Nominations, Host & Jury Revealed For 15th Annual Moet British Independent Film Awards

The nominations for the 15^th annual Moët British Independent Film Awards were announced today, at St Martins Lane, London by actor and BIFA Patron, Adrian Lester.

Joint Directors, The Moët British Independent Film Awards’ Johanna von Fischer & Tessa Collinson said: “In this our 15^th year, we are delighted to welcome back six-time former host James Nesbitt. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our dedicated Pre-Selection Committee who watched over 200 films in order to produce the 2012 Nominations, which once again reflect the diverse range of British film talent, and also welcome this year’s appointed independent Jury who will now spend the next month considering the nominated films.”

 The highest number of nominations this year goes to Broken with 9 nominations including Best Film, Best Director and Best Debut Director for Rufus Norris, Best Actor for Tim Roth and two Best Supporting Actor nominations for Cillian Murphy and Rory Kinnear. Sightseers and Berberian Sound Studio both picked up 7 nominations each.

Nominations for Best Actress go to Alice Lowe for Sightseers, Andrea Riseborough for Shadow Dancer, Elle Fanning for Ginger & Rosa, Judi Dench for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady. Along with Tim Roth for Broken, leading men hoping to take home the Best Actor award include Riz Ahmed for Ill Manors, Steve Oram for Sightseers, Terence Stamp for Song for Marion and Toby Jones for Berberian Sound Studio.

Directors who have delivered dynamic debuts this year and are fighting for the Douglas Hickox Award are Bart Layton for The Imposter, Ben Drew for Ill Manors, Rowan Athale for Wasteland, Sally El Hosaini for My Brother the Devil and as mentioned previously Rufus Norris for Broken.

Best supporting Actor nominations go to Billy Connolly for Quartet, Domhnall Gleeson for Shadow Dancer, Tom Wilkinson for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and the two Broken actors Cillian Murphy & Rory Kinnear.

Alice Englert for Ginger & Rosa, Eileen Davies for Sightseers, Maggie Smith for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Olivia Colman for Hyde Park on Hudson and Vanessa Redgrave for Song for Marion are all nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Award.

Emelie De Vitis, Marketing Director for Moët & Chandon commented: “Moët & Chandon is delighted to support BIFA for the third year running. The nominations again reveal the amazing depth of film talent in Britain and we look forward to toasting the winners’ success along with BIFA’s 15^th birthday on December 9th’.

Amanda Nevill, Chief Executive of the BFI, comments:

“At 15 years old, the BIFAs are now firmly established as a key date in the UK film industry calendar and we’re delighted to be supporting this year’s awards. The BIFAs are the UK’s only awards focusing entirely on independent British films, as such they really help to shine a spotlight on the vast range and breadth of excellence in independent UK filmmaking – helping to promote independent British films to new audiences, and setting a focus on the Best of British just as the international awards season begins.”

The Raindance Award nominees for 2012 include: Frank, Strings, Love Tomorrow City Slacker and Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet. This award honours exceptional achievement for filmmakers working against the odds, often with little or no industry support.  Elliot Grove, Founder Raindance Film Festival and Moët British Independent Film Awards added: “The Raindance Award has become the beacon for new talent. These five films show what Raindance is all about: great acting, storytelling and production values, each made with limited resources against impossible odds.”

The Pre-Selection Committee of 70 members viewed nearly 200 films, out of which they selected the nominations, which were decided by ballot.

The winners of The Moët British Independent Film Awards are decided by an independent jury comprised of leading professionals and talent from the British film industry.

 The Jury for 2012 includes:

Chair – Alison Owen (Producer), Adrian Hodges (Writer), Christine Bottomley (Actress), Danny Leigh (Film Critic), Iain Canning (Producer), Jamie Thraves (Director/Writer), Jina Jay (Casting Director), John Boyega (Actor), John Fletcher (Marketing Director, Paramount), Lesley Sharp (Actress), Maria Djurkovic (Production Designer), Michelle Eastwood (Producer), Nick Angel (Music Supervisor), Paul Franklin (SFX Supervisor), Tom Hiddleston (Actor), Tristan Goligher (Producer).

The winners will be announced at the much anticipated 15^th awards ceremony which will be hosted by actor and BIFA Patron, James Nesbitt, who returns for his seventh year on Sunday 9 December at the impressive Old Billingsgate in London.

