Watch our livestream of the nominations announcement here
The Personal History of David Copperfield leads with 11 nominations
Wild Rose follows with 10 nominations, In Fabric has 9 and The Souvenir has 8
Beats, Judy and documentaries For Sama and Diego Maradona have 5 nominations each
38 British feature films nominated
Winners will be announced at the 22nd British Independent Film Awards ceremony
on Sunday 1 December
The Personal History of David Copperfield leads the list of nominations for the 2019 British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs), announced this morning by British actors Naomi Ackie and Joe Cole at the Regent Street Cinema. Armando Iannucci’s fresh take on Dickens’ novel about the ups and downs in the life of its eponymous character is recognised for Best British Independent Film and Best Screenplay sponsored by BBC Films, amongst nine other awards. Dev Patel is nominated for Best Actor, with co-stars Tilda Swinton and Hugh Laurie competing in the respective Supporting categories. The film also features heavily in the technical categories with nominations for Best Casting sponsored by Casting Society of America & Spotlight, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Editing sponsored by Intermission Film, Best Make Up & Hair Design sponsored by MAC Cosmetics and Best Production Design sponsored by Studio Juice.
Completing the five Best British Independent Film nominations alongside The Personal History of David Copperfield are Bait (4 nominations), For Sama (5 nominations), The Souvenir (8 nominations) and Wild Rose (10 nominations). There are 38 British feature films nominated across the awards, which have been narrowed down from a field of over 80 entries this year by 250 of BIFA’s voters.
Jessie Buckley returns to BIFA this year in the Best Actress category for Wild Rose, having taken home the trophy for Most Promising Newcomer in 2018 for her role in Beast. The film receives broad recognition alongside its Best British Independent Film nod, with nominations including Best Screenplay sponsored by BBC Films, Best Supporting Actress, Debut Screenwriter sponsored by Film4, Best Casting sponsored by Casting Society of America & Spotlight, Best Costume Design, Best Make Up & Hair Design sponsored by MAC Cosmetics, Best Music sponsored by Universal Music Publishing Group and Best Sound supported by Halo Post.
Also competing in the Best Actress category is Sally Hawkins, who has previously been nominated at BIFA four times and is nominated this year for Eternal Beauty. Sally Hawkins and Jessie Buckley are nominated alongside first-time BIFA nominees Holliday Grainger (Animals), Renee Zellweger (Judy) and Vicky Knight (Dirty God), who also features in this year’s Most Promising Newcomer Category.
In the Best Actor category, up against Dev Patel for The Personal History of David Copperfield, the field of nominees includes Tom Burke (The Souvenir), Kris Hitchen (Sorry We Missed You), Sam Adewunmi (The Last Tree), also nominated in the Most Promising Newcomer Category, and 2017 Best Actor winner Josh O’Connor (Only You).
Tilda Swinton (The Personal History of David Copperfield), whose daughter Honor Swinton Byrne (The Souvenir) features in this year’s Most Promising Newcomer nominations, is joined by Julie Walters (Wild Rose), Jessica Barden (Scarborough), Elizabeth Debicki (Vita & Virginia) and Ruthxjiah Bellenea (The Last Tree) in being nominated for the Best Supporting Actress award. Swinton and Walters have both previously received The Richard Harris award at BIFA for their contributions to the British film industry.
Chiwetel Ejiofor is nominated for both The Douglas Hickox Award for Debut Director sponsored by Kodak & Pinewood and Best Supporting Actor for The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Also nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category are Peter Mullan (The Vanishing), Bluey Robinson (Dirty God), Edlison Manuel Olbera Núñez (Yuli – The Carlos Acosta Story) and Hugh Laurie (The Personal History of David Copperfield).
The 2019 BIFA nominations feature a strong show from documentaries. Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts are nominated for Best Director sponsored by Broadsword Event House for For Sama, as is Asif Kapadia for Diego Maradona. Both titles picked up five nominations overall; Kapadia continues his long association with BIFA with his fifth nomination, following past recognition for The Warrior and Amy. For Sama marks the first nomination for Al-Kateab and Watts.
The Richard Harris Award, introduced in 2002 in honour of Richard Harris, recognises outstanding contribution to British Film by an actor. Previous winners have been Daniel Day Lewis, Julie Walters, John Hurt, Emma Thompson and Judi Dench in 2018. This year’s recipient will be announced later this month.
