The nominations for the British Independent Film Awards were announced Tuesday morning in London. Founded in 1998, BIFA “highlight and reward the best, most innovative and creative independent filmmaking and filmmakers in the UK.” This year saw Yorgos Lanthimos’ absurdest romantic drama The Lobster led the pack with 7 nominations including mentions for Best Film and Best Director. The film, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes this year, has been hit on the festival circuit and was picked up by Alchemy for U.S. distribution. Andrew Haigh’s similarly festival-beloved drama 45 Years and the highly anticipated reboot of the Shakespeare classic Macbeth (starring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard) both earned six nominations a piece.
Other highlights from the nominations include five nods apiece for Alex Garland’s sci/fi hit Ex Machina and Asif Kapadia’s acclaimed documentary Amy. Both films opened earlier this year in the states (courtesy of A24 Films) and might make impressions in the awards season based on high marks from critics and crossover box office success. Curiously, few high profile British independent features including Suffragette, Brooklyn and Legend failed to score Best Film nods, despite earning mentions elsewhere. This suggest perhaps a deep well even specific to British-center independent film. Father and soon Brendan and Domhnall Gleeson both, however, earned Supporting Actor mentions- the elder Gleeson was acknowledged for Suffragette, while his son was cited for his performance in Brooklyn. Check out the full roster of nominees below:
BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM
- 45 Years
- Amy
- Ex Machina
- The Lobster
- Macbeth
BEST DIRECTOR
- Alex Garland, Ex Machina
- Andrew Haigh, 45 Years
- Asif Kapadia, Amy
- Justin Kurzel, Macbeth
- Yorgos Lanthimos, The Lobster
BEST ACTOR
- Tom Courtenay, 45 Years
- Colin Farrell, The Lobster
- Michael Fassbender, Macbeth
- Tom Hardy, Legend
- Tom Hiddleston, High Rise
BEST ACTRESS
- Marion Cotillard, Macbeth
- Carey Mulligan, Suffragette
- Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
- Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
- Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
- Luke Evans, High-Rise
- Brendan Gleeson, Suffragette
- Domhnall Gleeson, Brooklyn
- Sean Harris, Macbeth
- Ben Whishaw, The Lobster
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- Helena Bonham Carter, Suffragette
- Olivia Coleman, The Lobster
- Anne-Marie Duff, Suffragette
- Sienna Miller, High-Rise
- Julie Walters, Brooklyn
BEST SCREENPLAY
- 45 Years– Andrew Haigh
- Brooklyn– Nick Hornby
- Ex Machina– Alex Garland
- High-Rise– Amy Jump
- The Lobster– Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthymis Filippou
BEST INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM
- Carol
- Force Majeure
- Girlhood
- Room
- Son of Saul
BEST DOCUMENTARY
- Amy
- Dark Horse: The Incredible True Story of Dream Alliance
- How to Change the World
- Palio
- A Syrian Love Story
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CRAFT
- Amy– Chris King (film editing)
- Brooklyn– Fiona Weir (casting)
- Ex Machina– Mark Digby (production design)
- Ex Machina– Andrew Whitehurst (visual effects)
- Macbeth– Adam Arkapaw (cinematography)
BEST BRITISH SHORT FILM
- Balcony
- Crack
- Edmond
- Love is Blind
- Man o Man
MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER
- Agyness Deyn, Sunset Sound
- Mia Goth, The Survivalist
- Abigail Hardingham, Nina Forever
- Milo Parker, Mr. Holmes
- Bel Powley, A Royal Night Out
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
- Tristan Goligher, 45 Years
- James Gay-Rees, Amy
- Paul Katis, Andrew De Lotbiniere, Kajaki: The True Story
- Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Yorgos Lanthimos, Lee Madigan, The Lobster
- David A. Hughes, David Moores, The Violaters
THE DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD (BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR)
- Chris Blaine & Ben Blaine, Nina Forever
- Stephen Fingleton, The Survivalist
- Corin Hardy, The Hallow
- Paul Katis, Kajaki: The True Story
- John Maclean, Slow West
THE DISCOVERY AWARD
- Aaaaaaah!– Andrew Starke, Steve Oram
- Burn Burn Burn– Daniel-Konrad Cooper, Tim Phillips, Charlie Covell, Chanya Button
- Orion: The Man Who Would Be King– Jeanie Finlay
- The Return– Oliver Nias
- Winter– Tilly Wood, Paula Crickard, Heidi Greensmith
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