For Sama and David Copperfield dominate BIFAs

Jason Korsner

The documentary For Sama has won four prizes at the annual British Independent Film Awards in London.

For Sama won 4 BIFAs, including Best Director and Best British Independent Film

It won the two top honours – the Best British Independent Film and Best Director – as well as Best Documentary and Best Editing.

There were five prizes for Armando Iannucci’s Charles Dickens adaptation, The Personal History of David Copperfield, including Hugh Laurie for Best Supporting Actor and Best Screenplay for Iannucci and Simon Blackwell. Before the main ceremony, the film had already been named as the winner of three of the technical categories; Best Casting, Best Costume Design and Best Production Design.

The other main acting awards saw Josh O’Connor named the Best Actor for Only You, Renée Zellweger’s portrayal of Judy Gardland saw her pick up the Best Actress prize and Ruthxjiah Bellenea took home the Best Supporting Actress award for The Last Tree.

Raindance – the organisation behind the BIFAs – also uses the event to honour the next generation of film-makers. The director of Only You, Harry Wootliff, was named the Best Debut Director, Emma Jane Unsworth won the award for Debut Screenwriter for the adaptation of her second novel, Animals, Sam Adewunmi was recognised as the Most Promising Newcomer for his performance in The Last Tree, Kate Byers and Linn Waite won the Breakthrough Producer award for their black-and-white film Bait and the documentary Children of the Snow Land – about children in the Himalayas being educated away from home – received the Raindance Discovery Award.

The only category for foreign productions, the Best International  Independent Film, went to the Palme d’Or winning South Korean dark comedy, Parasite.

And here is the full list of BIFA 2019 winners:

The Richard Harris Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Actor to British Film

  • KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS

Special Jury Prize

  • AMANDA NEVILL

Best British Independent Film

  • FOR SAMA Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts

Best Director sponsored by Broadsword Event House

  • WAAD AL-KATEAB, EDWARD WATTS For Sama

Best Screenplay sponsored by BBC Films

  • ARMANDO IANNUCCI, SIMON BLACKWELL The Personal History of David Copperfield

Best Documentary

  • FOR SAMA Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts

Best Actress

  • RENÉE ZELLWEGER Judy

Best Actor

  • JOSH O’CONNOR Only You

Best Supporting Actress

  • RUTHXJIAH BELLENEA The Last Tree

Best Supporting Actor

  • HUGH LAURIE The Personal History of David Copperfield

Most Promising Newcomer

  • SAM ADEWUNMI The Last Tree

The Douglas Hickox Award (Debut Director) sponsored by Kodak & Pinewood

  • HARRY WOOTLIFF Only You

Debut Screenwriter sponsored by Film4

  • EMMA JANE UNSWORTH Animals

Breakthrough Producer

  • KATE BYERS, LINN WAITE Bait

The Raindance Discovery Award

  • CHILDREN OF THE SNOW LAND Zara Balfour, Marcus Stephenson, Mark Hakansson

Best Casting sponsored by Casting Society of America & Spotlight

  • SARAH CROWE The Personal History of David Copperfield

Best Cinematography

  • BENJAMIN KRACUN Beats

Best Costume Design

  • SUZIE HARMAN, ROBERT WORLEY The Personal History of David Copperfield

Best Editing sponsored by Intermission Film

  • CHLOE LAMBOURNE, SIMON McMAHON For Sama

Best Effects

  • HOWARD JONES A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon

Best Make-Up & Hair Design sponsored by MAC Cosmetics

  • JEREMY WOODHEAD Judy

Best Music sponsored by Universal Music Publishing Group

  • JACK ARNOLD Wild Rose

Best Production Design sponsored by Studio Juice

  • CRISTINA CASALI The Personal History of David Copperfield

Best Sound supported by Halo Post

  • DAVID BOWTLE-McMILLAN, JOAKIM SUNDSTRÖM, ROBERT FARR Beats

Best British Short Film supported by BFI NETWORK

  • ANNA Dekel Berenson, Merlin Merton, Olga Beskhmelnitsyna

Best International Independent Film sponsored by Champagne Taittinger

  • PARASITE Bong Joon-ho, Jan Young-Hwan, Moon Yang-kwon, Sin-ae Kwak, Han Jin Won