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The Oscar race is a marathon, not a sprint. There are dozens of pit stops along the way and trophies to be given out before the 2025 Oscars on Sunday, March 2. Keep track of precursor wins here with our scorecard. This includes honors from major film festivals, critics groups, guilds, and televised shows of the 2024-25 Oscar season. Wins are listed in order of announcement and in accordance with candidates’ FYC campaigns.

Updated: Monday, Jan. 13 with Utah Film Critics Association, Puerto Rico Critics Association, and Hawaii Film Critics Society winners. Since her victory at the Golden Globes, Demi Moore has earned five consecutive Best Actress prizes, including from the Ufca, Prca and Hfcs. Best Picture honors went to The Wild Robot, The Substance, and The Brutalist, respectively.

Key:

Aafca: African American Film Critics Association

Afcc: Atlanta Film Critics Circle

Afca: Austin Film Critics Association

AWFJ: Alliance of Women Film Journalists...

After a seven-year absence, British-Zambian filmmaker Rungano Nyoni has returned to feature filmmaking with her surreal and darkly funny sophomore effort On Becoming a Guinea Fowl.

Set in the Zambian capital Lusaka, the film follows the thirtysomething Shula (Susan Chardy), who is traveling home from a costume party when she discovers her uncle Fred’s dead body lying on a roadside. As funeral proceedings begin, she and her cousins discover long-buried family secrets that shake their understanding of themselves and each other.

Guinea Fowl debuted at Cannes, like Nyoni’s 2017 feature, I Am Not a Witch. That film catapulted Nyoni into the rare status of rising British auteur. The buzz, she says, critically, was in part thanks to the film dropping at the height of an industry-wide “diversity drive” where people were “pushing to see other narratives from Britain.”

“I was riding on some kind of wave when everyone had all these great intentions,...

In Zambia, or at least in Bemba culture, you don't speak ill of the dead — in part because of fear they might hear you. A little spooky perhaps, but mostly a loving belief that these people haven’t truly left us. Early on in On Becoming A Guinea Fowl, Shula (Susan Chardy) is haunted by the memory of her late Uncle Fred (Roy Chisha) — because of her uncle's abuses of her and other girls in her family, and the family’s refusal to acknowledge his wrongdoing.

And so her uncle’s memory only follows her around more, while her family chants in sorrow for a man whose cruelty and carelessness was an open secret. The second feature from Welsh-Zambian director Rungano Nyoni after her knockout satirical feature I Am Not a Witch, On Becoming A Guinea Fowl follows these hypocrisies to tragic, even darkly humorous ends. It follows Shula as...

By most standards, Sandhya Suri’s fiction feature debut “Santosh” is already a hit. After premiering in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard sidebar, the Hindi-language crime thriller about a widow who inherits her late husband’s police officer job in rural India has gone on to win the Golden Frog for debut director in Camerimage, land a European Film Award nomination and win two British Independent Film Awards. In France, the film had a successful box office run over the summer, with more than 150,000 admissions to date. It’s now the U.K.’s submission for the Oscars’ international film category – following in the triumphant footsteps of “The Zone of Interest” – and recently made the shortlist.

And yet “Santosh” achieved almost all of this without having a U.K. distributor lined up, sales agent Mk2 and its producers having spent months struggling to find a suitable partner.

Indeed, there was eleventh...

We don’t want to overwhelm you, but while you’re catching up with our top 50 films of 2024, more cinematic greatness awaits in 2025. Ahead of our 100 most-anticipated films (all of which have yet to premiere), we’re highlighting 30 titles from this year’s festival circuit that have either confirmed 2025 release dates or await a debut date from its distributor. There’s also a handful of films seeking distribution that we hope will arrive in the next 12 months, as can be seen here.

As an additional note: a number of 2024 films that had one-week qualifying runs will get expanded releases in 2025, including Hard Truths (Jan. 10), The Last Showgirl (Jan. 10), I’m Still Here (Jan. 17), Armand (Feb. 7), and Universal Language (Feb. 14).

