After Love, Flee lead BIFA 2021 winners
James R | On 06, Dec 2021
The winners of the 2021 British Independent Film Awards have been announced and After Love is leading the pack.
Asim Chaudhry hosted the ceremony last night at London’s Old Billingsgate, where the award for Best British Independent Film, went to After Love, Aleem Khan’s directorial debut. Khan won three more BIFA awards – Best Director, The Douglas Hickox Award for Best Debut Director and Best Screenplay, with Joanna Scanlan taking home Best Actress and Talid Ariss Best Supporting Actor for their performances in the film.
Adeel Akhtar was awarded Best Actor for his role in Clio Barnard’s Ali & Ava, which also saw Connie Farr and Harry Escott scoring the Best Music prize.
The Best Supporting Actress award went to Vinette Robinson for her work in Philip Barantini’s multi-BIFA nominated single-take restaurant kitchen drama Boiling Point. Boiling Point also received awards for Carolyn McCleod for Best Casting, Matthew Lewis for Best Cinematography and James Drake, Rob Entwistle and Kiff McManus for Best Sound.
Breakthrough Performance went to Nell Barlow, star of Marley Morrison’s British holiday park-set coming-of-age debut Sweetheart, which also won the Breakthrough Producer prize for Michelle Antoniades.
Cathy Brady won Best Debut Screenwriter for Wildfire. Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché, Paul Sng and Celeste Bell’s film about the titular punk icon, claimed both the Best Documentary and Raindance Discovery Award.
Best British Short Film went to Femme, in which a night out takes a dark turn for a femme gay man.
Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s Flee, the animated real-life story of a childhood refugee’s hidden past, won Best International Independent Film.
The Souvenir Part II, Joanna Hogg’s follow up to The Souvenir, was awarded three craft awards: Best Costume Design for Grace Snell, Best Editing for Helle Le Fevre and Best Production Design for Stéphane Collonge.
Best Effects was taken by Mike Knights, Steven Bray Dan Martin and Leigh Cranston for their work on Rob Savage’s Dashcam and Vickie Lang, Kristyan Mallet and Donald McInnes were awarded the Best Make Up & Hair Design BIFA for Will Sharpe’s The Electrical Life of Louis Wain.
The Richard Harris Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Actor to British Film was presented to Riz Ahmed.
The Special Jury Prize, awarded by the BIFA Main Jury, was given to Raising Films, the organisation that supports and campaigns for parents and carers working in the UK screen sector.
Flee and Boiling Point played online at the 2021 London Film Festival, while After Love and Wildfire both played online at the 2020 London Film Festival.
Here’s the full list of winners:
The Richard Harris Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Actor to British Film
Riz Ahmed
The Special Jury Prize
Raising Films
Best British Independent Film
★ AFTER LOVE Aleem Khan, Matthieu de Braconier
ALI & AVA Clio Barnard, Tracy O’Riordan
BOILING POINT Philip Barantini, James Cummings, Bart Ruspoli, Hester Ruoff
THE NEST Sean Durkin, Ed Guiney, Derrin Schlesinger, Rose Garnett, Amy Jackson, Cristina Piovesan
THE SOUVENIR PART II Joanna Hogg, Ed Guiney, Emma Norton, Andrew Lowe, Luke Schiller
Best Director
PHILIP BARANTINI Boiling Point
CLIO BARNARD Ali & Ava
SEAN DURKIN The Nest
JOANNA HOGG The Souvenir Part II
★ ALEEM KHAN After Love
Best Actress
CAITRÍONA BALFE Belfast
CARRIE COON The Nest
CLAIRE RUSHBROOK Ali & Ava
★ JOANNA SCANLAN After Love
