Whilst the eyes of the world may be locked firmly on the other side of the Atlantic this morning, back here in Blighty there is at least some positi
Whilst the eyes of the world may be locked firmly on the other side of the Atlantic this morning, back here in Blighty there is at least some positivity still to be shared yet. Having shone last year when the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes brought Hollywood to a standstill, the independent British cinema scene has continued to shine throughout 2024, with revered greats, rising stars, returning masters, and bold fresh narratives all emerging to ensure the flame for indies from these shores has never burned brighter. As such, it comes as no great surprise that the announcement of this year’s British Independent Film Awards nominees is a veritable treasure trove of great art and great artists that stand to represent the very best British filmmaking has to offer.
Leading the pack with an impressive 14 nominations — including nods for Best British Independent Film, Director, Screenplay, and Debut Director — is British-Irish filmmaker Rich Peppiatt’s riotously amusing yet politically incisive rap trio origin story Kneecap. Nipping at its heels with a similarly impressive 12 noms in all is 2020 BIFA award winner Rose Glass’ sophomore feature Love Lies Bleeding. Her ripping — and indeed ripped — queer crime noir is not only up for the likes of Best British Independent Film, Director, and Screenplay too, but also for Joint Lead Performance in recognition of Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian’s turns as star-and-steroid-crossed lovers Lou and Jackie. Nora Fingscheidt’s sensitive addiction drama The Outrun, based on Amy Liptrot’s same-named bestseller, has also proven popular, garnering nine nominations and appearing on the shortlists for the likes of Director, Screenplay, and British Independent Film, as well as Lead Actor for Saoirse Ronan’s remarkably nuanced and empathetic portrayal of recovering alcoholic Rona.
Elsewhere, in a robust season for British cinema stalwarts, Academy Award winner Andrea Arnold’s magical-social-realist picture Bird has soared to a robust seven nominations, whilst Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Michele Austin are both in the running for Lead and Supporting Actor gongs for their work as fraught sisters in Mike Leigh’s domestic family drama Hard Truths. And on the global front, the likes of Sean Baker’s Anora, Alice Rohrwacher’s La Chimera, and Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light are all set to duke it out in the International Independent Film category.
As you can likely tell, there’s bangers left, right, and centre among this year’s BIFA nominations. Here are all the main nominations for the British Independent Film Awards 2024.
Best British Independent Film
Kneecap
Love Lies Bleeding
On Becoming A Guinea Fowl
The Outrun
Santosh
Best International Independent Film
All We Imagine As Light
Anora
La Chimera
No Other Land
The Seed Of The Sacred Fig
Best Director
Andrea Arnold — Bird
Nora Fingscheidt — The Outrun
Rose Glass — Love Lies Bleeding
Rungano Nyoni — On Becoming A Guinea Fowl
Rich Peppiatt — Kneecap
Best Screenplay
Nora Fingscheidt, Amy Liptrot — The Outrun
Rose Glass, Weronika Tofilska — Love Lies Bleeding
Rungano Nyoni — On Becoming A Guinea Fowl
Rich Peppiatt — Kneecap
Sandhya Suri — Santosh
Best Lead Performance
Radhika Apte — Sister Midnight
Susan Chardy — On Becoming A Guinea Fowl
Marianne Jean-Baptiste — Hard Truths
Elliott Page — Close To You
Saoirse Ronan — The Outrun
Alicia Vikander — The Assessment
Best Supporting Performance
Michele Austin — Hard Truths
Elizabeth Chisela — On Becoming A Guinea Fowl
Barry Keoghan — Bird
Jack O’Connell — Back To Black
Franz Rogowski — Bird
Hayley Squires — Hoard
Best Joint Lead Performance
Joseph Quinn, Saura Lightfoot-Leon — Hoard
Katy O’Brian, Kristen Stewart — Love Lies Bleeding
Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin, JJ Ó Dochartaigh — Kneecap
Jason Patel, Ben Hardy — Unicorns
The Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director)
Christopher Andrews — Bring Them Down
Luna Carmoon — Hoard
James Krishna Floyd — Unicorns (co-directed by Sally El Hosaini)
Karen Kandhari — Sister Midnight
Rich Peppiatt — Kneecap
Breakthrough Performance
Nykiya Adams — Bird
Susan Chardy — On Becoming A Guinea Fowl
Saura Lightfoot-Leon — Hoard
Ruaridh Mollica — Sebastian
Jason Patel — Unicorns
Best Feature Documentary
The Contestant
Grand Theft Hamlet
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Two Strangers Trying Not To Kill Each Other
Witches
Winners will be announced at the BIFA ceremony at The Roundhouse, London on 8 December. For a complete list of nominees, head here.
COMMENTS