Pepe (Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias; Jan. 10 on Mubi)

Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias’ 2017 fiction debut Cocote was the dazzling, textured arrival of a new voice; the director doesn’t...

UK short film festival Encounters will return in 2025, having cancelled its 2024 edition due to funding challenges.

The Bristol-based event will take place from September 24-28, 2025, for its 30th edition. Veteran festivals and event producer Dave Taylor-Matthews has joined Encounters as executive director.

Originally scheduled for September 27-30, the 2024 edition was cancelled in April this year due to Brexit-fuelled funding issues, with doubt cast over future editions.

Submissions for the 2025 edition will open tomorrow, for live action, animated, documentary or experimental films of under 40 mins in length.

To account for the cancellation of the 2024 edition, films completed on or after...

Here is the complete list of winners. Best British Independent Film Kneecap – Winner Love Lies Bleeding On Becoming a Guinea Fowl The Outrun Santosh Best Director Andrea Arnold, Bird Nora Fingscheidt, The Outrun Rose Glass, Love Lies Bleeding Rungano Nyoni, On Becoming a Guinea Fowl – Winner Rich Peppiatt, Kneecap Best Lead Performance Radhika

The post “Kneecap” Tops British Independent Film Awards appeared first on Manny the Movie Guy.

Writer-director Rich Peppiatt’s Kneecap had a successful night at the British Independent Film Awards. Here’s the full list of BIFA 2024 winners.

The awards season is officially underway as the crème de la crème of British independent filmmaking gathered to celebrate the year of films we’ve had. The British Independent Film Awards, or BIFAs for short, took place on Sunday 8th December.

Writer-director Rich Peppiatt’s music biopic Kneecap, telling the unusual story of the titular Irish rap trio, was the night’s big winner, taking home a total of seven prizes, including Best British Independent Film. The director acknowledged the strangeness of the situation in his acceptance speech.

“There’s an irony in the best British film being Irish,” Peppiatt said on stage.

Anora was named Best International Independent Film, while Marianne Jean-Baptiste took home Best Lead Performance for Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths and Bird...

It was couples night out at the 2024 British Film Independent Awards held at The Roundhouse on Sunday (December 8) in London.

Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander, and fairly newlyweds Jack Lowden and Saoirse Ronan were among the celebs who were in attendance at the annual awards show, celebrating British independent films.

The big winner of the night was Michael‘s musical comedy Kneecap, which picked up several awards.

Keep reading to find out more…

Also stepping out were winners Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley and Sophie Okonedo, as well as Aisling Bea, Sean Baker, Maria Bakalova, Douglas Booth, Ellie Bamber, Samantha Quan, Mikey Madison, Alex Coco, Katy O’Brian, Ben Hardy, Adam Pearson, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Joseph Quinn, Mia McKenna-Bruce, Martin Freeman and Rachel Benaissa, Indira Varma, James Norton, Connor Swindells and Lauren Lyle.

Not only did Marianne win Best Lead Performance for Hard Truths at the BIFAs, but she also won...

The Roundhouse in London played host this evening to the 2024 BIFAs – The British Independent Film Awards. Kneecap went into the awards ceremony leading the 2024 nominations with 14, Love Lies Bleeding had 12, The Outrun received 9 nominations, 7 nominations each for Bird, on becoming a guinea fowl and unicorns, 6 for Hoard and Civil War. The winners of tonight’s awards are below.

Celebrating remarkable films and outstanding talent from the British film industry and beyond, this year’s list highlights the UK’s brightest new talent alongside BIFA heroes such as Andrea Arnold, Rose Glass, Rungano Nyoni, Saoirse Ronan, Jack O’Connell, Barry Keoghan and Hayley Squires.

Colin Hart and Ethan Hart were on the red carpet, here are their interviews.

