The winners for the tenth annual British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) were announced today, Wednesday 28 November at the Roundhouse in London.

Johanna von Fischer and Tessa Collinson, BIFA co-directors say: “A decade ago, the need for an awards ceremony that celebrated British independent film talent was identified. We are now ten years on and BIFA has grown to celebrate the increasingly diverse range of talent out there. This year’s winners are no exception to this rule with Anton Corbijn winning the Douglas Hickox award and Judi Dench winning Best Actress.”

John Woodward, Chief Executive Officer of the UK Film Council, the major funding partner of the BIFAs says: “This year’s nominations and award winners really highlight the outstanding talent working in the UK with beautiful and thought-provoking films made by both established and emerging filmmakers.  The BIFAs are a great champion for the British film industry celebrating excellence and originality in independent filmmaking.”

BIFA are proud to announce the following winners for this year’s Awards: 

 

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM

Control

 

BEST ACTRESS

Sponsored by Mac

Judi Dench – Notes on a Scandal

 

BEST ACTOR

Viggo Mortensen – Eastern Promises

 

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE

Sponsored by the UK Film Council

Andi Engel, Pamela Engel and Robert Beeson [Artificial Eye]

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR/ACTRESS

Sponsored by Tiscali

Toby Kebbell – Control

 

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER

Sponsored by Diesel

Sam Riley – Control

 

BEST DIRECTOR

Sponsored by The Creative Partnership

Anton Corbijn – Control

 

BEST SCREENPLAY

Sponsored by BBC Films

Patrick Marber – Notes on a Scandal

 

THE DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD [BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR]

Sponsored by Pathé

Anton Corbijn – Control

 

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten

 

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION

Black Gold

 

BEST TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT

Sponsored by Skillset

Mark Tildesley – Production Design – Sunshine

 

BEST BRITISH SHORT

Sponsored by Canon

Dog Altogether

 

BEST FOREIGN INDEPENDENT FEATURE

The Lives of Others

 

THE RAINDANCE AWARD

Sponsored by Raindance

The Inheritance

 

THE RICHARD HARRIS AWARD

Sponsored by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, UK

Ray Winstone

 

THE VARIETY AWARD

Daniel Craig

 

Elliot Grove, Founder of BIFA and creator of Raindance says:

“BIFA aims to recognise the plethora of new and established talent in the UK film industry. A special heart-felt thanks to the sponsors and filmmakers who have made this 10th edition such a success.”

Proud supporters and patrons of BIFA include Tilda Swinton, Ray Winstone, Mike Figgis, Tom Hollander, Adrian Lester, Ken Loach, Ewan McGregor, Samantha Morton, Bill Nighy, Trudie Styler, Meera Syal and Michael Winterbottom.

 

Created by Raindance

For further press information, please contact Elizabeth Benjamin or Keeley Naylor at Emfoundation:elizabeth@emfoundation.com / keeley@emfoundation.com / 020 7247 4171

For further information on BIFA, please go to www.bifa.org.uk

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

BIFA was created by Raindance in 1998.

 

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA 2007

A film will be eligible for an Award if:

 

*it is intended for theatrical release, AND has had a public screening to a paying audience either on general release in the UK OR has screened at a British-based film festival between 1st December 2006 and 30th November 2007

 

*it is not solely funded by studio sources OR has a budget of £8M ($16M) or less

 

*it has been produced or majority co-produced by a British company OR is in receipt of at least 51% of its budget from a British source or sources OR it qualifies as a British Film under the DCMS guidelines AND includes sufficient creative elements from the UK

 

*BIFA also consider foreign independent films for the Best Foreign Independent Film category. Foreign films must have a British theatrical release during the eligibility period stated above

 

* Films that have been entered previously are not eligible. Re-issues of previously released films are not eligible

 

* All films submitted for consideration will be viewed by the Advisory Committee with the help of a nominated screening panel. The Advisory Committee will then decide the nominations by ballot

 

* All nominated films will be viewed by the Jury. The winners will be decided by a secret ballot

 

For more information on BIFA rules please go to www.bifa.org.uk

 

AWARDS AND SPONSORS

 

Best British Independent Film
Best Director sponsored by The Creative Partnership
The Special Jury Prize sponsored by the UK Film Council

Best Actor
Best Actress sponsored by MAC
Best Supporting Actor / Actress sponsored by Tiscali
Most Promising Newcomer (on-screen) sponsored by Diesel
Best Screenplay sponsored by BBC Films
Best Foreign Independent Film
The Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director) sponsored by Pathé
Best British Documentary
Best Technical Achievement sponsored by Skillset
Best Achievement in Production
Best British Short sponsored by Canon
The Raindance Award 
The Variety Award
The Richard Harris Award (Outstanding Contribution to British Film by an Actor) sponsored by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, UK