RUTH WILSON True Things
Best Supporting Actress
JUDI DENCH Belfast
JO HARTLEY Sweetheart
NATHALIE RICHARD After Love
★ VINETTE ROBINSON Boiling Point
TILDA SWINTON The Souvenir Part II
The Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director)
PRANO BAILEY-BOND Censor
CELESTE BELL Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché [also directed by Paul Sng]
CATHY BRADY Wildfire
★ ALEEM KHAN After Love
MARLEY MORRISON Sweetheart
Breakthrough Performance
LAURYN AJUFO Boiling Point
★ NELL BARLOW Sweetheart
MAX HARWOOD Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
JUDE HILL Belfast
ELLORA TORCHIA In the Earth
Best Documentary
COW Andrea Arnold, Kat Mansoor
DYING TO DIVORCE Chloë Fairweather, Sinead Kirwan
I AM BELMAYA Sue Carpenter, Christopher Hird
KEYBOARD FANTASIES Posy Dixon, Liv Proctor
★ POLY STYRENE: I AM A CLICHÉ Paul Sng, Celeste Bell, Zoë Howe, Rebecca Mark-Lawson, Matthew Silverman, Daria Nitsche
Best Screenplay
CLIO BARNARD Ali & Ava
TERENCE DAVIES Benediction
SEAN DURKIN The Nest
JOANNA HOGG The Souvenir Part II
★ ALEEM KHAN After Love
Best Actor
RIZ AHMED Encounter
★ ADEEL AKHTAR Ali & Ava
STEPHEN GRAHAM Boiling Point
JUDE LAW The Nest
JAMES NORTON Nowhere Special
Best Supporting Actor
★ TALID ARISS After Love
RICHARD AYOADE The Souvenir Part II
LUCIAN-RIVER CHAUHAN Encounter
CIARÁN HINDS Belfast
RAY PANTHAKI Boiling Point
Breakthrough Producer
★ MICHELLE ANTONIADES Sweetheart
HELEN JONES Censor
JESSICA MALIK She Will [also produced by Bob Last]
HESTER RUOFF Boiling Point [also produced by Bart Ruspoli]
ROB WATSON The Power [also produced by Matthew James Wilkinson]
Best Debut Screenwriter
PRANO BAILEY-BOND Censor [also written by Anthony Fletcher]
★ CATHY BRADY Wildfire
ALEEM KHAN After Love
MARLEY MORRISON Sweetheart
REGGIE YATES Pirates
The Raindance Discovery Award
BANK JOB Daniel Edelstyn, Hilary Powell, Christopher Hird
THE BIKE THIEF Matt Chambers, PK Fellowes, Sophia Gibber, Lene Bausager
I AM BELMAYA Sue Carpenter, Christopher Hird
★ POLY STYRENE: I AM A CLICHÉ Paul Sng, Celeste Bell, Zoë Howe, Rebecca Mark-Lawson, Matthew Silverman, Daria Nitsche
REBEL DYKES Harri Shanahan, Siân A. Williams, Siobhan Fahey
Best British Short Film
EGÚNGÚN (MASQUERADE) Olive Nwosu, Alex Polunin
★ FEMME Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon Ping, Sam Ritzenberg, Hayley Williams, Rienkje Attoh
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DREAD Ida Melum, Laura Jayne Tunbridge, Hannah Kelso, Danielle Goff
PLAY IT SAFE Mitch Kalisa, Chris Toumazou
PRECIOUS HAIR & BEAUTY John Ogunmuyiwa, Sophia Gibber, Tony Longe, Lene Bausager
Best International Independent Film
COMPARTMENT NO. 6 Juho Kuosmanen, Livia Ulman, Andris Feldmanis, Jussi Rantamäki, Emilia Haukka
FIRST COW Kelly Reichardt, Jon Raymond, Neil Kopp, Vincent Savino, Anish Savjani
★ FLEE Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Amin Nawabi, Monica Hellstrøm, Signe Byrge Sørensen
PETITE MAMAN Céline Sciamma, Bénédicte Couvreur
PLEASURE Ninja Thyberg, Peter Modestij, Erik Hemmendorff, Eliza Jones, Markus Waltå
Best Casting
SHAHEEN BAIG After Love
SHAHEEN BAIG Ali & Ava
SHAHEEN BAIG Pirates
LUCY BEVAN, EMILY BROCKMANN Belfast
★ CAROLYN MCLEOD Boiling Point
Best Cinematography
MÁTYÁS ERDÉLY The Nest
MAGDALENA KOWALCZYK Cow
★ MATTHEW LEWIS Boiling Point
ANNIKA SUMMERSON Censor
HARIS ZAMBARLOUKOS Belfast
Best Costume Design
MICHAEL O’CONNOR The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
★ GRACE SNELL The Souvenir Part II
GUY SPERANZA Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
