Boiling Point And Belfast Lead The Nominations At 2021 BIFA Awards

After critically acclaimed festival runs, it’s comes with  no surprise that Philip Barantini’s Boiling Point and Kenneth Branagh‘s Belfast lead this year’s BIFA Awards nominations.

Today the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) were announced at Curzon Soho in London. This year’s nominees again highlight the wealth of talent and diversity within the British film industry, with 2021’s list featuring some of the greatest names in British cinema and its brightest new talent side by side.

Both films earn 11 nominations each. Belfast, Kenneth Branagh’s moving autobiographical tale of life as a young boy in Belfast in 1969 in the midst of the Troubles. With the Best Actress nomination for Caitríona Balfe, Judi Dench, Ciarán Hinds for Best Support categories and a Breakthrough Performance nomination for newcomer Jude Hill.

Alongside nominations for, Philip Barantini’s adrenaline-fuelled, single-take Boiling Point, is up for Best British Independent Film and Best Director nominations. Along side Best Actor nomination for Stephen Graham, Best Supporting Actor for Ray Panthaki, Best Supporting Actress for Vinette Robinson and a Breakthrough Performance nomination for Lauryn Ajufo,

Debut feature directors Aleem Khan (After Love) and Prano Bailey-Bond (Censor) go head-to-head with their films with nine nominations apiece. Both films up for 9 nominations each next to Joanna Hogg‘s much anticipated arthouse drama sequel The Souvenir Part II which also received 9 nominations.

BIFA NOMINATIONS 2021
The Richard Harris Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Actor to British Film
TO BE ANNOUNCED

Best British Independent Film
AFTER LOVE Aleem Khan, Matthieu de Braconier
ALI & AVA Clio Barnard, Tracy O’Riordan
BOILING POINT Philip Barantini, James Cummings, Bart Ruspoli, Hester Ruoff
THE NEST Sean Durkin, Ed Guiney, Derrin Schlesinger, Rose Garnett, Amy Jackson, Cristina Piovesan
THE SOUVENIR PART II Joanna Hogg, Ed Guiney, Emma Norton, Andrew Lowe, Luke Schiller

Best Director
PHILIP BARANTINI Boiling Point
CLIO BARNARD Ali & Ava
SEAN DURKIN The Nest
JOANNA HOGG The Souvenir Part II
ALEEM KHAN After Love

Best Actress
CAITRÍONA BALFE Belfast
CARRIE COON The Nest
CLAIRE RUSHBROOK Ali & Ava
JOANNA SCANLAN After Love
RUTH WILSON True Things

Best Supporting Actress
JUDI DENCH Belfast
JO HARTLEY Sweetheart
NATHALIE RICHARD After Love
VINETTE ROBINSON Boiling Point
TILDA SWINTON The Souvenir Part II

The Douglas Hickox Award
(Best Debut Director)
PRANO BAILEY-BOND Censor
CELESTE BELL Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché [also directed by Paul Sng]
CATHY BRADY Wildfire
ALEEM KHAN After Love
MARLEY MORRISON Sweetheart

Breakthrough Performance
LAURYN AJUFO Boiling Point
NELL BARLOW Sweetheart
MAX HARWOOD Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
JUDE HILL Belfast
ELLORA TORCHIA In the Earth

Best Documentary 
COW Andrea Arnold, Kat Mansoor
DYING TO DIVORCE Chloë Fairweather, Sinead Kirwan
I AM BELMAYA Sue Carpenter, Christopher Hird
KEYBOARD FANTASIES Posy Dixon, Liv Proctor
POLY STYRENE: I AM A CLICHÉ Paul Sng, Celeste Bell, Zoë Howe, Rebecca Mark-Lawson, Matthew Silverman, Daria Nitsche

Best Screenplay
CLIO BARNARD Ali & Ava
TERENCE DAVIES Benediction
SEAN DURKIN The Nest
JOANNA HOGG The Souvenir Part II
ALEEM KHAN After Love

Best Actor
RIZ AHMED Encounter
ADEEL AKHTAR Ali & Ava
STEPHEN GRAHAM Boiling Point
JUDE LAW The Nest
JAMES NORTON Nowhere Special

Best Supporting Actor
TALID ARISS After Love
RICHARD AYOADE The Souvenir Part II
LUCIAN-RIVER CHAUHAN Encounter
CIARÁN HINDS Belfast
RAY PANTHAKI Boiling Point

