‘Blue Jean,’ ‘Inland’ top British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) longlists

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28 fiction and 14 documentary features have been longlisted in the New Talent categories of the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA), including in a brand-new category for BIFA’s 25th year, Best Debut Director – Feature Documentary. 11 first-time fiction feature directors, 16 first-time documentary feature directors, 14 first-time writers, 20 breakthrough producers and 15 new performers have been recognized by BIFA voters for their outstanding achievements.

Blue Jean and Inland topped the longlist mentions with five apiece, including Best Debut Director and Debut Screenwriter for Georgia Oakley and Fridt Jof Ryder, respectively. Aftersun, A Banquet, Brian and Charles, and The Feast earned three longlist placements. Everything Everywhere All At Once earned a spot on the Best International Independent Film list, along with the Venice Golden Lion-winning doc All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, among the only primarily English-language films to make the cut.

BIFA’s Springboard scheme will once again provide a tailored program of continuing professional development, peer-to-peer support, mentoring, networking and skills development aimed to nurture emerging talent as they build on the success of their first features. Applications opened in September, with seven of this year’s longlisted filmmakers joining the cohort of 30 filmmakers on the Film4 supported program. 

The final five nominations in each category will be announced Friday, November 4. Winners will be revealed at the 25th BIFA ceremony on Sunday, December 4.

The Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director)

Ruth Paxton, A Banquet
Charlotte Wells, Aftersun
Georgia Oakley, Blue Jean
Jim Archer, Brian and Charles
Frances O’Connor, Emily
Lee Haven Jones, The Feast
Stacey Gregg, Here Before
Fridt Jof Ryder, Inland
Thomas Hardiman, Medusa Deluxe
Mikey Murray, Mind-Set
Andrew Cumming, The Origin

Best Debut Screenwriter

Charlotte Wells, Aftersun
Georgia Oakley, Blue Jean
David Earl and Chris Hayward, Brian and Charles
Claire Peate, The Colour Room
Frances O’Connor, Emily
Roger Williams, The Feast
William Stone, The Fence
Shane Crowley, God’s Creatures
Stacey Gregg, Here Before
Fridt Jof Ryder, Inland
Thomas Hardiman, Medusa Deluxe
Ruth Greenberg, The Origin
Maysoon Pachachi, Our River…Our Sky

Best Debut Director – Feature Documentary

Joseph Curran and Dominic Aubrey de Vere, A Story of Bones
Jay Bedwani, Donna
Marie Lidén, Electric Malady
Matthew Dyas, Explorer
Sarah Beddington, Fadia’s Tree
Becky Hutner, Fashion Reimagined
Leah Gordon and Eddie Hutton-Mills, Kanaval
Jono McLeod, My Old School
Victoria Fiore, Nascondino (Hide and Seek)
Kathryn Ferguson, Nothing Compares
Peter Day, Off the Rails
Elena Sánchez Bellot and Maia Kenworthy, Rebellion
Matthew Bauer, The Other Fellow

Breakthrough Performance

Jessica Alexander, A Banquet
Rory Alexander, Inland
Percelle Ascott, I Came By
Kíla Lord Cassidy, The Wonder
Frankie Corio, Aftersun
Phoebe Dynevor, The Colour Room
Bally Gill, Allelujah
Lucy Halliday, Blue Jean
Luca Hogan, A Bit of Light
Alexander Lincoln, In from the Side
Leo Long, I Used to Be Famous
Rosy McEwen, Blue Jean
Safia Oakley-Green, The Origin
David Perkins, The Fence
Daniel Watson, Give Them Wings

Breakthrough Producer

Aleksandra Bilić, 8 Bar – The Evolution of Grime (also produced by Jamie Clark, David Upshal)
Leonora Darby, A Banquet (also produced by Nik Bower, James Harris, Mark Lane, Laure Vaysse)
Hélène Sifre, Blue Jean
Rupert Majendie, Brian and Charles
Becky Hutner and Lindsay Lowe, Fashion Reimagined (also produced by Andrea van Beuren)
Roger Williams, The Feast
Serena Armitage, Flux Gourmet (also produced by Pietro Greppi)
Elizabeth Eves, The Forgiven (also produced by John Michael McDonagh, Nick Gordon, Trevor Matthews)
Collie McCarthy, I Used to Be Famous
Henry Richmond, Louis Paine, and Fridt Jof Ryder, Inland
Aleksandra Bilić and Jennifer Corcoran, Nascondino (Hide and Seek)
Paul Kennedy, Nightride (also produced by Jon Silk)
Tom Miller and Kate Glover, The Phantom of the Open (also produced by Nichola Martin)
Ben Pullen, The Score (also produced by Matthew James Wilkinson)
Nadira Murray, Winners (also produced by Paul Welsh)

Best International Independent Film

17 films are longlisted for Best International Independent Film sponsored by Champagne Taittinger and between them have already amassed a raft of top prizes from this year’s premier international festivals. Three of this year’s international titles are from the US, two are from South Korea, one is from China, one from Iran, one from South America and the remaining nine are from Europe. 