ANNIE SYMONS Benediction
CHARLOTTE WALTER Belfast
Best Music
IAIN COOKE Pirates
★ CONNIE FARR, HARRY ESCOTT Ali & Ava
JED KURZEL Encounter
CLINT MANSELL In the Earth
VAN MORRISON Belfast
Best Effects
★ MIKE KNIGHTS, STEVEN BRAY, DAN MARTIN, LEIGH CRANSTON Dashcam
GARY BROWN, ISTVÁN MOLNÁR, DAN MARTIN Censor
RUPERT DAVIES, NICK RIDEOUT The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
Best Editing
★ HELLE LE FEVRE The Souvenir Part II
REBECCA LLOYD, JACOB SCHULSINGER, NICOLAS CHAUDEURGE Cow
ÚNA NÍ DHONGHAÍLE Belfast
MARK TOWNS Censor
BEN WHEATLEY In the Earth
Best Make-Up & Hair Design
SIOBHAN HARPER-RYAN The Souvenir Part II
★ VICKIE LANG, KRISTYAN MALLETT, DONALD MCINNES The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
RUTH PEASE Censor
NADIA STACEY Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
WAKANA YOSHIHARA Belfast
Best Production Design
JIM CLAY Belfast
★ STÉPHANE COLLONGE The Souvenir Part II
SUZIE DAVIES The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
AIMEE MEEK Boiling Point
PAULINA RZESZOWSKA Censor
Best Sound
NICOLAS BECKER, CYRIL HOLTZ, LINDA FORSEN, NIKKY FRENCH Cow
★ JAMES DRAKE, ROB ENTWISTLE, KIFF MCMANUS Boiling Point
TIM HARRISON, JAMIE RODEN, ADELE FLETCHER, DAVID MITCHELL Censor
MARTIN PAVEY In the Earth
ANDREW STIRK, PAUL DAVIES, MORGAN MUSE, BERNARD O’REILLY, JULIAN HOWARTH Encounter
BIFA 2021: After Love, First Cow, Encounter, The Power join nominees
3rd November 2021
The nominations for the 2021 British Independent Film awards have been announced, and among the top contenders are BFI’s After Love, Amazon’s Encounter, MUBI’s First Cow and Shudder’s The Power.
Rrevealed by Samuel Adewunmi and Mimi Keene at Curzon Soho in London, the nominees are led by Kenneth Branagh’s autobiographical Belfast, which has 10 nods in total – including Best Actress for Caitríona Balfe, Best Supporting Actress for Judi Dench, Best Supporting Actor for Ciarán Hinds and a Breakthrough Performance nomination for newcomer Jude Hill. Belfast has received seven craft nominations, including Best Casting, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Make-Up and Hair Design, Best Music, Best Production Design and Best Costume Design winner.
Alongside nominations for Best British Independent Film and Best Director, Philip Barantini’s adrenaline-fuelled, single-take Boiling Point, which played online at the London Film Festival, has scored a Best Actor nomination for Stephen Graham, Best Supporting Actor for Ray Panthaki, Best Supporting Actress for Vinette Robinson and a Breakthrough Performance nomination for Lauryn Ajufo, as well as a Breakthrough Producer nomination for Hester Ruoff. Further nominations include Best Casting, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design and Best Sound.
Debut feature directors Aleem Khan (After Love) and Prano Bailey-Bond (Censor) are going head-to-head with nine nominations apiece. Aleem Khan is the only debut filmmaker to receive a Best British Independent Film nomination this year, following After Love’s UK premiere online and in cinemas at the London Film Festival in 2020. Khan also earns nominations for Best Director, Best Screenplay, The Douglas Hickox Award and Best Debut Screenwriter. In the acting categories, Joanna Scanlon picks up Best Actress, Nathalie Richard Best Supporting Actress and Talid Ariss a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Shaheen Baig is nominated for Best Casting. The film is available to stream online with a BFI Player subscription.
