLIANCE Judith Dawson, Louise Osmond
Watch it online
AMY James Gay-Rees, Asif Kapadia
Watch it online
HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD Bous De Jong, Al Morrow, Jerry Rothwell
Currently unavailable on VOD
PALIO James Gay-Rees, John Hunt, Cosima Spender
Watch it online
A SYRIAN LOVE STORY Elhum Shakerifar, Sean McAllister
Currently unavailable on VOD

Producer of the Year

PAUL KATIS, ANDREW DE LOTBINIERE Kajaki: The True Story
Watch on Amazon Instant Video
TRISTAN GOLIGHER 45 Years
Watch it online
JAMES GAY-REES Amy
Watch it online
CECI DEMPSEY, ED GUINEY, YORGOS LANTHIMOS, LEE MAGIDAY The Lobster
Currently unavailable on VOD
DAVID A HUGHES, DAVID MOORES The Violators
Currently unavailable on VOD

Outstanding Achievement in Craft

ANDREW WHITEHURST Visual Effects, Ex Machina
Watch it online
ADAM ARKAPAW Cinematography – Macbeth
Currently unavailable on VOD
MARK DIGBY Production Design – Ex Machina
Watch it online
CHRIS KING Editing – Amy
Watch it online
FIONA WEIR Casting – Brooklyn
Currently unavailable on VOD

Best British Short Film

EDMOND Emilie Jouffroy, Nina Gantz
BALCONY Tom Kimberly, Ali Mansuri, Toby Fell-Holden
CRACK Joseph Taussig, Peter King
LOVE IS BLIND Lizzie Brown, Dan Hodgson
MANoMAN Kamilla Kristiane Hodøl, Simon Cartwright

Best International Independent Film

ROOM Ed Guiney, David Gross, Emma Donoghue, Lenny Abrahamson
Currently unavailable on VOD
CAROL Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley, Christine Vachon, Phyllis Nagy, Todd Haynes
Currently unavailable on VOD
FORCE MAJEURE Erik Hemmendorff, Marie Kjellson, Philippe Bober, Ruben Östlund
Watch it on Netflix UK
GIRLHOOD Bénédicte Couvreur, Céline Sciamma
Watch it on iTunes
Watch it on Amazon Instant Video
SON OF SAUL Gábor Sipos, Gábor Rajna, Cara Royer, László Nemes
Currently unavailable on VOD

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