Pillion Wins Four At The 2025 British Independent Film Awards!

On Sunday night the annual British Independent Film Awards took place in central London. Harry Lighton‘s unconventional romantic comedy Pillion came out on top winning four awards.

Starring Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgård, it’s about the lure of a charismatic biker who challenges a timid man’s mundane life. First-time feature writer/director Lighton also won Best Debut Screenwriter, also winning  four BIFAs in total. Those include  the two previously announced craft wins for Best Costume Design and Best Make Up & Hair Design.

Best Director gong went to Akinola Davies Jr with another debut feature  in the shape of My Father’s Shadow.  A story of two brothers who first come to understand their father at a pivotal moment in both his life and Nigerian history.

Other notable winners include Cal McMau for his gripping prison drama Wasteman winning The Douglas Hickox Award (Best Director). Robert Aramayo won 2025’s Best Lead Performance award for his role as John Davison in I Swear. Best Supporting Performance went to Jay Lycurgo for Tim Mielants’ 1990s-set pressure-cooker school drama Steve.  Joaquim Von Trier’s intimate film Sentimental Value wins Best International Independent Film.

BIFA NOMINATIONS AND WINNERS 2025
The Richard Harris Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Actor to British Film
EMILY WATSON

Special Jury Prize
WARP FILMS

Best British Independent Film
THE BALLAD OF WALLIS ISLAND James Griffiths, Tom Basden, Tim Key, Rupert Majendie
I SWEAR Kirk Jones, Georgia Bayliff, Piers Tempest
MY FATHER’S SHADOW Akinola Davies Jr, Wale Davies, Rachel Dargavel, Funmbi Ogunbanwo
* PILLION Harry Lighton, Lee Groombridge, Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Emma Norton
URCHIN Harris Dickinson, Archie Pearch, Scott O’Donnell

Cinema of the Year sponsored by Kia
DEPOT CINEMA
* THE MAGIC LANTERN CINEMA
MONTROSE PLAYHOUSE
QUEEN’S FILM THEATRE
WATERSHED

Best Director sponsored by Sky Cinema
LAURA CARREIRA On Falling
* AKINOLA DAVIES JR My Father’s Shadow
KIRK JONES I Swear
HARRY LIGHTON Pillion
LYNNE RAMSAY Die My Love

Best Lead Performance
* ROBERT ARAMAYO I Swear
FRANK DILLANE Urchin
DAVID JONSSON Wasteman
JENNIFER LAWRENCE Die My Love
HARRY MELLING Pillion
CILLIAN MURPHY Steve

Best Screenplay
sponsored by Apple Original Films
* TOM BASDEN, TIM KEY The Ballad of Wallis Island
LAURA CARREIRA On Falling
WALE DAVIES My Father’s Shadow
KIRK JONES I Swear
HARRY LIGHTON Pillion

Best Supporting Performance
TOM BLYTH Wasteman
SCOTT ELLIS WATSON I Swear
* JAY LYCURGO Steve
PETER MULLAN I Swear
MAXINE PEAKE I Swear
ALEXANDER SKARSGÅRD Pillion

Best Joint Lead Performance
EBADA HASSAN, SAFIYYA INGAR Brides
* TIM KEY, TOM BASDEN The Ballad of Wallis Island
ANDREA RISEBOROUGH, BRENDA BLETHYN Dragonfly

Best Ensemble Performance
* WARFARE D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Kit Connor, Finn Bennett, Joseph Quinn, Charles Melton

The Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director) sponsored by BBC Film
LAURA CARREIRA On Falling
AKINOLA DAVIES JR My Father’s Shadow
HARRIS DICKINSON Urchin
HARRY LIGHTON Pillion
* CAL McMAU Wasteman

Breakthrough Producer
sponsored by Pinewood and Shepperton Studios
WYN BAPTISTE Shoot the People
CHARLOTTE KNOWLES Palestine Comedy Club
JOANN KUSHNER LifeHack [also produced by Timur Bekmambetov, Aleksandr Kletsov]
* DHIRAJ MAHEY Ish [also produced by Bennett McGhee]
ARCHIE PEARCH Urchin [also produced by Scott O’Donnell]

Breakthrough Performance
sponsored by Netflix
SCOTT ELLIS WATSON I Swear
EBADA HASSAN Brides
SAFIYYA INGAR Brides
* POSY STERLING Lollipop
CONNOR TOMPKINS The Son and the Sea

Best Debut Screenwriter
sponsored by Film4
HUNTER ANDREWS, EOIN DORAN Wasteman
TOM BASDEN, TIM KEY The Ballad of Wallis Island
LAURA CARREIRA On Falling
WALE DAVIES My Father’s Shadow
* HARRY LIGHTON Pillion

Best Debut Director – Feature Documentary
* MYRID CARTEN A Want in Her
CÉCILE EMBLETON, ALYS TOMLINSON Mother Vera
VICTORIA MAPPLEBECK Motherboard

The Raindance Maverick Award
FOUL EVIL DEEDS Richard Hunter
HOLLOWAY Sophie Compton, Daisy-May Hudson, Stella Heath Keir, Alice Hughes, Polly Creed
MOTHER VERA Cécile Embleton, Alys Tomlinson, Laura Shacham
MOTHERBOARD Victoria Mapplebeck
* A WANT IN HER Myrid Carten