Prano Bailey-Bond is nominated for Best Debut Director and Best Debut Screenwriter for Censor, her psychological-horror-mystery set in the world of 1980s video nasties, which is now streaming exclusively on MUBI UK after its theatrical run. Censor also receives a nomination for Breakthrough Producer for Helen Jones, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Production Design, Best Effects, Best Make-Up & Hair and Best Sound.
MUBI’s extensive slate of acquisitions has seen four of its films nominated in total, including Andrew Arnold’s Cow, Céline Sciamma’s Petite Maman, Ninja Thyberg’s Please, and Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow.
Clio Barnard is nominated in the Best Director and Best Screenplay sponsored by BBC Film categories for Ali & Ava, which also received a Best British Independent Film nomination, Best Actor for Adeel Akhtar and Best Actress for Claire Rushbrook. Shaheen Baig receives a second nomination for Best Casting and Connie Farr gets a nomination for Best Music alongside Harry Escott.
Best International Independent Film sponsored by Champagne Taittinger features nominations for Juho Kuosmanen’s Compartment No 6, Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow, Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s Flee, Céline Sciamma’s Petite Maman and Ninja Thyberg’s Pleasure.
The Souvenir Part II has received nine nominations: Best British Independent Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay sponsored by BBC Film for Joanna Hogg, Best Supporting Actor for Richard Ayoade and Best Supporting Actress for Tilda Swinton. Best Costume Design, Best Editing, Best Production Design and Best Make-Up & Hair Design round off its nominations.
Jude Law is nominated for Best Actor in Sean Durkin’s The Nest alongside Carrie Coon with a Best Actress nod. The film also garners nominations for Best Director and Best Screenplay for Sean Durkin, Best Cinematography and Best British Independent Film.
Elsewhere in the acting categories, Riz Ahmed (winner of last year’s Debut Screenwriter award) and Lucien-River Chauhan are nominated for their performances in Michael Pearce’s Encounter, which will be released by Amazon Prime Video later this year and also has nominations for its music and sound).
Ruth Wilson is nominated for Harry Wootliff’s True Things, which played online at this year’s London Film Festival, and James Norton for Uberto Pasolini’s Nowhere Special.
The team behind debut feature Sweetheart (out now to buy and rent on digital) score with nominations for Best Debut Director and Best Debut Screenwriter for Marley Morrison. Best Supporting Actress for Jo Hartley and a Breakthrough Performance nomination for Nell Barlow. Michelle Antoniades is nominated for Breakthrough Producer, alongside Rob Watson for Shudder’s The Power and Jessica Malik for She Will.
Max Harwood (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie – available with Amazon Prime) and Ellora Torchia (In the Earth – out now to buy and rent) are both nominated for Breakthrough Performance. The films have two and three further craft nominations each, respectively. The Electrical Life of Louis Wain has four craft nominations. Dashcam is nominated for Best Effects.
Cathy Brady is nominated in both the Best Debut Director and Best Debut Screenwriter categories for her first feature, Wildfire. Reggie Yates is also nominated in the latter category for his debut film, Pirates, which has two further nominations, including a third casting nod for Shaheen Baig.
Terence Davies’ Benediction is nominated for Best Screenplay and Best Costume Design.
This year’s Best Documentary nominees, sponsored by Intermission Film are Dying to Divorce, I Am Belmaya (also nominated for the Raindance Discovery Award), Keyboard Fantasies, Cow (which has three further craft nominations) and Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché, which is also nominated for Debut Director and for the Raindance Discovery Award. Also nominated in that category are Bank Job, The Bike Thief and Rebel Dykes.
Nominees for Best British Short, supported by BFI NETWORK, are Egúngún (Masquerade), FEMME, Night of the Living Dread, Play It Safe and Precious Hair and Beauty, directed by John Ogunmuyiwa.
The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on Sunday 5th December.