RULES & ELIGIBILITY UPDATES 2022

ENTRY to the 2022 British Independent film awards is now open

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Here are the key changes and updates to our rules and eligibility criteria that entrants should know about

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ENTRY FEES AND KEY DATES

Entries for short films and feature films with production budgets of under £1,000,000 will remain free until Friday 5 August. Thereafter, each film entry will incur an entry fee at the following rates*:

	Dates	Entry fee – short films	Entry fee – feature films with production budgets under £1m	Entry fee – feature films with production budgets over £1m
Entry deadline 1	5 August	Free	Free	£100
Entry deadline 2	12 August	£15	£100	£150
Entry deadline 3	26 August	£30	£150	£250
Entry deadline 4	2 September	–	£300	£600

*These prices exclude VAT

In the event that an entry cannot be completed before the entry fees are applicable (e.g. if confirmation of a qualifying festival screening comes after 5 August), entrants are advised to submit an entry before 5 August with the qualifying festival / release field left blank to avoid the entry fees. An update on any qualifying screenings can then be sent to BIFA to confirm the film’s eligibility.

If an entrant cannot afford the entry fee, they are encouraged to contact BIFA on entry@bifa.film to discuss the possibility of a fee reduction or waiver.

New awards categories

PERFORMANCE CATEGORIES

We’re shaking up our traditional awards categories and adding some new ones so we can reward even more outstanding acting talent. Our new performance categories are:

• BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE

  For performers in a lead role. Up to 10 nominees.

• BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE

  For performers in a supporting role. Up to 10 nominees.

Entrants may select which of the above categories a performer should be considered for but BIFA’s Nomination Committee reserves the right to make final decisions about performers’ category placement

• JOINT LEAD PERFORMANCE

  For two (or exceptionally three) performances that are the joint focus of the film, especially where performances share a large number of scenes and screen time. Up to five nominees.

• BEST ENSEMBLE

  For an ensemble performance including lead(s) and exceptional supporting performers OR two or more performers in supporting roles who share significant scenes and screen time. Up to 5 nominees.

Performers nominated in this category are determined by BIFA voters and the Nomination Committee during voting and cannot be selected by entrants

The voting subgroup may decide to limit which performers are included in the ensemble of the film.

All performance category winners will be decided by the BIFA Main Jury.

• BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR – FEATURE DOCUMENTARY

  This year, BIFA is introducing the Best Debut Director – Feature Documentary award. This award sits alongside The Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director) and winners will also be decided by the BIFA New Talent Jury. This new category is open to British directors for their debut documentary film. Previous feature or television credits will not disqualify an individual from consideration.

   

• BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC sponsored by Universal Music Publishing Group

This award is for the composition of original music for a film where original music makes up at least 40% of the film’s music soundtrack. To be eligible, it must be clear which music in the film is original score (either within the film or via supporting documents). Pre-existing instrumental music should not be considered score unless written specifically for the film.

Documentaries about music, where the majority of the music featured is that of the subject of the documentary, are not eligible unless the music has been composed specifically for the film.

• BEST MUSIC SUPERVISION

  This award is for the supervision of sourced music where sourced music makes up at least 40% of the film’s music soundtrack. To be eligible, it must be clear which music in the film is source or licensed music (either within the film or via supporting documents).

Documentaries about music, where the majority of the music featured is that of the subject of the documentary, are not eligible.

The Best Original Music and Best Music Supervision awards replace the Best Music Award, which awarded either of the two disciplines.

The number of nominations in Best Joint Lead Performance, Best Ensemble, Best Debut Director – Feature Documentary, Best Original Music and Best Music Supervision is variable (up to a maximum of 5) and is dependent on the number of eligible entries in any given year. This award will only be presented if there are sufficient nominations in the category

film eligibility requirements

In all cases, final decisions about a film’s eligibility rest with BIFA’s Nomination Committee. Under exceptional circumstances, inclusion and consideration of films which do not strictly comply with the below criteria will be subject to the discretion of the Committee. If you have questions about your film’s eligibility, please contact BIFA on hello@bifa.film.