The 2024 BIFA Winners Best British Independent Film

“Kneecap” — Rich Peppiatt, Trevor Birney, Jack Tarling — Winner

“Love Lies Bleeding” — Rose Glass, Weronika Tofilska, Andrea Cornwell, Oliver Kassman

“On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” — Rungano Nyoni, Tim Cole,...

As 2024 nears its end, that can only mean one thing — awards season is upon us! And while various Critics' Circle and Guild bashes have already gotten underway, tonight was the first major event of the season on this side of the pond: the British Independent Film Awards. Hosted by Peter Serafinowicz at London's Roundhouse, the ceremony saw Rich Peppiatt's barnstorming Irish rap trio biopic Kneecap — already one of Empire's Best Movies of 2024 — emerge as the night's biggest winner. In all, the film (which is streaming now on Prime Video UK) picked up seven gongs on the night, including Best British Independent Film, Best Joint Lead Performance for Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin, JJ Ó Dochartaigh, and Best Debut Screenwriter for Peppiatt.

In the other key acting categories, Marianne Jean-Baptiste won Best Lead Performance for her emotional, incendiary turn as embattled matriarch Pansy in Mike Leigh's Hard Truths,...

It was a Kneecap sweep at the 2024 British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) in London on Sunday night as Sean Baker’s Anora was named best international indie film.

The cheeky Belfast-based rap trio have become the talk of the town with their “print the legend” biopic, picking up four craft awards at the BIFAs. The team nabbed three more on Sunday: Chiwetel Ejiofor presented the award for best British independent film to director Rich Peppiatt, who also earned best debut screenwriter. Best joint lead went to trio Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and J.J. Ó Dochartaigh, who played themselves.

The film won seven BIFAs in total, including the craft wins, announced in November: best casting sponsored for Carla Stronge, best editing for Julian Ulrichs and Chris Gill, best original music for Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante and best music supervision for Gary Welch and Jeanette Rehnstrom.

“It’s a real honor to be here,...

Irish comedy Kneecap dominated this evening’s British Independent Film Awards in London winning seven awards, including Best British Independent Film.

Chiwetel Ejiofor presented the award for Best British Independent Film supported by ScreenUK, to Kneecap, Rich Peppiatt’s comedy following the west Belfast hip-hop trio and their mission to save their mother tongue.

“There’s an irony in the best British film being Irish,” director Rich Peppiatt said accepting the award this evening.

The film, which debuted at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, also took Best Debut Screenwriter sponsored by Film4 for Peppiatt and Best Joint Lead for trio Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and JJ Ó Dochartaigh. The film won seven BIFAs in total, including the four craft awards announced in November: Best Casting sponsored by Casting Society & Spotlight for Carla Stronge, Best Editing for Julian Ulrichs and Chris Gill, Best Original Music sponsored by...

Getting into the awards fun across the pond, the British Independent Film Awards joined the Gotham Awards, the New York Film Critics Circle, the National Board of Review *deep breath* the European Film Awards, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association in unveiling its best of the best in cinema for 2024. Hosted by English actor/comedian Peter Serafinowicz, the BIFAs were held on Sunday, December 8 in London at Roundhouse with various artists from around the world in attendance, including Katy O’Brian, nominated for “Love Lies Bleeding,” and Saoirse Ronan, nominated for “The Outrun.”

The Irish hip-hop dramedy “Kneecap” went into the evening with the most nominations at 14 and the most wins, with craft categories having been announced November 26. In addition to being recognized for Casting, Editing, Music Supervision, and Original Music, “Kneecap” went on to receive awards for Best Debut Screenwriter, Best Joint Lead Performance, and the top prize of Best British Independent Film.

Kneecap

Kneecap dominated the British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) tonight, winning seven prizes, including Best British Independent Film and Best Début Screenwriter (for Rich Peppiat). After struggling to find support early on, it's now on track for international success, and has even been tipped to make the Oscar shortlist.

It was a good night for outsiders all round, with Grand Theft Hamlet and On Becoming A Guinea Fowl also enjoying success.

