Just as I always love the Independent Spirit Awards for their recognition of lower-profile gems, the British Independent Film Awards do basically the same thing for smaller films across the pond. Like the Indie Spirits, the BIFAs have been straying a little closer to the mainstream as of late, given their love for “The King’s Speech” last year and their similar embracing of “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” (which tied with “Shame” and Paddy Considine’s directorial debut “Tyrannosaur” for most nods, with 7). But that’s not really much to complain about, and these nominations reflect an extremely fruitful year in independent British cinema; indeed, BIFA voters couldn’t even find any room for “My Week with Marilyn,” Andrea Arnold’s (granted, divisive) adaptation of “Wuthering Heights” or Terence Davies’ well-received “The Deep Blue Sea.”
But it’s great to see BIFA singling out some tiny critical hits like “The Guard,” “Weekend” and “Attack the Block,” and even going for some unexpected crossover recognition by putting Indy-racing documentary “Senna” in the coveted Best Picture field. The nod for Olivia Colman in “Tyrannosaur” also fans the flame for a growing Oscar campaign for the breakthrough actress (probably not going to happen, but this is certainly a step). Check out the trailer for Considine’s thoroughly depressing-looking film after the nominations.
Last year, “The King’s Speech” was pretty much the only thing from the BIFAs that went on to any Oscar recognition (though I really wish the screenwriters had reached out to “Four Lions” the same way they did for “In the Loop” a year earlier); can “Tinker, Tailor” ride the same wave, or does the brooding spy thriller just not have the same kind of emotional resonance needed to get a Best Picture nod?
British Independent Film Award nominees:
Best British Independent Film
- Senna
- Shame
- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
- Tyrannosaur
- We Need to Talk About Kevin
- Ben Wheatley, “Kill List”
- Steve McQueen, “Shame”
- Tomas Alfredson, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”
- Paddy Considine, “Tyrannosaur”
- Lynne Ramsay, “We Need to Talk About Kevin”
- MyAnna Buring, “Kill List”
- Olivia Colman, “Tyrannosaur”
- Rebecca Hall, “The Awakening”
- Tilda Swinton, “We Need to Talk About Kevin”
- Mia Wasikowska, “Jane Eyre”
- Michael Fassbender, “Shame”
- Brendan Gleeson, “The Guard”
- Neil Maskell, “Kill List”
- Peter Mullan, “Tyrannosaur”
- Gary Oldman, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”
- Kathy Burke, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”
- Sally Hawkins, “Submarine”
- Felicity Jones, “Albatross”
- Carey Mulligan, “Shame”
- Vanessa Redgrave, “Coriolanus”
- Benedict Cumberbatch, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”
- Tom Hardy, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”
- Eddie Marsan, “Tyrannosaur”
- Ezra Miller, “We Need to Talk About Kevin”
- Michael Smiley, “Kill List”
- John Michael McDonagh, “The Guard”
- Ben Wheatley and Amy Jump, “Kill List”
- Abi Morgan and Steve McQueen, “Shame”
- Richard Ayoade, “Submarine”
- Lynne Ramsay and Rory Kinnear, “We Need to Talk About Kevin”
- Animal Kingdom
- Drive
- Pina
- A Separation
- The Skin I Live In
- Hell and Back Again
- Life in a Day
- Project Nim
- Senna
- TT3D: Closer to the Edge”
- Joe Cornish, “Attack the Block”
- Ralph Fiennes, “Coriolanus”
- John Michael McDonagh, “The Guard”
- Richard Ayoade, “Submarine”
- Paddy Considine, “Tyrannosaur”
- John Boyega, “Attack the Block”
- Tom Cullen, “Weekend”
- Jessica Brown Findlay, “Albatross”
- Yasmin Paige, “Submarine”
- Craig Roberts, “Submarine”
- Chris King and Gregers Sall (editing), “Senna”
- Sean Bobbitt (cinematography), “Shame”
- Joe Walker (editing), “Shame”
- Maria Djurkovic (production design), “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”
- Seamus McGarvery (cinematography), “We Need to Talk About Kevin”
- Kill List
- Tyrannosaur
- Weekend
- Wild Bill
- You Instead
The Best Films of Our Lives 