British Independent Film Awards: ‘Elsinore’ Leads Nominations

Simon Stone’s Elsinore, starring Andrew Scott, leads this year’s British Independent Film Awards nominations with 12 nods. Scroll down for the full list of winners.

Elsinore earned nominations for Best British Independent Film, Best Director for Simon Stone, Best Screenplay for Simon Beresford, Best Lead Performance for previous winner Andrew Scott, and Best Supporting Performance for Billie Piper. The film also received seven craft nominations, including Best Cinematography, Best Casting, Best Costume Design, Best Editing, Best Make-Up & Hair Design for Nadia Stacey, Best Original Music, and Best Production Design for Helen Scott.

Clio Barnard’s I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning trails with eight nominations, including Best British Independent Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay for Enda Walsh, and Best Ensemble Performance. Craft nominees for the film include past BIFA winners and nominees Shaheen Baig (Casting), Connie Farr (Music Supervision) and Maya Maffioli (Editing).

Ashley Walters’ debut feature Animol has seven nominations, including Best Debut Director Film for Walters and Breakthrough Producer for Tom Hawkins. The film’s acting leads, Tut Nyuot and Sekou Diaby, have two nominations each: Best Lead and Best Supporting Performance, alongside Breakthrough Performance Netflix.

This year’s nominees for Best International Independent Film are Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s All of a Sudden, Lee Chang-dong’s Possible Love, Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo’s La Bola Negra, Jordan Firstman’s Club Kid, and Marine Atlan’s La Gradiva.

BIFA craft winners will be announced on 24 November on BIFA’s social channels. The full BIFA ceremony takes place on 6 December at Roundhouse in Camden.

BIFA NOMINATIONS 2026

Best British Independent Film

EFFI O BLAENAU Marc Evans, Gary Owen, Branwen Cennard

ELSINORE Simon Stone, Stephen Beresford, Andrea Occhipinti, Gabrielle Tana, Pete Shilaimon, Mickey Liddell, Stefano Massenzi, Carolyn Marks Blackwood, Andrew Scott

I SEE BUILDINGS FALL LIKE LIGHTNING Clio Barnard, Enda Walsh, Tracy O’Riordan

QUEEN AT SEA Lance Hammer, Tristan Goligher

TENDER LOVING CARE Mike Leigh, Georgina Lowe

Cinema of the Year supported by Kia

ABBEYGATE CINEMA

CAMPUS WEST

HIPPODROME CINEMA

THE KINEMA IN THE WOODS

THE ULTIMATE PICTURE PALACE

Best Director

CLIO BARNARD I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning

ANDREW HAIGH A Long Winter

MARK JENKIN Rose of Nevada

MIKE LEIGH Tender Loving Care

SIMON STONE Elsinore

Best Lead Performance

JULIETTE BINOCHE Queen at Sea

ERIN DOHERTY Faith

LEISA GWENLLIAN Effi o Blaenau

JONATHAN JULES Florid

TUT NYUOT Animol ANDREW SCOTT Elsinore

Best Screenplay
sponsored by Apple Original Films

STEPHEN BERESFORD Elsinore

LANCE HAMMER Queen at Sea

MIKE LEIGH Tender Loving Care

GARY OWEN Effi O Blaenau

ENDA WALSH I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning

Best Supporting Performance

ANNA CALDER-MARSHALL Queen at Sea

TOM COURTENAY Queen at Sea

SEKOU DIABY Animol

CLAIRE FOY Ink

BILLIE PIPER Elsinore BILL PULLMAN Everybody Digs Bill Evans

Best Joint Lead Performance

SÉAMUS MCLEAN ROSS, SAMUEL BOTTOMLEY California Schemin’

FLORA NICHOLSON, CLARE DUNNE, MIA THARIA The Education of Jane Cumming

MARNI DUGGAN, GALAXIE CLEAR Extra Geography CHIMPAYE FLORENCE MARISERENA, BIZIMANA HUSSAIN Small Gods

Best Ensemble Performance

I SEE BUILDINGS FALL LIKE LIGHTNING Anthony Boyle, Joe Cole, Jay Lycurgo, Daryl McCormack, Lola Petticrew

SUNNY DANCER Bella Ramsey, Daniel Quinn-Toye, Ruby Stokes, Earl Cave, Conrad Khan, Jasmine Elcock, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Louis Gaunt, Josie Walker, Jessica Gunning, James Norton, Neil Patrick Harris, James Blunt

TENDER LOVING CARE Marion Bailey, Paul Jesson, Kate O’Flynn, Alice Bailey Johnson

The Douglas Hickox Award
(Best Debut Director)
sponsored by BBC Film

BILLY LUMBY Florid

MOLLY MANNERS Extra Geography

BERTIL NILSSON Masc

LOUIS PAXTON The Incomer ASHLEY WALTERS Animol

Breakthrough Producer
sponsored by Pinewood and Shepperton Studios

ITAB AZZAM, JACK MACINNES, WILL ANDERSON, JAMES BLUEMEL, ANDREW PALMER One in a Million [also produced Raney Aronson-Rath]

BRANWEN CENNARD Effi O Blaenau

TOM HAWKINS Animol [also produced by Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor, Nick Love, Ashley Walters]

OSKAR PIMLOTT Bad Apples

ALEX POLUNIN Black Church Bay [also produced by Tristan Goligher]