Breakthrough Producer 
MICHELLE ANTONIADES Sweetheart
HELEN JONES Censor
JESSICA MALIK She Will [also produced by Bob Last]
HESTER RUOFF Boiling Point [also produced by Bart Ruspoli]
ROB WATSON The Power [also produced by Matthew James Wilkinson]

Best Debut Screenwriter 
PRANO BAILEY-BOND Censor [also written by Anthony Fletcher]
CATHY BRADY Wildfire
ALEEM KHAN After Love
MARLEY MORRISON Sweetheart
REGGIE YATES Pirates

The Raindance Discovery Award
BANK JOB Daniel Edelstyn, Hilary Powell, Christopher Hird
THE BIKE THIEF Matt Chambers, PK Fellowes, Sophia Gibber, Lene Bausager
I AM BELMAYA Sue Carpenter, Christopher Hird
POLY STYRENE: I AM A CLICHÉ Paul Sng, Celeste Bell, Zoë Howe, Rebecca Mark-Lawson, Matthew Silverman, Daria Nitsche
REBEL DYKES Harri Shanahan, Siân A. Williams, Siobhan Fahey

Best British Short Film 
EGÚNGÚN (MASQUERADE) Olive Nwosu, Alex Polunin
FEMME Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon Ping, Sam Riztenberg, Hayley Williams, Rienjke Attoh
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DREAD Ida Melum, Laura Jayne Tunbridge, Hannah Kelso, Danielle Goff
PLAY IT SAFE Mitch Kalisa, Chris Toumazou
PRECIOUS HAIR & BEAUTY John Ogunmuyiwa, Sophia Gibber, Tony Longe, Lene Bausager

Best International Independent Film 
COMPARTMENT NO. 6 Juho Kuosmanen, Livia Ulman, Andris Feldmanis, Jussi Rantamäki, Emilia Haukka
FIRST COW Kelly Reichardt, Jon Raymond, Neil Kopp, Vincent Savino, Anish Savjani
FLEE Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Amin Nawabi, Monica Hellstrøm, Signe Byrge Sørensen
PETITE MAMAN Céline Sciamma, Bénédicte Couvreur
PLEASURE Ninja Thyberg, Peter Modestij, Erik Hemmendorff, Eliza Jones, Markus Waltå

Best Casting 
SHAHEEN BAIG After Love
SHAHEEN BAIG Ali & Ava
SHAHEEN BAIG Pirates
LUCY BEVAN, EMILY BROCKMANN Belfast
CAROLYN MCLEOD Boiling Point

Best Cinematography 
MÁTYÁS ERDÉLY The Nest
MAGDALENA KOWALCZYK Cow
MATTHEW LEWIS Boiling Point
ANNIKA SUMMERSON Censor
HARIS ZAMBARLOUKOS Belfast

Best Costume Design
MICHAEL O’CONNOR The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
GRACE SNELL The Souvenir Part II
GUY SPERANZA Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
ANNIE SYMONS Benediction
CHARLOTTE WALTER Belfast

Best Music
IAIN COOKE Pirates
CONNIE FARR, HARRY ESCOTT Ali & Ava
JED KURZEL Encounter
CLINT MANSELL In the Earth
VAN MORRISON Belfast

Best Effects
STEVEN BRAY, MIKE KNIGHTS Dashcam
GARY BROWN, ISTVÁN MOLNÁR, DAN MARTIN Censor
RUPERT DAVIES The Electrical Life of Louis Wain

Best Editing
HELLE LE FEVRE The Souvenir Part II
REBECCA LLOYD, JACOB SCHULSINGER, NICOLAS CHAUDEURGE Cow
ÚNA NÍ DHONGHAÍLE Belfast
MARK TOWNS Censor
BEN WHEATLEY In the Earth

Best Make-Up & Hair
SIOBHAN HARPER-RYAN The Souvenir Part II
VICKIE LANG, KRISTYAN MALLETT, DONALD MCINNES The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
RUTH PEASE Censor
NADIA STACEY Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
WAKANA YOSHIHARA Belfast

Best Production Design
JIM CLAY Belfast
STÉPHANE COLLONGE The Souvenir Part II
SUZIE DAVIES The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
AIMEE MEEK Boiling Point
PAULINA RZESZOWSKA Censor

Best Sound 
NICOLAS BECKER, CYRIL HOLTZ, LINDA FORSEN Cow
JAMES DRAKE Boiling Point
TIM HARRISON, JAMIE RODEN, ADELE FLETCHER Censor
MARTIN PAVEY In the Earth
ANDREW STIRK, PAUL DAVIES, MORGAN MUSE, BERNARD O’REILLY, JULIAN HOWARTH Encounter