British Independent Film Awards 2021: the winners in full (2024)

After Love, Aleem Khan’s drama starring Joanna Scanlan as a British Muslim woman digging into her late husband’s past, is the big winner at the 2021 British Independent Film Awards. Picking up the award for best British independent film, it also won best actress for Scanlan and three further awards for Khan including best director, best debut director and bestscreenplay.

Funded and distributed in UK cinemas by the BFI before being released both on Blu-ray and to stream onBFIPlayer, the film also saw a best supporting actor win for TalidAriss.

The best actor prize went toAdeel Akhtar for his memorable turn in the Bradford-set romantic drama Ali & Ava, while best supporting actress wasVinette Robinson for BoilingPoint.

The latter, a tense drama set in a restaurant kitchen and filmed in a single take, was also recognised for its cinematography, sound andcasting.

Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché, which was funded via theBFIDoc Society Fund, won best documentary as well as the Raindance DiscoveryAward.

Among the winning films backed by theBFIFilm Fund with National Lottery money are After Love, Ali&Ava, Sweetheart, Wildfire and The Souvenir PartII.

On behalf of the BFI Film Fund team,Lizzie Francke, the fund’s editor at large, said: “Huge congratulation to all the BIFA winners – a celebration of films which are all the more remarkable given they overcame the impossible as were made and/or released amid a global pandemic. And a fantastic night for the filmmakers supported by the BFI Film Fund. For us as a team, it’s a privilege to be part of the journey of these exceptional films. Special mention to After Love’s success – our fund exists to enable talent to take risks and experiment and this spectacular debut is an example of what can be achieved when a new filmmaking voice is supported to realise their vision and we can’t wait to see what Aleem doesnext.”

Best British independentfilm

Winner: After Love – Aleem Khan, Matthieu DeBraconier

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, Christina Piovesan
The Souvenir Part II – Joanna Hogg, Ed Guiney, Emma Norton, Andrew Lowe, LukeSchiller

Bestdirector

Winner: Aleem Khan – AfterLove

Philip Barantini – Boiling Point
Clio Barnard – Ali & Ava
Sean Durkin – The Nest
Joanna Hogg – The Souvenir Part II

Bestactress

Winner: Joanna Scanlan – AfterLove

Caitríona Balfe – Belfast
Carrie Coon – The Nest
Claire Rushbrook – Ali & Ava
Ruth Wilson – TrueThings

Best supportingactress

Winner: Vinette Robinson – BoilingPoint

Judi Dench – Belfast
Jo Hartley – Sweetheart
Nathalie Richard – After Love
Tilda Swinton – The Souvenir Part II

Bestactor

Winner: Adeel Akhtar – Ali &Ava

Riz Ahmed – Encounter
Stephen Graham – Boiling Point
Jude Law – The Nest
James Norton – NowhereSpecial

Best supportingactor

Winner: Talid Ariss – AfterLove

Richard Ayoade – The Souvenir Part II
Lucian-River Chauhan – Encounter
Ciarán Hinds – Belfast
Ray Panthaki – BoilingPoint

Bestscreenplay

Winner: Aleem Khan – AfterLove

Clio Barnard – Ali & Ava
Terence Davies – Benediction
Sean Durkin – The Nest
Joanna Hogg – The Souvenir Part II

Bestcinematography

Winner: Matthew Lewis – BoilingPoint

Mátyás Erdély – The Nest
Magdalena Kowalczyk – Cow
Annika Summerson – Censor
Haris Zambarloukos –Belfast

Best costumedesign

Winner: Grace Snell – The Souvenir Part II

Michael O’Connor – The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
Guy Speranza – Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
Annie Symons – Benediction
Charlotte Walter –Belfast

Bestmusic

Winner: Connie Farr, Harry Escott – Ali &Ava

Iain Cooke – Pirates
Jed Kurzel – Encounter
Clint Mansell – In the Earth
Van Morrison –Belfast