Alcarràs (Carla Simón)
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Laura Poitras)
Argentina, 1985 (Santiago Mitre)
Broker (Hirokazu Kore-eda)
Close (Lukas Dhont)
Decision to Leave (Park Chan-Wook)
Everything Everywhere All at Once (Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert)
Full Time (Éric Gravel)
Hit the Road (Panah Panahi)
La Mif (Fred Baillif)
More Than Ever (Emily Atef)
Murina (Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović)
Navalny (Daniel Roher)
Playground (Laura Wandel)
Return to Dust (Li Ruijun)
The Quiet Girl (Colm Bairéad)
The Worst Person in the World (Joachim Trier)

Best Feature Documentary

15 films are longlisted for Best Feature Documentary sponsored by Intermission Film, exploring diverse subjects and stories from across the globe – some, years in the making. Eight of this year’s longlisted documentaries are directed by women. 2022 has seen the introduction of a new category, Best Debut Director – Documentary. This longlist will be announced on Monday 24 October, along with BIFA’s other prestigious new talent categories. 

A Bunch of Amateurs (Kim Hopkins)
A Story of Bones (Joseph Curran and Dominic Aubrey de Vere)
Electric Malady (Marie Lidén)
Fadia’s Tree (Sarah Beddington)
Fashion Reimagined (Becky Hutner)
Kanaval (Leah Gordon and Eddie Hutton-Mills)
My Childhood, My Country – 20 Years in Afghanistan (Phil Grabsky and Shoaib Sharifi)
My Old School (Jono McLeod)
Nascondino [Hide and Seek] (Victoria Fiore)
Nothing Compares (Kathryn Ferguson)
Rebellion (Elena Sánchez Bellot and Maia Kenworthy)
The Princess (Ed Perkins)
The Story of Film: A New Generation (Mark Cousins)
This Much I Know to Be True (Andrew Dominik)
Young Plato (Declan McGrath and Neasa Ní Chianáin)

The Raindance Discovery Award

12 films are longlisted for The Raindance Discovery Award, comprising six features and six documentaries. The award highlights innovation, uniqueness of vision, maverick filmmaking and risk-taking, with a budget under £500k and no, or very limited, theatrical distribution deals in place.

A Clever Woman (Jon Sanders, Anna Mottram)
Donna (Jay Bedwani, Dewi Gregory)
Electric Malady (Marie Lidén, Aimara Reques)
Fadia’s Tree (Sarah Beddington, Susan Simnett)
Inland (Henry Richmond, Fridtjof Ryder, Louis Paine)
Off the Rails (Peter Day, Grant Keir, Rob Alexander)
Rebellion (Elena Sánchez Bellot, Maia Kenworthy, Kat Mansoor)
Swede Caroline (Finn Bruce, Brook Driver, Anthony Toma)
The Fence (William Stone, Adam Pickford, Guy Davies)
Wayfinder (Larry Achiampong)
When We Speak (Tas Brooker, James Wiseman)
Winners (Hassan Nazer, Nadira Murray, Paul Welsh)

Best British Short Film

The 17 shorts listed below were chosen by BIFA voters from over 300 entries and showcase some of the best new shorts – and most exciting new and established shorts filmmakers –  in the UK today.

A Fox in the Night (Keeran Anwar Blessie, Benjamin Jacob Smith)
A Letter to Black Men (Kiosa Sukami)
Heart Failure (Will Wightman, Cleo Yeomans)
Honesty (Roxy Rezvany, Emily Renée, Elly Camisa)
Hornbeam (Mark Pluck, Daniel Lane)
Jill, Uncredited (Anthony Ing, Catherine Bray, Charlie Shackleton)
Mars (Abel Rubinstein, Chris Bush, Cat Marshall, Stefan Demetriou, Dominic Harrison)
Milk (Adam Etheridge, Katherine Press)
Mirrors (Paul Daly, Jacqui Davies)
Pram Snatcher (Theo James Krekis, Sorcha Bacon, Archie Johnston Stewart)
Salvation Has No Name (Joseph Wallace, Loran Dunn)
Sandstorm (Seemab Gul, Abid Aziz Merchant)
Scale (Joseph Pierce, Hélène Mitjaville)
The Elvermen (Isla Badenoch, Joe Binks)
Three Bull-Mastiffs in a Corner Kitchen (Paul Chambers, Sam Batley)
Too Rough (Sean Lìonadh, Ross McKenzie, Alfredo Covelli)
You From the Future (Tim Bunn, Joseph Patrick, Reb Day)