The event was hosted by Peter Serafinowicz and presenters included Alicia Vikander, Martin Freeman, Indira Varma and James Norton.

Those award winners in full:

Best British independent film Kneecap - Rich Peppiatt, Trevor Birney, Jack Tarling

Best international independent film Anora - Sean Baker, Alex Coco, Samantha Quan

Best director Rungano Nyoni - On Becoming A Guinea Fowl

Best screenplay Sandhya Suri – Santosh

Best lead performance Marianne Jean-Baptiste - Hard Truths

Best supporting performance Franz Rogowski - Bird

Best...

“Kneecap,” the hit Irish comedy biopic about the Belfast rap group of the same name, has landed the top honor at the British Independent Film Awards and a total of seven BIFA awards overall.

Writer/director Rich Peppiatt’s debut feature — which went into Sunday’s ceremony already having won four BIFA craft awards — was named best British independent film, with Peppiatt winning best debut screenwriter and Kneecap bandmates Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and JJ Ó Dochartaigh (who all play themselves) winning best joint lead.

Elsewhere on the night, which was hosted by Peter Serafinowicz, Rungano Nyoni won best director for her sophomore feature “On Becoming A Guinea Fowl,” exploring buried secrets in a middle class Zambian family. The film’s lead star Susan Chardy won breakthrough performance.

Meanwhile, Sandhya Suri, writer/director of Hindi-language crime thriller “Santosh,” won best screenplay. “Santosh,” which is the U.K.

Rich Peppiatt’s Kneecap was the major winner at the 2024 British Independent Film Awards (Bifas), with seven wins in total including best British independent film.

Scroll down for full list of winners

Taking place tonight (December 8), the awards returned to London’s Roundhouse in Camden, with a ceremony hosted by actor and comedian Peter Serafinowicz, who joked that the night was for “homegrown lower budget films that pay its stars multi of pounds”.

Other winners included Rungano Nyoni’s On Becoming A Guinea Fowl, Sandhya Suri’s Santosh and documentary Grand Theft Hamlet, with two awards each.

Peppiatt’s debut...

The British Independent Film Awards (Bifas)winners are being unveiled from a ceremony at London’s Roundhouse.

Scroll down for winners

Screen isupdating this page live from the ceremony as the winners are announced - refresh this page for the latest winners. Scroll down for the full nominations and craft winners.

Sophie Okonedo is receiving theRichard Harris award. The actor is best known for her Oscar-nominated performance in 2004’sHotel Rwanda while her other film credits includeThe Secret Lie Of Bees,Christopher Robin,Wild Rose,Death On The Nile andCatherine Called Birdy.

Bifa winners 2024

Winners in bold, latest award top

Best...

The British Independent Film Awards (Bifas)winners will be unveiled today (December 8)from a ceremony at London’s Roundhouse, commencing at 20:00 GMT.

Scroll down for winners

Screen will be updating this page live from the ceremony as the winners are announced - refresh this page for the latest winners. Scroll down for the full nominations and craft winners.

Rich Peppiatt’s Irish-language comedyKneecap leads the nominations with six, including director, screenplay and best British independent film for Peppiatt - the latter alongside producers Trevor Birney and Jack Tarling - and joint lead performance for its stars Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh,...

The British Independent Film Awards (Bifas)winners will be unveiled today (December 8)from a ceremony at London’s Roundhouse, commencing at 20:00 GMT.

Scroll down for winners

Screenwillbeupdatingthispagelivefromtheceremonyasthewinnersareannounced, so refresh thispageforthelatestwinners. Scrolldown for the fullnominationsandcraftwinners.

Rich Peppiatt’s Irish-language comedyKneecapleads the nominations with six, including director, screenplay and best British independent film for Peppiatt - the latter alongside producers Trevor Birney and Jack Tarling - and joint lead performance for its stars Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and JJ Ó Dochartaigh.