Winners will be announced at the British Independent Film Award Ceremony on Sunday 1 December at Old Billingsgate. The ceremony will be hosted by award-winning stand-up, writer and actress Aisling Bea.
The full list of nominations can be seen below and on the BIFA website, here: https://www.bifa.film/awards/2019/winners-nominations/
BIFA NOMINATIONS 2019
Best British Independent Film
BAIT Mark Jenkin, Kate Byers, Linn Waite
FOR SAMA Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD Armando Iannucci, Simon Blackwell, Kevin Loader
THE SOUVENIR Joanna Hogg, Luke Schiller
WILD ROSE Tom Harper, Nicole Taylor, Faye Ward
Best Director
sponsored by Broadsword Event House
WAAD AL-KATEAB, EDWARD WATTS For Sama
OLIVER HERMANUS Moffie
JOANNA HOGG The Souvenir
MARK JENKIN Bait
ASIF KAPADIA Diego Maradona
Best Screenplay
sponsored by BBC Films
JOANNA HOGG The Souvenir
ARMANDO IANNUCCI, SIMON BLACKWELL The Personal History of David Copperfield
PAUL LAVERTY Sorry We Missed You
PETER STRICKLAND In Fabric
NICOLE TAYLOR Wild Rose
Best Actress
JESSIE BUCKLEY Wild Rose
HOLLIDAY GRAINGER Animals
SALLY HAWKINS Eternal Beauty
VICKY KNIGHT Dirty God
RENEE ZELLWEGER Judy
Best Actor
SAM ADEWUNMI The Last Tree
TOM BURKE The Souvenir
KRIS HITCHEN Sorry We Missed You
JOSH O’CONNOR Only You
DEV PATEL The Personal History of David Copperfield
Best Supporting Actress
JESSICA BARDEN Scarborough
RUTHXJIAH BELLENEA The Last Tree
ELIZABETH DEBICKI Vita & Virginia
TILDA SWINTON The Personal History of David Copperfield
JULIE WALTERS Wild Rose
Best Supporting Actor
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
HUGH LAURIE The Personal History of David Copperfield
EDLISON MANUEL OLBERA NÚÑEZ Yuli – The Carlos Acosta Story
PETER MULLAN The Vanishing
BLUEY ROBINSON Dirty God
The Douglas Hickox Award (Debut Director)
sponsored by Kodak & Pinewood
WILL BECHER, RICHARD PHELAN A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
FYZAL BOULIFA Lynn + Lucy
NINIAN DOFF Boyz in the Wood
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
HARRY WOOTLIFF Only You
Breakthrough Producer
FINN BRUCE Tucked
KATE BYERS, LINN WAITE Bait
JOY GHARORO-AKPOJOTOR Blue Story [also produced by Damian Jones]
BECKY READ Three Identical Strangers [also produced by Grace Hughes-Hallett]
JACK SIDEY Moffie [also produced by Eric Abraham]
Debut Screenwriter
sponsored by Film4
KIERAN HURLEY Beats
LISA OWENS Days of the Bagnold Summer
NICOLE TAYLOR Wild Rose
EMMA JANE UNSWORTH Animals
HARRY WOOTLIFF Only You
Most Promising Newcomer
SAM ADEWUNMI The Last Tree
VICKY KNIGHT Dirty God
LORN MACDONALD Beats
ROXANNE SCRIMSHAW Lynn + Lucy
HONOR SWINTON BYRNE The Souvenir
Best Documentary
COUP 53 Taghi Amirani, Walter Murch, Paul Zaentz
DIEGO MARADONA Asif Kapadia, James Gay-Rees, Paul Martin
FOR SAMA Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
SEAHORSE Jeanie Finlay, Andrea Cornwell
TELL ME WHO I AM Ed Perkins, Simon Chinn
The Raindance Discovery Award
A BUMP ALONG THE WAY Shelly Love, Tess McGowan, Louise Gallagher
CHILDREN OF THE SNOW LAND Zara Balfour, Marcus Stephenson, Mark Hakansson
HERE FOR LIFE Andrea Luka Zimmerman, Adrian Jackson, James Lingwood, Michael Morris, Cressida Day
