Hosted by comedian Asim Chowdry, this year’s British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) took place on Sunday 5th December, celebrating the best of British cinema over the past year to an eager crowd of filmmakers and critics alike. The ceremony, in-person for the first time since 2019, welcomed stars from across the nation to its red carpet at Old Billingsgate. Stars of the industry announced the winners live, with audiences at home able to catch the event highlights over on the official BIFA Instagram page.
Sweeping the floor of the ceremony’s major awards was After Love, the debut feature from director Aleem Khan. The film follows a recently widowed Muslim woman who discovers secrets regarding her late husband whilst subsequently coming to terms with his death, with Joanna Scanlan (The Thick of It, Getting On) in the leading role. Khan’s emotional feature gained six awards at the ceremony, leaving with the prestigious ‘Best British Independent Film’, ‘Best Director’ and ‘Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director)’ awards, alongside wins for Scanlan and co-star Talid Ariss for ‘Best Actress’ and ‘Best Supporting Actor’.
While After Love took away many of the highest-profile awards, it was a big night for a number of other BFI-backed productions. Philip Barantini’s one-shot drama Boiling Point, an explosive extension of his 2019 short film of the same name, entered the ceremony with a huge 11 nominations (joint with Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir Part II), leaving with four as Vinette Robinson took the award for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ as well as for casting, cinematography and sound. Alongside Barantini’s feature, Clio Barnard’s Ali & Ava gained itself six nominations, taking away two wins in ‘Best Actor’ for Adeel Akhtar who portrays Ali in the drama and ‘Best Music’ for its score by Connie Farr and Harry Escott.
An integral award at the annual BIFAs is the Breakthrough Performance Award, which this year included nominees as young as Belfast‘s Jude Hill, who is 11. In the end, though, the prize went to newcomer Nell Barlow for her performance in Marley Morrison’s Sweetheart. Last year’s award winner Bukky Bakray (Rocks) went on to take home the prestigious BAFTA EE Rising Star Award only months later, a path that could be expected for Barlow after such success.
This year, ‘The Richard Harris Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Actor to British Film’ was presented to Riz Ahmed. Ahmed, who just last year earned his first nomination for an Academy Award for his performance in Sound of Metal, was also nominated for ‘Best Actor’ for his performance in Michael Pearce’s Amazon Original Encounter.
Films such as Reggie Yates’ debut Pirates, Sean Durkin’s psychological thriller The Nest and Kenneth Brannagh’s Belfast, among many others, earned nods in the 2021 nominations yet didn’t take home any awards. 14 BFI-backed productions were nominated at this year’s awards, highlighting an increase of British low-budget and independent cinema being supported by film industry organisations and championed within the industry. Check out the full list of awards and nominees below.
BIFA 2021 Awards Full List
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 Screenplay
- Clio Barnard – Ali & Ava
- Terence Davies – Benediction
- 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 Actor
- Riz Ahmed – Encounter
- Adeel Akhtar – Ali & Ava
- Stephen Graham – Boiling Point
- Jude Law – The Nest
- James Norton – Nowhere Special
Best Supporting Actress
- Judi Dench – Belfast
- Jo Hartley – Sweetheart
- Nathalie Richard – After Love
- Vinette Robinson – Boiling Point
- Tilda Swinton – The Souvenir: Part II
Best Supporting Actor
- Talid Ariss – After Love
- Richard Ayoade – The Souvenir: Part II
- Lucian-River Chauhan – Encounter
- Ciarán Hinds – Belfast
- Ray Panthaki – Boiling Point
The Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director)
- Prano Bailey-Bond – Censor
- Celeste Bell – Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché
- Cathy Brady – Wildfire
- Aleem Khan – After Love
- Marley Morrison – Sweetheart
Breakthrough Producer
- Michelle Antoniades – Sweetheart
- Helen Jones – Censor
- Jessica Malik – She Will
- Hester Ruoff – Boiling Point
- Rob Watson – The Power
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 Debut Screenwriter
- Prano Bailey-Bond – Censor
- Cathy Brady – Wildfire
- Aleem Khan – After Love
- Marley Morrison – Sweetheart
- Reggie Yates – Pirates
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
The 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 Riztenberg, Hayley Williams, Rienjke 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 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 Music
- Iain Cooke – Pirates
- Connie Farr, Harry Escott – Ali & Ava
- Jed Kurzel – Encounter
- Clint Mansell – In The Earth
- Van Morrison – Belfast
Best Make-Up & Hair
- 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 Effects
- Steven Bray, Mike Knights – Dashcam
- Gary Brown, István Molnár, Dan Martin – Censor
- Rupert Davies – The Electrical Life Of Louis Wain
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 – Cow
- James Drake – Boiling Point
- Tim Harrison, Jamie Roden, Adele Fletcher – Censor
- Martin Pavey – In The Earth
- Andrew Stirk, Paul Davies, Morgan Muse, Bernard O’reilly, Julian Howarth – Encounter
Words by Katie Evans
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