Rose Glass’Love Lies Bleeding andNora Fingscheidt’sThe Outrunare on four nominations each. Glass’ second feature stars...

Since bursting on the scene in 1998 as a scruffier and scrappier distant cousin to the BAFTAs, the British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) have been an early bellwether for future talent in front of and behind the camera. Giving a very early shout out to some of the biggest stars working today is the BIFAs breakthrough performance award (formerly the most promising newcomer award).

Jamie Bell and Ben Whishaw were recipients more than 20 years ago, while other winners have included Dev Patel, Naomi Ackie and Jessie Buckley. As for Emily Blunt, John Boyega, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mia Goth, Andrea Riseborough, Will Poulter, George MacKay, Jodie Whittaker and Cosmo Jarvis, they’re among a formidable lineup of names who only managed a nomination.

So it’s only natural that this year’s crop of nominees are perhaps a little excited about what lies ahead. Speaking to Variety ahead of the awards ceremony on Dec.

With major titles still dominating the UK and Ireland box office, it is a quiet weekend for new releases as event cinema leads the way while Nightbitch and Rumours also launch.

Andre Rieu’s 2024 Christmas Concert: Gold And Silver lands in 642 cinemas for A Piece Of Magic. The Dutch conductor’s last release opened with £700,000 while his 2023 Christmas concert scored £1.2m.

Indian actionPushpa 2 is screening in 230 venuesvia AA Films. The Telugu-language sequel follows Pushpa as his sandalwood smuggling business faces strong opposition from the police.

CinemaLive is playing music documentary Rm: Right People, Wrong Place in 109 sites this weekend after opening on Thursday.

Welsh-Zambian filmmaker Rungano Nyoni delivers another punch to the patriarchy in her follow up to I Am Not A Witch. While her latest film unfolds against a backdrop of Zambian customs, her exploration of the way that codes of silence can protect a predator, especially in a family environment, has much wider resonance.

Shula (Susan Chardy) - who, in a way that is starting to suggest an ‘Everywoman’ trend, shares a first name with the protagonist of Nyoni’s debut - is travelling home from a fancy dress party in a space-age get-up when she sees the body of her Uncle Fred lying in the road. Her reaction is curiously muted, as she phones, first her mother (Doris Naulapwa) and then, when she doesn’t pick up, her father (Henry Bj Phiri), who almost immediately presses her for some cash. The air of absurdity is further fuelled by the arrival of Shula’s drunk.

Disney’s “Moana 2” dominated the U.K. and Ireland box office with a £12 million ($15.2 million) debut, according to numbers from Comscore, marking a strong start for the animated sequel.

The film led a robust weekend that saw Universal’s “Wicked” holding strong in its second frame with £8.3 million, bringing its cumulative total to £28.5 million.

Paramount’s “Gladiator II” continued to perform in its third week, adding £2.5 million for a total of £23.5 million. Studiocanal’s “Paddington In Peru” demonstrated staying power in its fourth week, collecting £1.8 million and pushing its total to £27.3 million.

Black Bear’s new entry “Conclave” opened with £1.1 million, while Warner Bros.’ “Red One” rounded out its fourth week with £425,853, bringing its cume to £6.6 million.

BFI Distribution’s “All We Imagine As Light” debuted with £111,033, while Entertainment Film Distributors’ “Heretic” added £96,583 in its fifth week for a £5.7 million total. Park Circus’s 20th Anniversary 4K restoration of...

The Marrakech Film Festival, which opened Friday with Justin Kurzel’s timely thriller “The Order,” has more than 70 films in its lineup, which, as is customary, mixes known titles and fresh fare.

“The Order” is part of the event’s gala screenings that also comprise French-Moroccan auteur Nabil Ayouch’s feminist musical drama “Everybody Loves Touda,” Walter Salles’ “I’m Still Here” and Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” all of which will be accompanied by their directors.

