29th British Independent Film Awards Nominaions

Yesterday, November 3rd, Jay Lycurgo and Pose Sterling announced the 2026 British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) nominations highlight this year's outstanding British films and extraordinary talent from the UK industry and Beyond.

Elsinore leads with 12 nominations followed by I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning with 8, Animol with 7, Effi O Blaenau and Queen at Sea with 6 nominations each, and with 5 noms each Extra Geography, Straight Circle and Florid.

A total of 39 British feature films were recognised. BIFA's winners will be announced in two parts, with Craft winners unveiled on November 24th and other categories revealed at BIFA's ceremony on December 6th at London Roundhouse.


The Nominations

Best British Independent Film
Effi O Blaenau, Marc Evans, UK
Elsinore, Simon Stone, UK, Italy, USA, and France 
I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning, Clio Barnard, UK, USA, and France
Queen At Sea, Lance Hammer, UK and USA
Tender Loving Care, Mike Leigh, UK and USA 

Best Feature Documentary
All Rivers Spill Their Stories to the Sea, Jeanie Finlay, UK 
Everybody to Kenmure Street, Felipe Bustos Sierra, UK 
One In A Million, Itab Azzam and Jack Macinnes, USA, UK, and Germany
Something Familiar, Rachel Taparjan, UK and Romania 
We, The Hated, Rich Felgate, UK 

Best International Independent Film
Club Kid, Jordan Firstman, USA
가능한 사랑 Ganeunghan Sarang (Possible Love), Lee Chang-Dong, South Korea
急に具合が悪くなる Kyū ni guai ga waruku naru (All of a Sudden), Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, France, Japan, Germany and Belgium
La Bola Negra, Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo (los Javi), Spain and France
La Gradiva, Marine Atlan, France and Italy

The Raindance Maverick Award
Act 3, Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy, UK and Ireland (documentary) 
Chatlines, Neil Ely and Lloyd Eyre-Morgan, UK  
Masc, Bertil Nilsson, UK 
Something Familiar, Rachel Taparjan, UK and Romania 
The Peril at Pincer Point, Jake Kuhn and Noah Stratton-Twine, UK 

Best Director
Andrew High for A Long Winter, Andrew High,  UK and Canada
Simon Stone for Elsinore, Simon Stone,  UK, Italy, USA, and France
Clio Barnard for I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning, Clio Barnard, UK, USA, and France
Mark Jenkin for Rose of Nevada, Mark Jenkin, UK
Mike Leigh for Tender Loving Care, Mike Leigh, UK and USA

The Douglas Hickox Award for Best Debut Director
Ashley Walters for Animol, Ashley Walters, UK
Molly Manners for Extra Geography, Molly Manners, UK 
Billy Lumby for Florid, Billy Lumby, UK and Sweden 
Bertil Nilsson for Masc, Bertil Nilsson, UK
Louis Paxton for The Incomer, Louis Paxton, UK and Ireland 

Best Debut Director - Feature Documentary
Janay Boulos and Abd Alkader Habak for Birds of War, Janay Boulos and Abd Alkader Habak, UK, Syria, and Lebanon
Rachel Taparjan for Something Familiar, Rachel Taparjan, UK and Romania 
Ed Sayers for Super Nature, Ed Sayers, UK 

Best Screenplay
Gary Owen for Effi O Blaenau, Marc Evans, UK 
Stephen Beresford for Elsinore,  Simon Stone, UK, Italy, USA, and France
Enda Walsh for I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning, Clio Barnard, UK, USA, and France 
Lance Hammer for Queen at Sea, Lance Hammer, UK and USA 
Mike Leigh for Tender Loving Care, Mike Leigh, UK and USA 

Best Debut Screenplay
Jess O'Kane for Bad Apples, Jonathan Etzier, UK 
Rhys Marc Jones for Black Church Bay, Rhys Marc Jones, UK 
Miriam Battye for Extra Geography, Molly Manners, UK 
Thea Gajic for Surviving Earth, Thea Gajic, UK 
Louis Paxton for The Incomer, Louis Paxton, UK and Ireland 

Breakthrough Producer
Tom Hawkins for Animol, Ashley Walters, UK 
Oskar Pimlott for Bad Apples, Jonathan Etzier, UK 
Alex Polunin for Black Church Bay, Rhys Marc Jones, UK 
Branwen Cennard for Effi O Blaenau, Marc Evans, UK
Itab Azzam, Jack Macinnes, Will Anderson, James Bluemel, and Andrew Palmer for One in a Million, Itab Azzam and Jack Macinnes, USA, UK, and Germany (documentary) 

Best Lead Performance
Tut Nyuot in Animol, Ashley Walters, UK 
Leisa Gwenllian in Effi O Blaenau, Marc Evans, UK 
Andrew Scott in Elsinore, Simon Stone, UK, Italy, USA, and France 
Erin Doherty in Faith, Paul Andrew Williams, UK 
Jonathab Jules in Florid, Billy Lumby, UK and Sweden  
Juliette Binoche in Queen At Sea, Lance Hammer, UK and USA 

Best Supporting Performance
Sekou Diaby in Animol, Ashley Walters, UK 
Billie Piper in Elsinore, Simon Stone, UK, Italy, USA, and France
Bill Pullman in Everybody Digs Bill Evans, Grant Gee,  UK and Ireland 
Claire Foy in Ink, Danny Boyle,  UK, France, and USA 
Anna Calder-Marshall in Queen at Sea, Lance Hammer, UK and USA 
Tom Courtenay in Queen at Sea, Lance Hammer, UK and USA 