 The Moët British Independent Film Awards is proud to announce the following nominees for this year’s awards:

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM

Sponsored by Moët & Chandon

Berberian Sound Studio

Broken

Sightseers

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

The Imposter

BEST DIRECTOR

Sponsored by AllCity & Intermission

Bart Layton – The Imposter

Ben Wheatley – Sightseers

John Madden – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Peter Strickland – Berberian Sound Studio

Rufus Norris – Broken

THE DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD [BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR]

Sponsored by 3 Mills Studios

Bart Layton – The Imposter

Ben Drew – Ill Manors

Rowan Athale – Wasteland

Rufus Norris – Broken

Sally El Hosaini – My Brother the Devil

BEST SCREENPLAY

Sponsored by BBC Films

Abi Morgan – The Iron Lady

Alice Lowe, Steve Oram, Amy Jump – Sightseers

Mark O’Rowe – Broken

Paul Andrew Williams – Song for Marion

Peter Strickland – Berberian Sound Studio

BEST ACTRESS

Sponsored by M.A.C

Alice Lowe (Tina) – Sightseers

Andrea Riseborough (Colette McVeigh) – Shadow Dancer

Elle Fanning (Ginger) – Ginger & Rosa

Judi Dench (Evelyn Greenslade) – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Meryl Streep (Margaret Thatcher) – The Iron Lady

BEST ACTOR

Riz Ahmed (Aaron) – Ill Manors

Steve Oram (Chris) – Sightseers

Terence Stamp (Arthur) – Song for Marion

Tim Roth (Archie) – Broken

Toby Jones (Gilderoy) – Berberian Sound Studio

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Alice Englert (Rosa) – Ginger & Rosa

Eileen Davies (Carol) – Sightseers

Maggie Smith (Muriel Donnelly) – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Olivia Colman (Queen Elizabeth) – Hyde Park on Hudson

Vanessa Redgrave (Marion) – Song for Marion

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Sponsored by Sanderson & St Martins Lane

Billy Connolly (Wilf) – Quartet

Cillian Murphy (Mike Kiernan) – Broken

Domhnall Gleeson (Connor) – Shadow Dancer

Rory Kinnear (Bob Oswald) – Broken

Tom Wilkinson (Graham Dashwood) – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER

Sponsored by Studiocanal

Elliott Tittensor (Tits) – Spike Island

Eloise Laurence (Skunk) – Broken

James Floyd (Rashid) – My Brother the Devil

Paul Brannigan (Robbie) – The Angels’ Share

Zawe Ashton (Joyce Vincent) – Dreams of a Life

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION

Sponsored by Company3

Berberian Sound Studio

Ill Manors

Sightseers

The Imposter

The Sweeney

BEST TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT

Sponsored by LightBrigade Media

Nic Knowland Bsc– Cinematography – Berberian Sound Studio

Joakim Sundström, Stevie Haywood AMPS IPS– Sound Design – Berberian Sound Studio

Electric Wave Bureau – Music – Broken

Robbie Ryan – Cinematography – Ginger & Rosa

Andrew Hulme – Editing – The Imposter

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Dreams of a Life

London: The Modern Babylon

Marley

Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir

The Imposter

BEST BRITISH SHORT

Supported by the BFI

Friday

Junk

Skyborn

Swimmer

Volume

BEST INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM

Amour

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Rust & Bone

Searching For Sugar Man

The Hunt

THE RAINDANCE AWARD

Frank

Strings

Love Tomorrow

City Slacker

Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet

THE RICHARD HARRIS AWARD (for outstanding contribution by an actor to British Film)

To Be Announced

THE VARIETY AWARD

To Be Announced

THE SPECIAL JURY PRIZE

Announced at the Moët British Independent Film Awards on Sunday 9^th December

Proud supporters and patrons of The Moët British Independent Film Awards include Mike Figgis, Tom Hollander, Adrian Lester, Ken Loach, Ewan McGregor, Helen Mirren, Samantha Morton, James Nesbitt, Michael Sheen, Trudie Styler, Tilda Swinton, Meera Syal, David Thewlis, Ray Winstone and Michael Winterbottom.

The Moët British Independent Film Awards would like to thank all its supporters, especially: Moët & Chandon, BFI, 3 Mills Studios, BBC Films, Company3, M.A.C, Raindance, Sanderson & St Martins Lane – Morgans Hotel Group, Soho House, Studiocanal, Swarovski, Variety, AD Creative, AllCity, Intermission and LightBrigade Media.