The 14-title competition dedicated to first and second works includes Moroccan director Saïd Hamich Benlarbi’s melodrama “Across the Sea,” about North African exiles in Marseilles, and Hind Meddeb’s doc “Sudan, Remember Us,” which pays homage to Sudanese people and culture by chronicling their 2019 revolution. “Sudan, Remember Us” is among films supported by the fest’s Atlas Workshops industry initiative, aimed at fostering and supporting the emergence of a new generation of Moroccan,...

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. To keep up with our latest features, sign up for the Weekly Edit newsletter and follow us @mubinotebook on Twitter and Instagram.NEWSPoison.Former talk show host and current digital media emperor Conan O’Brien will host the 97th Academy Awards. He has previously hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards and the White House Correspondents dinner, twice apiece, as well as the Fifth Annual NFL Honors ceremony in 2016.Director Todd Haynes is set to head the jury of the 75th Berlin International Film Festival in February. Haynes’s feature film debut, Poison (1991), won the festival’s Teddy Award.The UK arthouse theater chain Curzon Cinemas has been sold to the New York investment company Fortress for $5 million as part of a foreclosure auction of assets owned by Cohen Realty Enterprises. The Curzon group reportedly believes that Fortress is “more likely to invest...

It's been a great day for glimpses into exciting new international films. This morning, we got our first look at The Girl With The Needle, the official Danish entry for Best International Feature at the Academy Awards, and now, we're also getting the trailer for On Becoming A Guinea Fowl,...

"Why are they mourning Uncle Fred like he's some angel?" A24 has unveiled the official trailer for an indie film called On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, the second feature made by the acclaimed African filmmaker Rungano Nyoni who got her big break with I Am Not a Witch (from 2017). This new one premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival earlier this year and has been playing at tons of other festivals throughout 2024. “Do you want me to dig up the corpse and ask it what happened?" On an empty road in the middle of the night, Shula stumbles across the body of her uncle. As funeral proceedings begin around them, she and her cousins bring to light the buried secrets of their middle-class Zambian family. It's a story about a woman coming to realize how hard it is to challenge misogynistic traditions in a patriarchal society. The film stars Susan Chardy,...

One of my favorite films from this year’s New York Film Festival was Rungano Nyoni’s I Am Not a Witch follow-up On Becoming a Guinea Fowl. Winner of the Best Director prize at Cannes 2024 in its Un Certain Regard section, shared with Roberto Minervini’s The Damned, I’ve been waiting to see if A24’s original December release would stick for the film but after adding Queer and The Brutalist to their plate, they’ve shifted to the less busy March 2025 timeframe (specifically March 7) and have now debuted the new trailer.

Here’s the synopsis: “On an empty road in the middle of the night, Shula stumbles across the body of her uncle. As funeral proceedings begin around them, she and her cousins bring to light the buried secrets of their middle-class Zambian family, in filmmaker Rungano Nyoni’s surreal and vibrant reckoning with the lies we tell ourselves.

Winner of the Best Director prize at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and selected at the Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival, celebrated Zambian Welsh writer-director Rungano Nyoni’s “On Becoming A Guinea Fowl” has received nothing but rave reviews since it debuted on the festival circuit earlier this year. Seven years after her widely acclaimed BAFTA-winning debut “I Am Not a Witch,” she finally returns with a surrealist drama about family secrets.

Continue reading ‘On Becoming A Guinea Fowl’ Trailer: Rungano Nyoni’s Acclaimed Festival Drama Opens In March 2025 at The Playlist.

With her 2017 directorial debut “I Am Not a Witch,” Rungano Nyoni established herself as a filmmaker worth paying attention to. Her follow-up, “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl,” cemented her status as one of the most notable filmmakers currently telling African stories.

The film, which debuted in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, tells the story of a Zambian woman who reckons with the ways that her traditional upbringing and her family’s willingness to bury dark secrets has shaped her. The film, which Nyoni both wrote and directed, stars Susan Chardy, Elizabeth Chisela, and Henry B.J. Phiri.

