Rocks and His House lead 2020 BIFA winners
David Farnor | On 19, Feb 2021
The winners of this 2020 British Independent Film Awards have been announced and Rocks and His House are leading the pack.
In an online ceremony hosted by Tom Felton in Wales, the winners of the BIFAs were announced, with the Best British Independent Film prize awarded to coming-of-age drama Rocks (available on Netflix UK) by Zendaya with actress Kosar Ali also taking home the awards for both Best Supporting Actress and Most Promising Newcomer, while her young co-star D’Angelou Osei Kissiedu won Best Supporting Actor. The four awards on the night took the film’s BIFA tally to five with Lucy Pardee winning the award for Best Casting when the craft award winners were announced in January.
British horror His House (available on Netflix UK) was awarded two BIFAs on the night with Remi Weekes winning Best Director and Wunmi Mosaku winning Best Actress for her acclaimed performance with the awards for Best Production Design won by Jacqueline Abrahams and Best Effects going to Pedro Sabrosa and Stefano Pepin.
Anthony Hopkins’ poignant portrayal of an ageing man in The Father won him Best Actor among three wins for the film, which also took home the awards for Best Screenplay for Florian Zeller, who also directed, and Christopher Hampton, plus Best Editing for Yorgos Lamprinos.
Riz Ahmed took home the award for Debut Screenwriter for Mogul Mowgli (available with a BFI Player subscription), also written by Bassam Tariq, which was also awarded Best Music for Paul Corley.
Saint Maud director Rose Glass was awarded The Douglas Hickox Award for Debut Director with Ben Fordesman winning Best Cinematography in January.
The Breakthrough Producer trophy went to Irune Gurtubai for her work on Limbo, director Ben Sharrock’s poignant look at the asylum experience on a remote Scottish island.
Jerry Rothwell’s documentary The Reason I Jump won Best Documentary on the night and Best Sound for Nick Ryan, Ben Baird and Sara De Oliveira Lima.
Misbehaviour was awarded Best Make-Up and Hair Design for Jill Sweeney and Best Costume Design for Charlotte Walter.
Best Short Film went to Aneil Karia, Riz Ahmed and Tom Gardner for The Long Goodbye and The Raindance Discovery Award went to Perfect 10 (available on BBC iPlayer).
The only category of the night open to non-UK films, Best International Independent Film, was won by Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland.
Here’s the full rundown of nominees and winners:
Best British Independent Film
CALM WITH HORSES Nick Rowland, Joe Murtagh, Daniel Emmerson
THE FATHER Florian Zeller, Christopher Hampton, David Parfitt, Jean-Louis Livi, Philippe Carcassonne
HIS HOUSE Remi Weekes, Martin Gentles, Edward King, Roy Lee, Aidan Elliott, Arnon Milchan
ROCKS Sarah Gavron, Theresa Ikoko, Claire Wilson, Faye Ward, Ameenah Ayub Allen
SAINT MAUD Rose Glass, Oliver Kassman, Andrea Cornwell
Best Director
SARAH GAVRON Rocks [associate director Anu Henriques]
ROSE GLASS Saint Maud
NICK ROWLAND Calm With Horses
REMI WEEKES His House
FLORIAN ZELLER The Father
Best Screenplay sponsored by BBC Film
ROSE GLASS Saint Maud
THERESA IKOKO, CLAIRE WILSON Rocks
BASSAM TARIQ, RIZ AHMED Mogul Mowgli
REMI WEEKES His House
FLORIAN ZELLER, CHRISTOPHER HAMPTON The Father
Best Actress
BUKKY BAKRAY Rocks
MORFYDD CLARK Saint Maud
CLARE DUNNE Herself
WUNMI MOSAKU His House
ANDREA RISEBOROUGH Luxor
Best Actor
RIZ AHMED Mogul Mowgli
ṢỌPẸ́ DÌRÍSÙ His House
AMIR EL-MASRY Limbo
ANTHONY HOPKINS The Father
COSMO JARVIS Calm With Horses
Best Supporting Actress
NIAMH ALGAR Calm With Horses
KOSAR ALI Rocks
JENNIFER EHLE Saint Maud
ASHLEY MADEKWE County Lines
FIONA SHAW Kindred
Best Supporting Actor
HARRIS DICKINSON County Lines
BARRY KEOGHAN Calm With Horses
ALYY KHAN Mogul Mowgli
MERAB NINIDZE The Courier
D’ANGELOU OSEI KISSIEDU Rocks
The Douglas Hickox Award (Debut Director) sponsored by Kodak & Pinewood
HENRY BLAKE County Lines
ROSE GLASS Saint Maud
EVA RILEY Perfect 10
