I, Daniel Blake (2016)Ken Loach’s welfare state drama I, Daniel Blake leads the charge after the announcement of the nominations for the 2016 British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs), with seven nominations including nods for best British independent film, best director and best screenplay. Its stars Hayley Squires and Dave Johns are also nominated twice each – as best actress and actor, and going head to head as best newcomer.
Close at its heels with six nominations apiece are American Honey, Adult Life Skills, Under the Shadow and Notes on Blindness. Zombie apocalypse drama The Girl with All the Gifts is nominated in four categories.
Loach’s nomination for best director is his fifth BIFA nomination; he previously won the same award for My Name Is Joe in 1998. Andrea Arnold is also nominated as best director for American Honey, making her fourth BIFA nod. She won best director in 2009 for Fish Tank. Ben Wheatley’s nomination in the same category for Free Fire is his fifth BIFA nomination; his win of the Raindance award for Down Terrace in 2009 signalled his arrival in the industry.
Two new awards have been introduced for the 2016 edition, which will be awarded to the best debut screenwriter and a breakthrough producer.
More than 130 British films were entered for consideration this year, with the nominations spread across 32 different titles. 17 of the nominated films were backed with funding from the BFI Film Fund, with a total of 41 nominations. The winners will be unveiled at a ceremony at Old Billingsgate on Sunday 4 December.
Best British independent film
AMERICAN HONEY Andrea Arnold, Lars Knudsen, Jay Van Hoy, Pouya Shahbazian, Alice Weinberg, Thomas Benski, Lucas Ochoa
COUPLE IN A HOLE Tom Geens, Zorana Piggott
I, DANIEL BLAKE Ken Loach, Paul Laverty, Rebecca O’Brien
NOTES ON BLINDNESS Peter Middleton, James Spinney, Mike Brett, Jo-Jo Ellison, Steve Jamison, Alex Usborne
UNDER THE SHADOW Babak Anvari, Emily Leo, Oliver Roskill, Lucan Toh
Best international independent film
HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE Taika Waititi, Carthew Neal, Matt Noonan, Leanne Saunders
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA Kenneth Lonergan, Kimberly Steward, Matt Damon, Chris Moore, Lauren Beck, Kevin J. Walsh
MOONLIGHT Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner
MUSTANG Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Alice Winocour, Charles Gillibert
TONI ERDMANN Maren Ade, Janine Jackowski, Jonas Dornbach, Michel Merkt
Best director
ANDREA ARNOLD American Honey
BABAK ANVARI Under the Shadow
BEN WHEATLEY Free Fire
KEN LOACH I, Daniel Blake
PETER MIDDLETON, JAMES SPINNEY, Notes on Blindness
Best screenplay
ANDREA ARNOLD American Honey
BABAK ANVARI Under the Shadow
BILLY O’BRIEN, CHRISTOPHER HYDE I Am Not a Serial Killer
PAUL LAVERTY I, Daniel Blake
RACHEL TUNNARD Adult Life Skills
Best actress
HAYLEY SQUIRES I, Daniel Blake
JODIE WHITTAKER Adult Life Skills
KATE DICKIE Couple in a Hole
NARGES RASHIDI Under the Shadow
SASHA LANE American Honey
Best actor
DAVE JOHNS I, Daniel Blake
MAX RECORDS I Am Not a Serial Killer
MICHAEL FASSBENDER Trespass Against Us
SHIA LABEOUF American Honey
STEVE BRANDON My Feral Heart
Best supporting actress
AVIN MANSHADI Under the Shadow
GEMMA ARTERTON The Girl With All the Gifts
NAOMIE HARRIS Our Kind of Traitor
SHANA SWASH My Feral Heart
TERRY PHETO A United Kingdom
Best supporting actor
ARINZÉ KENE The Pass
BRETT GOLDSTEIN Adult Life Skills
CHRISTOPHER LLOYD I Am Not a Serial Killer
JAMIE DORNAN Anthropoid
SEAN HARRIS Trespass Against Us
Best documentary
THE CONFESSION: LIVING THE WAR ON TERROR Ashish Ghadiali, James Rogan
DANCER Steven Cantor, Gabrielle Tana
THE HARD STOP George Amponsah, Dionne Walker
NOTES ON BLINDNESS Peter Middleton, James Spinney, Mike Brett, Jo-Jo Ellison, Steve Jamison, Alex Usborne
VERSUS: THE LIFE AND FILMS OF KEN LOACH Louise Osmond, Rebecca O’Brien
Outstanding achievement in craft
JOAKIM SUNDSTRÖM Sound – Notes on Blindness
PAUL MONAGHAN, MAT WHITECROSS Editing – Supersonic
ROBBIE RYAN Cinematography – American Honey
SEB BARKER Visual Effects – The Girl With All the Gifts
SHAHEEN BAIG Casting – Free Fire
The Douglas Hickox Award (debut director)
ADAM SMITH Trespass Against Us
ALICE LOWE Prevenge
BABAK ANVARI Under the Shadow
PETER MIDDLETON, JAMES SPINNEY Notes on Blindness
RACHEL TUNNARD Adult Life Skills
Debut screenwriter (new for 2016)
ED TALFAN The Passing (Yr Ymadawiad)
HOPE DICKSON LEACH The Levelling
JOHN CAIRNS, MICHAEL McCARTNEY A Patch of Fog
RACHEL TUNNARD Adult Life Skills
SIMON FARNABY, JULIAN BARRATT Mindhorn
Breakthrough producer (new for 2016)
CAMILLE GATIN The Girl With All the Gifts
DIONNE WALKER The Hard Stop
MICHAEL BERLINER Adult Life Skills
MIKE BRETT, JO-JO ELLISON, STEVE JAMISON Notes on Blindness
PAUL FEGAN Where You’re Meant to Be
Most promising newcomer
DAVE JOHNS I, Daniel Blake
HAYLEY SQUIRES I, Daniel Blake
LETITIA WRIGHT Urban Hymn
SENNIA NANUA The Girl With All the Gifts
STEVE BRANDON My Feral Heart
The Discovery Award
BLACK MOUNTAIN POETS Jamie Adams, Jon Rennie
THE DARKEST UNIVERSE Tom Kingsley, Will Sharpe, Tiani Ghosh, Jo-Jo Ellison
THE GHOUL Gareth Tunley, Jack Healy Guttmann, Tom Meeten
GOZO Miranda Bowen, Leo Scott
THE GREASY STRANGLER Jim Hosking, Toby Harvard, Daniel Noah, Andrew Starke, Ant Timpson, Josh C Waller, Elijah Wood
Best British short
JACKED Rene Pannevis, Ashish Ghadiali, Jennifer Eriksson
MOTHER Leo Leigh, Scott O’Donnell
OVER Jörn Threlfall, Jeremy Bannister
RATE ME Fyzal Boulifa, Taina Galis
THE WRONG END OF THE STICK Terri Matthews, Chris Cornwell, Sam Bank