An official synopsis of “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” reads, “On an empty road in the middle of the night, Shula stumbles across the body of her uncle. As funeral proceedings begin around them, she and her cousins bring to light the buried secrets of their middle-class Zambian family,...

‘Love Lies Bleeding’ es la segunda película más nominada. © Elástica Films | Filmin | DeAPlaneta

Ya se conocen los nominados a los Premios BIFA (British Independent Film Awards). Estos premios son unos galardones cinematográficos que se otorgan en el Reino Unido para destacar y honrar las películas independientes británicas. Los ganadores de los premios BIFA 2024 se darán a conocer el 8 de diciembre. Aquí os dejamos con la lista de los nominados de esta edición:

Mejor PELÍCULA Independiente BRITÁNICA

Kneecap

Love Lies Bleeding

On Becoming Guinea Fowl

The Outrun

Santosh

Mejor PELÍCULA Independiente Internacional

All We Imagine as Light

Anora

La Chimera

No Other Land

The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Mejor DIRECCIÓN

Andrea Arnold, Bird

Nora Fingscheidt, The Outrun

Rose Glass, Love Lies Bleeding

Rungano Nyoni, On Becoming A Guinea Fowl

Rich Peppiatt, Kneecap

Mejor Guion

Nora Fingscheidt & Amy Liptrot, The Outrun

Rose Glass & Weronika Tofilska, Love Lies Bleeding

Rungano Nyoni, On Becoming A Guinea Fowl...

Justin Kurzel’s political thriller The Order starring Jude Law will open the 21st Marrakech International Film Festival in the presence of the director and producer Stuart Ford later this month.

The film is among seven films that will be showcased as gala screenings at the Moroccan film festival, which unveiled its line-up on Thursday.

The galas also feature a trio of Best International Feature Film Oscar entries, Nabil Ayouch’s Everybody Loves Touda (Morocco), Walter Salles’s I’m Still Here (Brazil) and Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany), all of which will screen in the presence of their directors.

The festival will screen 70 features from 32 countries across sections spanning the Official Competition, Gala Screenings, Special Screenings, the 11th Continent, the Moroccan Panorama, Cinema for Young Audiences & Families, and films shown as part of the Tributes program.

The 14 first and second films in competition include French...

Whilst the eyes of the world may be locked firmly on the other side of the Atlantic this morning, back here in Blighty there is at least some positivity still to be shared yet. Having shone last year when the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes brought Hollywood to a standstill, the independent British cinema scene has continued to shine throughout 2024, with revered greats, rising stars, returning masters, and bold new narratives all emerging to ensure the flame for indies from these shores has never burned brighter. As such, it comes as no great surprise that the announcement of this year's British Independent Film Awards nominees is a veritable treasure trove of great art and great artists that stand to represent the very best British filmmaking has to offer.

Leading the pack with an impressive 14 nominations — including nods for Best British Independent Film, Director, Screenplay, and Debut Director — is British-Irish filmmaker Rich Peppiatt...

Kneecap leads the race at the BIFAs

This year’s British Independent Film Awards nominations have been released, and Belfast-based comedy Kneecap is in the lead with an impressive 14 nominations. Directed by whistleblowing journalist Rich Peppiat, the Irish language film, in which members of the titular band play themselves, attracted controversy on release but quickly proved popular with the viewing public.

Following close on its heels are Love Lies Bleeding, with 12 nominations, and The Outrun, with nine. Bird, Unicorns and On Becoming A Guinea Fowl took seven apiece.

The winners will be revealed on 8 December.

Those nominations in full:

Best British independent film Kneecap - Rich Peppiatt, Trevor Birney, Jack Tarling Love Lies Bleeding - Rose Glass, Weronika Tofilska, Andrea Cornwell, Oliver Kassman On Becoming A Guinea Fowl - Rungano Nyoni, Tim Cole, Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe The Outrun - Nora Fingscheidt, Amy Liptrot, Sarah Brocklehurst, Dominic Norris, Jack Lowden,...