ELIGIBILITY – INDEPENDENT

We have simplified the way we present our requirements for a film to qualify as independent where there is major studio involvement:

Films will usually qualify as independent where there is no involvement in the production or financing of a film by a major studio. Any involvement by a major studio will be assessed by BIFA and a budget cap of $22.5m (gross) usually applies.

As a guide, a film which has major studio involvement may be eligible for BIFA if:

 – The film was acquired by the studio post completion for distribution only (no budget cap applies)
Or
– The gross budget did not exceed $22.5m and the project was not originated or majority co-produced by the major studio

BIFA considers the following nine companies to be ‘major studios’: Amazon, Apple, Disney/Fox, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros

If there is no major studio involvement, no budget cap applies.

ELIGIBILITY – UK NATIONALITY – FILMS

This year we have added a new qualifying rule to ensure that our eligibility criteria reflects our primary goal to support British creative talent, first and foremost. From 2022:

BIFA considers a film to be ‘British’ if the writer(s), director and originating producer(s) are British*

Where this is not the case, films are assessed by BIFA’s Nomination Committee, who take into account the following factors:

• Whether the film was originated by a British production company or individual(s)
• The creative contribution from the UK (eg. key creative team, lead cast and HoDs
• UK funding source(s)
• Which company/individual led each stage of production
• Where each stage of production took place

Films that are not originated by a UK production company or individual(s) and that do not have a lead UK production company are unlikely to be eligible.

This applies to shorts and feature films entering all categories except for Best International Independent Film.

*Where an individual must be British to qualify for an award, such as in the debut categories, or for the purposes of identifying the nationality of a film, we may ask entrants if they or others who worked on a film have a British passport or the right to hold one, or if they have achieved ‘settled status’ by living in the UK for more than five years. BIFA’s Nomination Committee may, at its discretion, accept individuals as ‘British’ if they have not lived in the UK for more than five years or do not have settled status but have demonstrably been living and working in the UK for a considerable period of time and intend to do so in the future. If you are unsure, please use this test: https://www.gov.uk/check-british-citizen and get in touch with us on entry@bifa.film.

ELIGIBILITY: SHORTS

Must usually be narrative, experimental, documentary or animation, however in exceptional circumstances, we may now accept music videos and fashion films into the Best British Short category. Where the film has sufficient narrative elements, music videos and fashion films may be included at the discretion of the Nomination Committee and Shorts Subgroup.
To request an exception, please contact entry@bifa.film

ELIGIBILITY: INTERNATIONAL FEATURES

We have clarified the eligibility rule for International features to make it clearer that to qualify, International Features must have or intend to have a scheduled UK theatrical release.

• Must be intended for theatrical release
• Must be over 70 minutes in running time
• Must have confirmed UK distribution
• Must screen or have been scheduled to screen:
  • On general release in the UK during the eligibility period, for a run consisting of at least seven screenings in aggregate
    OR
  • At one of BIFA’s qualifying international festivals [link] during the eligibility period and be intended for theatrical release. Where there is no British theatrical release on the calendar, proof of intention to release theatrically will be required

International features may also be entered if they have won an award at one of BIFA’s qualifying international film festivals and are available for voters to watch.

ELIGIBILITY – RAINDANCE DISCOVERY AWARD

This award highlights innovation, uniqueness of vision, maverick filmmaking and risk-taking, generally in fiction films with a budget under £500k and no, or very limited, theatrical distribution deals in place

Films that have had, or will have, theatrical distribution through a recognised distributor (see list here) are eligible if the film has received, will receive, or was scheduled to receive a limited theatrical release at under 25 sites

Films that confirm a distribution deal with a recognised distributor after entry to the awards and before 12^th September will be removed from consideration unless their planned theatrical release is expected to be at under 25 sites. Films that confirm a distribution deal with a recognised distributor after this date remain in contention.

