2016 British Independent Film Award Nominations; ‘I, Daniel Blake’ Leads with 6 Nods

Nominations for the 2016 British Independent Film Awards have been announced and Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake leads the pack with six nominations including mentions for Best Film, Best Director and pair of nods for leads Dave Johns and Hayley Squires. The film, which won the Palme d’Or (top prize) at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival is arriving in theaters stateside on December 23rd, with distributor Sundance Selects planning an awards run. Andrea Arnold’s American Honey – another Cannes hit (winner of the Jury Prize) – also played well for BIFA, earning five nominations. The film was released last month in the United States courtesy of A24 Films.

While the BIFA have little impact on the quickly approaching Oscar race (think of them as the UK equivalent of the Independent Spirit Awards), one category in particular may lie some heavy awards favorites. The Best International Independent Film race includes contenders Manchester by the Sea and Moonlight, as well as foreign film favorite Toni Erdmann (another Cannes hit). Notable names nominated include Shia LaBeouf (for American Honey), Michael Fassbender (for Trespass Among Us), Jamie Dornan (for Anthropoid) and Naomie Harris (for Our Kind of Traitor; she currently earning strong awards buzz on these shores for Moonlight).

The 2016 British Independent Film Awards will be handed out on December 4th. Check out the full list of nominees below:

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM

• American Honey
• Couple in a Hole
• I, Daniel Blake
• Notes on Blindness
• Under the Shadow

BEST DIRECTOR

• Babak Anvari, Under the Shadow
• Andrea Arnold, American Honey
• Ken Loach, I, Daniel Blake
• James Spinney, Pete Middleton, Notes on Blindness
• Ben Wheatley, Free Fire

BEST ACTOR

• Steve Brandon, My Feral Heart
• Michael Fassbender, Trespass Among Us
• Dave Johns, I, Daniel Blake
• Shia LaBeouf, American Honey
• Max Records, I Am Not a Serial Killer

BEST ACTRESS

• Kate Dickie, Couple in a Hole
• Sasha Lane, American Honey
• Narges Rashidi, Under the Shadow
• Hayley Squires, I, Daniel Blake
• Jodie Whittaker, Adult Life Skills

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Jamie Dornan, Anthropoid
• Brett Goldstein, Adult Life Skills
• Sean Harris, Trespass Among Us
• Arinzé Kene, The Pass
• Christopher Lloyd, I Am Not a Serial Killer

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Gemma Arterton, The Girl with All the Gifts
• Naomie Harris, Our Kind of Traitor
• Avin Manshadi, Under the Shadow
• Terry Pheto, A United Kingdom
• Shana Swash, My Feral Heart

BEST SCREENPLAY

• Adult Life Skills
• American Honey
• I Am Not a Serial Killer
• I, Daniel Blake
• Under the Shadow

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER

• Steve Brandon, My Feral Heart
• Dave Johns, I, Daniel Blake
• Sennia Nanua, The Girl with All the Gifts
• Hayley Squires, I, Daniel Blake
• Lititia Wright, Urban Hymn

THE DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD (DEBUT DIRECTOR)

• Baback Anvari, Under the Shadow
• Rachel Tunnard, Adult Life Skills
• Alice Lowe, Prevenge
• Pete Middleton, James Spinney, Notes on Blindness
• Adam Smith, Trespass Among Us

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CRAFT

• American Honey – Robbie Ryan (cinematography)
• Free Fire – Shaheen Baig (casting)
• The Girl with All the Gifts – Seb Barker (visual effects)
• Notes on Blindness – Joakim Sundstrom (sound)
• Supersonic – Paul Monaghan, Mat Whitecross (film editing)

BEST DOCUMENTARY

• The Confession: Living the War on Terror
• Dancer
• The Hard Stop
• Notes on Blindness
• Versus: The Life and Films of Ken Loach

BEST INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM

• Hunt for the Wilderpeople
• Manchester by Sea
• Moonlight
• Mustang
• Toni Erdmann

BEST BRITISH SHORT

• Jacked
• Mother
• Over
• Rate Me
• The Wrong End of the Stick

THE DISCOVERY AWARD

• Black Mountain Poets
• The Darkest Universe
• The Ghoul
• Gozo
• The Greasy Strangler

BREAKTHROUGH PRODUCER

• Adult Life Skills – Michael Berliner
• The Girl with All the Gifts – Camille Gatin
• The Hard Stop – Dionne Walker
• Notes on Blindness – Mike Brett, Jo Jo Ellison, Steve Jamison
• Where You’re Meant to Be – Paul Fegan

DEBUT SCREENWRITER

• Adult Life Skills – Rachel Tunnard
• The Leveling – Hope Dickson Leach
• Mindham – Simon Farnaby, Julian Barratt
• A Patch of Fog – John Cairns, Michael McCartney
• Yr Ymadawiad – Ed Talfan

VARIETY AWARD: Naomie Harris

RICHARD HARRIS AWARD: TBA