NICK ROWLAND Calm With Horses
REMI WEEKES His House
Breakthrough Producer
DOUGLAS COX Host [also produced by Emily Gotto, Samuel Zimmerman]
DANIEL EMMERSON Calm With Horses
IRUNE GURTUBAI Limbo [also produced by Angus Lamont]
OLIVER KASSMAN Saint Maud [also produced by Andrea Cornwell]
EDWARD KING, MARTIN GENTLES His House [also produced by Aidan Elliott, Roy Lee, Arnon Milchan]
Debut Screenwriter sponsored by Film4
RIZ AHMED Mogul Mowgli [also written by Bassam Tariq]
ROSE GLASS Saint Maud
THERESA IKOKO, CLAIRE WILSON Rocks
JOE MURTAGH Calm With Horses
REMI WEEKES His House
Most Promising Newcomer
NIAMH ALGAR Calm With Horses
KOSAR ALI Rocks
BUKKY BAKRAY Rocks
FRANKIE BOX Perfect 10
CONRAD KHAN County Lines
Best Documentary
THE AUSTRALIAN DREAM Daniel Gordon, Stan Grant, Sarah Thomson, Nick Batzias, Virginia Whitwell, John Battsek
BEING A HUMAN PERSON Fred Scott, Mike Brett, Steve Jamison, Jo-Jo Ellison
THE REASON I JUMP Jerry Rothwell, Jeremy Dear, Stevie Lee, Al Morrow
RISING PHOENIX Ian Bonhôte, Peter Ettedgui, Greg Nugent, John Battsek, Tatyana McFadden
WHITE RIOT Rubika Shah, Ed Gibbs
The Raindance Discovery Award
JUSTINE Jamie Patterson, Jeff Murphy, Jason Rush, Sarah Drew, Julius Beltrame
LOOTED Rene van Pannevis, Kefi Chadwick, Jennifer Eriksson, Jessie Mangum
ONE MAN AND HIS SHOES Yemi Bamiro, Will Thorne
PERFECT 10 Eva Riley, Jacob Thomas, Bertrand Faivre, Valentina Brazzini
ROSE: A LOVE STORY Jennifer Sheridan, April Kelley, Sara Huxley, Matt Stokoe, Rob Taylor, Sophie Rundle
Best British Short Film supported by BFI NETWORK
FILIPIÑANA Rafael Manuel, Naomi Pacifique
THE FORGOTTEN C Molly Manning Walker, Jessi Gutch
THE LONG GOODBYE Aneil Karia, Riz Ahmed, Tom Gardner
MANDEM John Ogunmuyiwa, Emily Everdee
SUDDEN LIGHT Sophie Littman, Tom Wood
Best International Independent Film sponsored by Champagne Taittinger
BABYTEETH Shannon Murphy, Rita Kalnejais, Alex White
LES MISÉRABLES Ladj Ly, Giordano Gederlini, Alexis Manenti, Toufik Ayadi, Christophe Barral
NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS Eliza Hittman, Adele Romanski, Sara Murphy
NOMADLAND Chloé Zhao, Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey
NOTTURNO Gianfranco Rosi, Donatella Palermo, Paolo Del Brocco, Serge Lalou, Camille Laemlé, Orwa Nyrabia, Eva-Maria Weerts
Best Casting sponsored by Casting Society of America & Spotlight
SHAHEEN BAIG Calm With Horses
KHARMEL COCHRANE Saint Maud
CARMEN CUBA His House
DAN JACKSON Limbo
LUCY PARDEE Rocks
Best Cinematography sponsored by Dirty Looks
NICK COOKE Limbo
BEN FORDESMAN Saint Maud
HÉLÈNE LOUVART Rocks
ANNIKA SUMMERSON Mogul Mowgli
JO WILLEMS His House
Best Costume Design
MICHELE CLAPTON The Secret Garden
RUKA JOHNSON Rocks
TINA KALIVAS Saint Maud
MICHAEL O’CONNOR Ammonite
CHARLOTTE WALTER Misbehaviour
Best Editing sponsored by Intermission Film
JULIA BLOCH His House
YORGOS LAMPRINOS The Father
MAYA MAFFIOLI Rocks
BRENNA RANGOTT Host
MARK TOWNS Saint Maud
Best Effects
AGNES ASPLUND, MARTIN MALMQVIST Undergods
SCOTT MACINTYRE, BARIŞ KARELI, KRISTYAN MALLETT Saint Maud
PEDRO SABROSA, STEFANO PEPIN His House
Best Make Up & Hair Design
JACQUETTA LEVON Saint Maud
SHARON A MARTIN His House
IVANA PRIMORAC Ammonite
NORA ROBERTSON Rocks
JILL SWEENEY Misbehaviour
Best Music sponsored by Universal Music Publishing Group
ROQUE BAÑOS His House
PAUL CORLEY Mogul Mowgli
NAINITA DESAI The Reason I Jump
CONNIE FARR, EMILIE LEVIENAISE-FARROUCH Rocks
ADAM JANOTA BZOWSKI Saint Maud
Best Production Design sponsored by Studio Juice
JACQUELINE ABRAHAMS His House
CRISTINA CASALI Misbehaviour
PETER FRANCIS The Father
MARKETA KORINKOVA, ELO SOODE Undergods
PAULINA RZESZOWSKA Saint Maud
Best Sound supported by Halo Post
ADRIAN BELL, GLENN FREEMANTLE, FRANK KRUSE, BRENDAN NICHOLSON, RICHARD PRYKE His House
PAUL DAVIES, SIMON FARMER, ANDREW SKIRK Saint Maud
PAUL DAVIES, ROBERT FARR, NIGEL ALBERMANICHE, IAN MORGAN Mogul Mowgli
NICK RYAN, BEN BAIRD, SARA DE OLIVEIRA LIMA The Reason I Jump
CALUM SAMPLE Host