MUSCLE Gerard Johnson, Matthew James Wilkinson, Richard Wylie, Ed Barratt
THE STREET Zed Nelson
Best British Short Film
supported by BFI NETWORK
ANNA Dekel Berenson, Merlin Merton, Olga Beskhmelnitsyna
BOILING POINT Philip Barantini, Bart Ruspoli, James Cummings, Gabriella Callea, Grace Nelder
THE DEVIL’S HARMONY Dylan Holmes Williams, Jess O’Kane, Nathan Craig
GOLDFISH Hector Dockrill, Laura Dockrill, Benedict Turnbull, Harri Kamalanathan
SERIOUS TINGZ Abdou Cissé, Kieran Kenlock, Matt Ellingham
Best International Independent Film
sponsored by Champagne Taittinger
ASH IS PUREST WHITE Jia Zhang-Ke, Shôzô Ichiyama
MARRIAGE STORY Noah Baumbach, David Heyman
MONOS Alejandro Landes, Alexis Dos Santos, Fernando Epstein, Cristina Landes, Santiago A Zapata
PARASITE Bong Joon-ho, Jan Young-Hwan, Moon Yang-kwon, Sin-ae Kwak, Han Jin Won
PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE Céline Sciamma, Véronique Cayla, Bénédicte Couvreur
Best Casting
sponsored by Casting Society of America & Spotlight
SHAHEEN BAIG In Fabric
SHAHEEN BAIG, AISHA BYWATERS The Last Tree
KAHLEEN CRAWFORD, CAROLINE STEWART Only You
KAHLEEN CRAWFORD Wild Rose
SARAH CROWE The Personal History of David Copperfield
Best Cinematography
OLE BRATT BIRKELAND Judy
BENJAMIN KRACUN Beats
ZAC NICHOLSON The Personal History of David Copperfield
JAMIE D RAMSAY Moffie
ARI WEGNER In Fabric
Best Costume Design
SUZIE HARMAN, ROBERT WORLEY The Personal History of David Copperfield
ANNA MARY SCOTT ROBBINS Wild Rose
GRACE SNELL The Souvenir
JANY TEMIME Judy
JO THOMPSON In Fabric
Best Editing
sponsored by Intermission Film
MICK AUDSLEY, PETER LAMBERT The Personal History of David Copperfield
MARK JENKIN Bait
CHRIS KING Diego Maradona
CHLOE LAMBOURNE, SIMON McMAHON For Sama
HELLE LE FEVRE The Souvenir
Best Effects
HOWARD JONES A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon
PAUL MANN In Fabric
ANDY QUINN The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
Best Make Up & Hair Design
sponsored by MAC Cosmetics
MORTEN JACOBSEN, ROGIER SAMUELS, LINDELOTTE VAN DER MEER Dirty God
KAREN HARTLEY-THOMAS The Personal History of David Copperfield
EMMA SCOTT In Fabric
JODY WILLIAMS Wild Rose
JEREMY WOODHEAD Judy
Best Music
sponsored by Universal Music Publishing Group
JACK ARNOLD Wild Rose
CAVERN OF ANTI-MATTER In Fabric
NAINITA DESAI For Sama
ANTONIO PINTO Diego Maradona
JD TWITCH, PENELOPE TRAPPES, STEPHEN HINDMAN Beats
Best Production Design
sponsored by Studio Juice
CRISTINA CASALI The Personal History of David Copperfield
STÉPHANE COLLONGE The Souvenir
KAVE QUINN Judy
ANNE SEIBEL The White Crow
PAKI SMITH In Fabric
Best Sound
supported by Halo Post
ANNA MY BERTMARK, JONATHAN SEALE, JULES WOODS Gwen
DAVID BOWTLE-McMILLAN, JOAKIM SUNDSTRÖM, ROBERT FARR Beats
STEPHEN GRIFFITHS, TIM CAVAGIN, MAX WALSH, ANDY SHELLEY Diego Maradona
LEE WALPOLE, COLIN NICHOLSON, STUART HILLIKER Wild Rose
MARTIN PAVEY, ROB ENTWISTLE In Fabric
Winners will be announced at the British Independent Film Award Ceremony on Sunday 1 December at Old Billingsgate. Follow BIFA on social: #BIFA2019 twitter.com/BIFA_film / facebook.com/BIFA.film / instagram.com/bifa_film/
