Aleem Khan’s first feature has scooped six awards at the British Independent Film Awards – the curtain opener for the awards season on the UK side of the pond.
The film was named the Best British Independent Film, as well as earning Khan himself prizes for Best Screenplay, Best Director and the Best Debut Director – an award, which is usually used to honour an extra up-and-coming film-maker.
Joanna Scanlan won the Best Actress prize for playing a widow coming to terms with a secret she discovers about her late husband, in the film which also picked up the Best Supporting Actor for Talid Ariss.
Adeel Akhtar – recently seen in TV’s Back To Life – was named the Best Actor for his leading role in Clio Barnard’s tale of forbidden love, Ali & Ava, which also won the prize for Best Music.
Best Supporting Actress went to Vinette Robinson for the restaurant drama Boiling Point, which went into the ceremony – at Old Billingsgate in central London – with the most nominations. It also picked up awards for casting, cinematography and sound.
Coming-of-age film Sweetheart won the Breakthrough Performance for Nell Barlow and the Breakthrough Producer prize, for Michelle Antoniades.
The other award for film-makers at the start of their career, Best Debut Screenwriter, went to Cathy Brady, for Wildfire, which follows two sisters from Northern Ireland, as they reconnect with each other and their past.
In addition to the competitive categories, BIFA also honours the Outstanding Contribution by an Actor to British Film with the Richard Harris Award, which went to Riz Ahmed – which, along with the prizes for After Love and Ali & Avi, highlight the growing respect for Muslim film-makers in the UK.
The main jury, which included the actresses Jennifer Ehle and Emma Corrin and the multi-hyphenate Alice Lowe – gave a Special Jury Prize to an organisation called Raising Films, which helps parents and carers working in the UK screen sector.
BBC Film was involved in three of the big winners – After Love, Ali & Ava and Sweetheart. The Director of BBC Film, Rose Garnett, said “We’re so proud to have supported so many of this year’s BIFA winners and helped bring their work to the screen. These accolades are richly deserved.”
The full list of winners at Raindance’s BIFA Awards is as follows:
Best British Independent Film
★ AFTER LOVE Aleem Khan, Matthieu de Braconier
Best Director
★ ALEEM KHAN After Love
Best Actress
★ JOANNA SCANLAN After Love
Best Supporting Actress
★ VINETTE ROBINSON Boiling Point
Best Actor
★ ADEEL AKHTAR Ali & Ava
Best Supporting Actor
★ TALID ARISS After Love
The Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director)
★ ALEEM KHAN After Love
Breakthrough Performance
★ NELL BARLOW Sweetheart
Best Documentary sponsored by Intermission
★ POLY STYRENE: I AM A CLICHÉ Paul Sng, Celeste Bell, Zoë Howe, Rebecca Mark-Lawson, Matthew
Best Screenplay sponsored by BBC Film
★ ALEEM KHAN After Love
Breakthrough Producer sponsored by Pinewood Studio Group
★ MICHELLE ANTONIADES Sweetheart
Best Debut Screenwriter sponsored by Film4
★ CATHY BRADY Wildfire
The Raindance Discovery Award
★ POLY STYRENE: I AM A CLICHÉ Paul Sng, Celeste Bell, Zoë Howe, Rebecca Mark-Lawson, Matthew Silverman, Daria Nitsche
Best British Short Film supported by BFI Network
★ FEMME Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon Ping, Sam Ritzenberg, Hayley Williams, Rienkje Attoh
Best International Independent Film sponsored by Champagne Taittinger
★ FLEE Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Amin Nawabi, Monica Hellstrøm, Signe Byrge Sørensen
Best Casting sponsored by Casting Society & Spotlight
★ CAROLYN MCLEOD Boiling Point
Best Cinematography sponsored by Dirty Looks & Kodak
★ MATTHEW LEWIS Boiling Point
Best Costume Design
★ GRACE SNELL The Souvenir Part II
Best Music sponsored by Universal Music Publishing
★ CONNIE FARR, HARRY ESCOTT Ali & Ava
Best Effects
★ MIKE KNIGHTS, STEVEN BRAY, DAN MARTIN, LEIGH CRANSTON Dashcam
Best Editing
★ HELLE LE FEVRE The Souvenir Part II
Best Make-Up & Hair Design
★ VICKIE LANG, KRISTYAN MALLETT, DONALD MCINNES The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
Best Production Design
★ STÉPHANE COLLONGE The Souvenir Part II
Best Sound supported by Halo
★ JAMES DRAKE, ROB ENTWISTLE, KIFF MCMANUS Boiling Point
The Richard Harris Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Actor to British Film
Riz Ahmed
The Special Jury Prize
Raising Films