Breakthrough Performance
Sekou Diaby in Animol, Ashley Walters, UK
Tut Nyuot in Animol, Ashley Walters, UK
Leisa Gwenllian in Effi O Blaenau, Marc Evans, UK
Galaxie Clear in Extra Geography, Molly Manners, UK
Jonathan Jules in Florid, Billy Lumby, UK and Sweden

Best Joint Lead Perforance
Seamus Mclean Ross and Samuel Bottomley in California Schemin' , James McAvoy, UK and USA
Marni Duggan and Galaxie Clear in Extra Geography, Molly Manners, UK 
Cimpaye Florence Mariserena and Bizimana Hussain in Small Goods, Asher Rosen, Uganda 
Flora Nicholson, Clare Dunne and Mia Tharia in The Education of Jane Cumming, Sophie Heldman, UK, Germany and Switzerland 

Best Ensemble Performance
I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning, Clio Barnard, UK, USA and France 
Sunny Dancer, George Jaques, UK 
Tender Loving Care, Mike Leigh, UK and USA 

Best British Short Film
Allies in Exile, Fadi Al Halabi and Hasan Kattan, UK and Syria 40' (documentary)
Coyotes, Said Zagha, UK, Palestine, Jordan and France 20' 
Forgotten Spaceman, Elham Eksas UK and Afghanistan 6' (documentary)
Untitled Woman, Camille Summers-Valli, UK and USA 17'
Vote Gavin Lyle, Aneil Karia, UK 17' 

Craft Categories

Best Casting
Heather Baster for Animol, Ashley Walters, UK 
Jessica Ronane for Elsinore, Simon Stone, UK, Italy, USA, and France 
Lucy Pardee for Extra Geography, Molly Manners, UK 
Lara Manwaring for Florid, Billy Lumby, UK and Sweden
Shaheen Baig for I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning, Clio Barnard, UK, USA, and France 

Best Cinematography
Andre Turpin for A Long Winter, Andrew High, UK and Canada 
Mile Eley for Elsinore, Simon Stone, UK, Italy, USA, and France 
Piers McGrail for Everybody Digs Bill Evans, Grant Gee, UK and Irelad 
Simon Tindal for I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning, Clio Barnard, UK USA, and France 
Christopher Ripley for Straight Circle, Oscar Hudson, UK 

Best Costume Design
Carol Case for A Long Winter, Andrew High, UK and Canada 
Mel Page for Elsinore, Simon Stone, UK, Italy, USA, and France 
Alex Bovaird for Savage House, Peter Glanz, UK 
Darion Hing for Straight Circle, Oscar Hudson, UK 
Sarah Blekinsop for The Incomer, Louis Paxton, UK and Ireland 

Best Editing
Otto Burnham for Black is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story, Yemi Bamiro, UK and USA 
Valerio Bonelli for Elsinore, Simon Stone, UK, Italy, USA, and France 
Fin Dates for Ink, Danny Boyle, UK, France, and USA 
Maya Maffioli for I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning, Clio Barnard, UK, USA, and France 
Fouad Gaber for Straight Circle, Oscar Hudson, UK 

Best Effects
Daniel Morris for The Incomer, Louis Paxton, UK and Ireland
Ruslan Borysov, Richard Cheal and Tim Ledbury for The Magic Faraway Tree, Ben Gregor, UK, USA, and France 
Jo Biggins and Jeff Dillon for Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom, Steve Cox and Matthew Walker, UK, USA, and Franace 

Best Make-Up and Hair Design
Nadia Stacey for Elsinore, Simon Stone, UK, Italy, USA, and France 
Nadia Stacey for Madfabulous, Celyn Jones, UK 
Jaquetta Levon for Savage House, Peter Glanz, UK 
Tristan Versluis for Straight Circle, Oscar Hudson, UK 
Karen Hartley-Thomas for The Magic Faraway Tree, Ben Gregor, UK, USA, and France 

Best Music Supevision
Connie Farr for I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning, Clio Barnard, UK, USA, and France 
Connie Farr for Queen At Sea, Lance Hammer, UK and USA
Phil Canning for Sunny Dancer, George Jaques, UK 

Best Original Music
Sion Trefor and Ioana Selaru for Effi O Blaenau, Marc Evans, UK 
Stefan Gregory for Elsinore, Simon Stone, UK, Italy, USA, and France 
Roger Goula for Everybody Digs Bill Evans, Grant Gee, UK and Ireland 
Mark Jenkin for Rose of Nevada, Mark Jenkin, UK
Hannah Peel for Underland, Rob Petit, UK and USA (documentary) 

Best Production Design
Helen Scott for Elsinore, Simon Stone, UK, Italy, USA, and France 
Gareth Pugh and Carson Mccoll for Ink, Danny Boyle, UK, USA, and France 
Gary Williamson for Savage House, Peter Glanz, UK 
Luke Moran-Morris for Straight Circle, Oscar Hudson, UK 
Alexandra Walker for The Magic Faraway Tree, Ben Gregor, UK, USA, and France 

Best Sound
Joakim Sundstrom, Paul Cotterell, and Ron Osiowy for A Long Winter, Andrew High, UK and Canada 
Andy Coles and John Brennan for Everybody Digs Bill Evans, Grant Gee, UK and Ireland 
Dario Swade, George Elliott, and Tom Harburt for Florid, Billy Lumby, UK and Sweden 
Simon Hayes and Johnnie Burn for Ink, Danny Boyle, UK, France, and USA 
Mark Jenkin and Ian Wilson for Rose of Nevada, Mark Jenkin, UK 

To check nominations at official site go here.

Nominations Video