Final eligibility will be determined by BIFA and the Nomination Committee

MANDATORY SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS – BRITISH FEATURES

We have reviewed our requests for supporting statements and from 2022 provision of statements for the majority of our awards categories is optional. Statements and supporting documents for the following categories, however, will now be mandatory:

Breakthrough Producer (questionnaire)

Casting (statement)

Effects (statement)

Raindance Discovery Award (statement)

Best Original Music (questionnaire)

Best Music Supervision (questionnaire)

Music Cue Sheet (Best Music categories)

Screenplay Sample (Best Screenplay and Best Debut Screenwriter)

BIFA QUALIFYING FESTIVALS LIST FOR BRITISH FEATURES

This year, we have introduced a list of BIFA qualifying festivals for feature film entry. Previously a feature film could qualify if it was intended for theatrical release and had played at ANY British film festival. From this year, where a feature film does not have a confirmed theatrical release, it must have played at one of the BIFA qualifying festivals listed here

This is a provisional list for 2022, pending a full festival review ahead of the 2023 Awards. As such, there are some temporary caveats:

• Festival not included on the BIFA Qualifying Festivals (Features) list

If you wish to enter a film that has not screened or is not scheduled to screen at one of the listed BIFA qualifying festivals but has screened at another UK festival within the eligibility period, please contact us to discuss whether that festival can be considered qualifying.

• Online festivals

BIFA considers screenings at online versions of major or listed festivals as qualifying. Other online editions and festivals will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

BIFA QUALIFYING FESTIVALS, AWARDS AND CHANNELS FOR SHORT FILMS

In 2021 BIFA began a review of its existing list of qualifying festivals in order to ensure that the festivals recognised are allied to BIFA’s values as an organisation and support the filmmakers whose work they show.

Based on the results of the review, we have produced a set of standards which we expect our qualifying festivals and awards bodies to meet. If you would like to read more about our review and standards, or apply for BIFA Short Film Qualifying status for your festival, click here

You can see the full list of qualifying festivals, awards bodies and online channels for shorts here.

COVID-19

We are committed to ensuring that we continue to support the British independent film community as the effects of the pandemic continue to be felt by the industry.

If a film was programmed to play at one of our BIFA qualifying festivals or to screen on general release but did not do so due to the impact of the pandemic, it will remain eligible for BIFA. Emails from festival programmers and distributors confirming screenings, as well as public listings of film screenings on festival websites and the FDA website, will be used as proof that a film was scheduled for screenings.

Entrants who are unsure of their film’s eligibility or would like to make an appeal for BIFA to include their film are encouraged to contact BIFA on entry@bifa.film.

FILM ACCESS REQUIREMENTS

From 2022, all entrants must provide BIFA voters with online access to their entered films.
In-person screening can be organised at the discretion of the entrant, in addition to online access.

To help facilitate this, feature films entered into BIFA this year can be uploaded to Eventive for voters to view.  Entrants will be asked to indicate if they wish to use this platform during the entry process. Use of Eventive is not compulsory and entrants may continue to use their screening platform of choice and handle distribution of screening links direct with voters (subject to signature of a data processor agreement) where applicable.  More information about the Eventive platform, security and process can be found here. Eventive will not be used for short films.

Where adequate access to films or mandatory supporting information has not been provided by the given deadline of Friday 16^th September (or 10^th September for Short Films) entry to BIFA will be rescinded and the film will be removed from contention.

REQUIREMENTS

• Mandatory:
  • Online – all screeners should be provided with closed caption subtitles
  • In-person: access information must be provided for all screenings and included in screening invitations
• Preferred:
  • Online: audio description should be included in screeners where possible
  • In-person: an option for subtitles at screenings or specific subtitled screenings where several screenings are offered

PLEASE GET IN TOUCH

We believe that the above changes improve how we celebrate the people and films of our industry, making BIFA a fairer ceremony for all. However, we also believe that our ethos should be about feedback and flexibility. If you have objections or think that you or your work would be disadvantaged in due to the changes we’re making, please do get in touch with us on hello@bifa.film.