Best Feature Documentary sponsored by Intermission Film
ANTIDOTE James Jones, David Moulton
MOTHER VERA Cécile Embleton, Alys Tomlinson, Laura Shacham
MOTHERBOARD Victoria Mapplebeck
THE SHEPHERD AND THE BEAR Max Keegan, Elizabeth Woodward, Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss
* A WANT IN HER Myrid Carten, Tadhg O’Sullivan, Roisín Geraghty, Kat Mansoor

Best British Short Film
FLOCK Mac Nixon, Matt Ashwell, Daley Nixon
* MAGID / ZAFAR Luís Hindman, Sufiyaan Salam, Aidan Robert Brooks
A SISYPHEAN TASK Gus Flind-Henry, George Malcher, George Telfer
STOMACH BUG Matty Crawford, Karima Sammout Kanellopoulou
TWO BLACK BOYS IN PARADISE Ben Jackson, Baz Sells, Dean Atta

Best International Independent Film sponsored by Champagne Taittinger
IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT Jafar Panahi, Phillippe Martin
* SENTIMENTAL VALUE Joachim Trier, Eskil Vogt, Maria Ekerhovd, Andrea Berentsen Ottmar
SIRĀT Oliver Laxe, Santiago Fillol, Domingo Corral, Oriol Maymó, Andrea Queralt, Mani Mortazavi, Xavi Font, Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar, Esther García
SORRY, BABY Eva Victor, Adele Romanski, Mark Ceryak, Barry Jenkins
SOUND OF FALLING Mascha Schilinski, Louise Peter, Maren Schmitt, Lucas Schmidt

Best Casting
sponsored by Casting Society & Spotlight
SHAHEEN BAIG Brides
SHAHEEN BAIG Urchin
KHARMEL COCHRANE Warfare
* LAUREN EVANS I Swear
ROBERT STERNE Steve

Best Cinematography
sponsored by Kodak & Molinare
CHARLOTTE BRUUS CHRISTENSEN H Is for Hawk
JERMAINE EDWARDS My Father’s Shadow
CÉCILE EMBLETON Mother Vera
* SEAMUS McGARVEY Die My Love
PIOTR NIEMYJSKI A Pale View of Hills

Best Costume Design
SUSIE COULTHARD 100 Nights of Hero
KIRSTY HALLIDAY Tornado
* GRACE SNELL Pillion
SAYAKA TAKAHASHI, MATTHEW PRICE A Pale View of Hills
PC WILLIAMS My Father’s Shadow

Best Editing
RONAN CORRIGAN, ALEKSANDR KLETSOV LifeHack
OMAR GUZMÁN CASTRO My Father’s Shadow
* FIN OATES Warfare
SAM RICE-EDWARDS One to One: John & Yoko
GARETH C. SCALES Pillion

Best Effects
* SIMON STANLEY-CLAMP, RYAN CONDER Warfare
VICTOR TOMI Die My Love
HAYLEY WILLIAMS, CONOR O’SULLIVAN, MARTIN MALMQVIST The Thing With Feathers

Best Music Supervision
PHIL CANNING Wasteman
* RAIFE BURCHELL, IAN NEIL Die My Love
BRIDGET SAMUELS Urchin

Best Make-Up & Hair Design
KEHINDE ARE, FEYISAYO OYEBISI My Father’s Shadow
* DIANDRA FERREIRA Pillion
PAUL GOOCH, TRISTAN VERSLUIS Warfare
COLLEEN LABAFF, MIHO SUZUKI Die My Love
NATASHA LAWES 100 Nights of Hero

Best Original Music
sponsored by Universal Music Publishing Group
* TOM BASDEN, ADEM ILHAN The Ballad of Wallis Island
BOBBY KRLIC Anemone
JED KURZEL Tornado
CJ MIRRA, DUVAL TIMOTHY My Father’s Shadow
STEVEN PRICE Ocean With David Attenborough

Best Production Design sponsored by ATC
JENNIFER ANTI, PABLO ANTI My Father’s Shadow
MARK DIGBY Warfare
TIM GRIMES Die My Love
* NATHAN PARKER Harvest
SOFIA SACOMANI 100 Nights of Hero

Best Sound sponsored by Bleat
STEVE FANAGAN, STEVIE HAYWOOD Anemone
PAUL DAVIES, TIM BURNS, LINDA FORSÉN, ANDREW STIRK, RON OSIOWY Die My Love
NINA HARTSTONE, JAKE WHITELEE, JENS PETERSEN, MIKE TEHRANI, ROB DAVIDSON Ish
CJ MIRRA, JAMES RIDGWAY, JOE JACKSON, ADELE FLETCHER, PIUS FATOKE My Father’s Shadow
* GLENN FREEMANTLE, MITCH LOW, HOWARD BARGROFF, BEN BARKER, RICHARD SPOONER Warfare

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The founder of The People's Movies, started the site 20th November 2008.The site has excelled past all expectations with many only giving the site months and it's still going strong. A lover of French Thrillers, Post Apocalyptic films, Asian cinema. 2009 started Cinehouse to start his 'cinema education' learning their is life outside mainstream cinema. Outside of film, love to travel with Sorrento, Guangzhou and Manchester all favourite destinations.Musically loves David Bowie, Fishbone, Radiohead.

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