Breakthrough Performance
sponsored by Netflix

GALAXIE CLEAR Extra Geography

SEKOU DIABY Animol

LEISA GWENLLIAN Effi O Blaenau

JONATHAN JULES Florid TUT NYUOT Animol

Best Debut Screenwriter
sponsored by Film4

MIRIAM BATTYE Extra Geography

THEA GAJIĆ Surviving Earth

RHYS MARC JONES Black Church Bay

JESS O’KANE Bad Apples LOUIS PAXTON The Incomer

Best Debut Director – Feature Documentary

JANAY BOULOS, ABD ALKADER HABAK Birds of War

ED SAYERS Super Nature RACHEL TAPARJAN Something Familiar

The Raindance Maverick Award

ACT 3 Christine Molloy, Joe Lawlor, Alex Thiele, Hannah Patterson

CHATLINES Neil Ely, Lloyd Eyre-Morgan, Paul Mortlock

MASC Bertil Nilsson

THE PERIL AT PINCER POINT Jake Kuhn, Noah Stratton-Twine

SOMETHING FAMILIAR Rachel Taparjan, Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan, Elena Martin, Aleksandra Bilic

Best Feature Documentary sponsored by Intermission Film

ALL RIVERS SPILL THEIR STORIES TO THE SEA Jeanie Finlay, Charlie Phillips

EVERYBODY TO KENMURE STREET Felipe Bustos Sierra, Ciara Barry

ONE IN A MILLION Itab Azzam, Jack MacInnes, Will Anderson, Andrew Palmer, James Bluemel, Raney Aronson-Rath

SOMETHING FAMILIAR Rachel Taparjan, Aleksandra Bilic, Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan

WE, THE HATED Rich Felgate, David Allen

Best British Short Film

ALLIES IN EXILE Hasan Kattan, Orlando von Einsiedel

COYOTES Said Zagha, Myriam Sassine, Laura Jumel

FORGOTTEN SPACEMAN Elham Ehsas, Lorraine Bhattachary

UNTITLED WOMAN Camille Summers-Valli, Rosmarie Vind, Sorcha Bacon, Martha McGuirk, David Zander

VOTE GAVIN LYLE Aneil Karia, Scott O’Donnell, Tom Gardner

Best International Independent Film sponsored by Champagne Taittinger

ALL OF A SUDDEN Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Léa Le Dimna, David Gauquié, Julien Deris, Kôsuke Oshida, Yûji Sadai, Jean-Luc Ormières, Renan Artukmaç, Hiroko Matsuda

CLUB KID Jordan Firstman, Galen Core, Alex Coco

LA BOLA NEGRA Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo

LA GRADIVA Marine Atlan, Anne Brouilet, Inès Daïen Dasi POSSIBLE LOVE Lee Chang-dong, Oh Jung-mi

Best Casting

SHAHEEN BAIG I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning

HEATHER BASTEN Animol

LARA MANWARING Florid

LUCY PARDEE Extra Geography

JESSICA RONANE Elsinore

Best Cinematography
sponsored by Kodak & Molinare

MIKE ELEY Elsinore

PIERS McGRAIL Everybody Digs Bill Evans

CHRISTOPHER RIPLEY Straight Circle

SIMON TINDALL I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning

ANDRÉ TURPIN A Long Winter

Best Costume Design

SARAH BLENKINSOP The Incomer

ALEX BOVAIRD Savage House

CAROL CASE A Long Winter

DARION HING Straight Circle MEL PAGE Elsinore

Best Editing

VALERIO BONELLI Elsinore

OTTO BURNHAM Black Is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story

FOUAD GABER Straight Circle

MAYA MAFFIOLI I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning FIN OATES Ink

Best Effects

JON BIGGINS, JEFF DILLON Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom

RUSLAN BORYSOV, RICHARD CHEAL, TIM LEDBURY The Magic Faraway Tree DANIEL MORRIS The Incomer

Best Music Supervision

CONNIE FARR I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning

CONNIE FARR Queen at Sea PHIL CANNING Sunny Dancer

Best Make-Up & Hair Design

JACQUETTA LEVON Savage House

NADIA STACEY Elsinore

NADIA STACEY Madfabulous

KAREN HARTLEY THOMAS The Magic Faraway Tree TRISTAN VERSLUIS Straight Circle

Best Original Music
sponsored by Universal Music Publishing Group

ROGER GOULA Everybody Digs Bill Evans

STEFAN GREGORY Elsinore

MARK JENKIN Rose of Nevada

HANNAH PEEL Underland

SIÔN TREFOR, IOANA SELARU Effi o Blaenau

Best Production Design sponsored by ATC

LUKE MORAN-MORRIS Straight Circle

GARETH PUGH, CARSON McCOLL Ink

HELEN SCOTT Elsinore

ALEXANDRA WALKER The Magic Faraway Tree

GARY WILLIAMSON Savage House

Best Sound sponsored by Bleat

ANDY COLES, JOHN BRENNAN Everybody Digs Bill Evans

PAUL COTTERELL, RON OSIOWY, JOAKIM SUNDSTRÖM A Long Winter

SIMON HAYES, JOHNNIE BURN Ink

MARK JENKIN, IAN WILSON Rose of Nevada

DARIO SWADE, GEORGE ELLIOTT, TOM HARBURT Florid