09 December 2024
Newsdesk
The winners of the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) were announced at the annual ceremony, which saw BIFA make a return to the Roundhouse. Host Peter Serafinowicz and star presenters including Alicia Vikander, Martin Freeman, Indira Varma and James Norton joined nominees and guests to celebrate the wealth of talent in British independent film and beyond.
Chiwetel Ejiofor presented the award for Best British Independent Film supported by ScreenUK, to Kneecap, Rich Peppiatt’s comedy following the west Belfast hip-hop trio and their mission to save their mother tongue. The film also took Best Debut Screenwriter sponsored by Film4 for Peppiatt and Best Joint Lead for trio Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and JJ Ó Dochartaigh. The film won seven BIFAs in total, including the four craft awards announced in November: Best Casting sponsored by Casting Society & Spotlight for Carla Stronge, Best Editing for Julian Ulrichs and Chris Gill, Best Original Music sponsored by Universal Music Publishing Group for Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante and Best Music Supervision for Gary Welch and Jeanette Rehnstrom.
Best Director sponsored by Sky Cinema went to Rungano Nyoni, for On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, the writer/director’s powerful exploration of buried secrets and grief within a middle-class Zambian family. This marks her third BIFA win following Best Director and The Douglas Hickox Award in 2017 for I Am Not a Witch. Breakthrough Performance sponsored by Netflix went to the film’s star, newcomer Susan Chardy.
Gripping thriller Santosh took Best Screenplay sponsored by Apple Original Films for Sandhya Suri. The film, in which a Hindu widow given a chance at a new life is forced to face police corruption, also scored Breakthrough Producer sponsored by Pinewood and Shepperton Studios for Balthazar de Ganay and James Bowsher.
Best Lead Performance went to Marianne Jean-Baptiste for Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths and Best Supporting Performance went to Franz Rogowski for his role in Andrea Arnold’s fifth feature, Bird.
Wicked Little Letters picked up Best Ensemble Performance, for cast members including Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Anjana Vasan, Joanna Scanlan, Gemma Jones, Malachi Kirby, Lolly Adefope, Eileen Atkins, Timothy Spall and Hugh Skinner.
Best Debut Director sponsored by BBC Film went to Christopher Andrews for Bring Them Down, which sees two families at war with each other amid the harsh landscape of rural west Ireland.
Directing pair Pinny Grylls and Sam Crane took 2024’s Best Debut Director – Feature Documentary award as well as The Raindance Maverick Award for Grand Theft Hamlet, in which a performance of Shakespeare’s classic tale of murder and madness is enacted entirely within the confines of Grand Theft Auto.
Best Feature Documentary sponsored by Intermission Film went to Witches, Elizabeth Sankey’s illuminating exploration of the unexpected connections between perinatal mental health and the history of witches in western society.
Best British Short Film was awarded to Wander to Wonder, the exquisite stopmotion animation in which a group of miniature television characters are suddenly left fend for themselves.
Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or winner Anora, the fiery, not-quite Cinderella tale of an exotic dancer and her oligarch Prince Charming took the BIFA for Best International Independent Film sponsored by Champagne Taittinger.
Previously announced craft winners who were celebrated at the ceremony also included Ben Fordesman, who won his second BIFA for Best Cinematography sponsored by Kodak & Molinare, this time for his work on Rose Glass’s Love Lies Bleeding. David Simpson collected his Best Effects trophy for Civil War, his second win in this category. Also for Civil War, three-time nominee Glenn Freemantle, along with Mary H Ellis and two-time BIFA nominee Howard Bargroff won Best Sound. Four-time nominee Michael O’Connor picked up Best Costume Design for Tudor drama Firebrand, Lisa Mustafa was awarded Best Make-Up and Hair Design for Unicorns, and Best Production Design sponsored by ATC & Broadsword went to Jan Houllevigue for The Assessment.
The 2024 Richard Harris Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Actor to British Film was presented to Sophie Okonedo by her friend and collaborator Ben Daniels.
On behalf of the 2024 jury, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett presented this year’s Special Jury Prize to Fully Focused | The Million Youth Project, a youth-driven production company supporting young people from underrepresented communities to gain the skills, confidence and opportunities they need to progress their careers and share their stories.