Besteffects

Winner: Mike Knights, Steven Bray, Dan Martin, Leigh Cranston – DASHCAM

Gary Brown, István Molnár, Dan Martin – Censor
Rupert Davies,Nick Rideout – The Electrical Life of LouisWain

Bestediting

Winner: Helle Le Fevre – The Souvenir Part II

Rebecca Lloyd, Jacob Schulsinger, Nicolas Chaudeurge – Cow
Úna Ní Dhonghaíle – Belfast
Mark Towns – Censor
Ben Wheatley – In theEarth

Best make-up andhair

Winner: Vickie Lang, Kristyan Mallett, Donald McInnes – The Electrical Life of LouisWain

Siobhan Harper-Ryan – The Souvenir Part II
Ruth Pease – Censor
Nadia Stacey – Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
Wakana Yoshihara –Belfast

Best productiondesign

Winner: Stéphane Collonge – The Souvenir Part II

Jim Clay – Belfast
Suzie Davies – The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
Aimee Meek – Boiling Point
Paulina Rzeszowska –Censor

Bestsound

Winner: James Drake, Rob Entwistle, Kiff Mcmanus – BoilingPoint

Nicolas Becker, Cyril Holtz, Linda Forsen, Nikky French – Cow
Tim Harrison, Jamie Roden, Adele Fletcher, David Mitchell – Censor
Martin Pavey – In the Earth
Andrew Stirk, Paul Davies, Morgan Muse, Bernard O’Reilly, Julian Howarth –Encounter

Breakthroughperformance

Winner:Nell Barlow –Sweetheart

Lauryn Ajufo – Boiling Point
Max Harwood – Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
Jude Hill – Belfast
Ellora Torchia – In theEarth

Bestdocumentary

Winner: Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché – Paul Sng, Celeste Bell, Zoë Howe, Rebecca Mark-Lawson, Matthew Silverman, DariaNitsche

Cow – Andrea Arnold, Kat Mansoor
Dying to Divorce – Chloë Fairweather, Sinead Kirwan
I Am Belmaya – Sue Carpenter, Christopher Hird
Keyboard Fantasies – Posy Dixon, LivProctor

The Douglas Hickox Award (best debutdirector)

Winner: Aleem Khan – AfterLove

Prano Bailey-Bond – Censor
Celeste Bell – Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché [also directed by Paul Sng]
Cathy Brady – Wildfire
Marley Morrison –Sweetheart

Breakthroughproducer

Winner: 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 JamesWilkinson]

Best debutscreenwriter

Winner: Cathy Brady –Wildfire

Prano Bailey-Bond – Censor [also written by Anthony Fletcher]
Aleem Khan – After Love
Marley Morrison – Sweetheart
Reggie Yates –Pirates

The Raindance DiscoveryAward

Winner: Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché – Paul Sng, Celeste Bell, Zoë Howe, Rebecca Mark-Lawson, Matthew Silverman, DariaNitsche

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
Rebel Dykes – Harri Shanahan, Siân A. Williams, SiobhanFahey

Best British short film – supported by BFINetwork

Winner: Femme – Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon Ping, Sam Riztenberg, Hayley Williams, RienjkeAttoh

Egúngún (Masquerade) – Olive Nwosu, Alex Polunin
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, LeneBausager

Best international independentfilm

Winner: Flee – Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Amin Nawabi, Monica Hellstrøm, Signe ByrgeSørensen

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
Petite maman – Céline Sciamma, Bénédicte Couvreur
Pleasure – Ninja Thyberg, Peter Modestij, Erik Hemmendorff, Eliza Jones, MarkusWaltå

Bestcasting

Winner: Carolyn McLeod – BoilingPoint

Shaheen Baig – After Love
Shaheen Baig – Ali & Ava
Shaheen Baig – Pirates
Lucy Bevan, Emily Brockmann –Belfast

The Richard Harris Award for outstanding contribution by an actor to Britishfilm

RizAhmed