The British Independent Film Awards this year honor two Sundance breakout films, with both “Kneecap” and “Love Lies Bleeding” atop the 2024 nominations list.

Rich Peppiatt’s “Kneecap” (repping Ireland for the 2024 Best International Feature Oscar) leads this year’s nominees with 14 nods, including Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best British Independent Film. “Kneecap” is based on the eponymous rap group, which star here alongside Michael Fassbender in a fictionalized band origin story.

Following “Kneecap” with 12 nominations is Rose Glass’s “Love Lies Bleeding.” Co-leads Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian are nominated for Best Joint Lead Performance, and the film has also been recognized in the Best British Independent Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay categories.

Additional features that received multiple nominations include “The Outrun,” “Bird,” and “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl.”

In 2023, “All of Us Strangers” swept the top categories with awards, in addition to “Rye Lane” and future...

“Kneecap” and “Love Lies Bleeding” led Tuesday’s nominations for the British Independent Film Awards.

Written and directed by Rich Peppiatt, “Kneecap,” Ireland’s Oscar entry, scored 14 bids, including Best British Independent Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Joint Lead Performance for Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin, and JJ Ó Dochartaigh. It was shortlisted in a whopping eight crafts categories.

Rose Glass‘ “Love Lies Bleeding” was next in like with 12 nominations, including the same above-the-line categories as “Kneecap.” Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian are nominated for joint lead performance. It also earned eight crafts nominations.

Nora Fingsheidt‘s “The Outrun” received nine bids, including Best Lead Performance for Saoirse Ronan, who previously won the BIFA for Best Actress for 2015’s “Brooklyn.” The film is up for the top prize, while Fingsheidt is nominated for her direction and her script with Amy Liptrot.

Andrea Arnold’s “Bird,” Rungano Nyoni...

This morning, the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) announced their list of nominations for 2024.

‘Kneecap’ leads 2024 nominations with 14, ‘Love Lies Bleeding has 12, ‘The Outrun receives 9 nominations, 7 nominations each for ‘Bird,’ on becoming a guinea fowl and unicorns, 6 for ‘Hoard’ and ‘Civil War.’

Celebrating remarkable films and outstanding talent from the British film industry and beyond, this year’s list highlights the UK’s brightest new talent alongside BIFA heroes such as Andrea Arnold, Rose Glass, Rungano Nyoni, Saoirse Ronan, Jack O’Connell, Barry Keoghan and Hayley Squires.

Also in news – John Krasinski to return for ‘Jack Ryan’ movie

The nominations are;

The Richard Harris Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Actor to British Film

Tba – This year’s award recipient will be announced in the coming weeks.

Best British Independent Film

Kneecap Rich Peppiatt, Trevor Birney, Jack Tarling

Love Lies Bleeding Rose Glass, Weronika Tofilska, Andrea Cornwell, Oliver Kassman

On Becoming A Guinea Fowl Rungano Nyoni,...

This year’s BIFA nominations have been unveiled and it’s a delightfully diverse group of great films. More on those below.

There’s less than two months of 2024 left, which means that the awards season is also upon us. It’s time to celebrate this year’s excellent films with fancy statuettes, and first in line is the British Independent Film Awards, aka BIFAs. Nominations were announced today (5th November).

Rich Peppiatt’s joyously anarchic Kneecap leads the pack with a whopping 14 nominations to its name. Rose Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding follows with 12 nominations and Nora Fingscheidt also triumphed with nine.

Women are particularly well represented this year. Out of the five Best British Independent Film nominees, four are directed by women. It’s the same for the Best Director category, where Andrea Arnold, Nora Fingscheidt, Rose Glass and Rungano Nyoni are nominated along with Rich Peppiatt.

Amy Winehouse...

The subversive Irish flick Kneecap leads this year’s British Independent Film Award nominations with 14 nods, including Best Director and Best Screenplay.

Directed by Rich Peppiatt, the film’s impressive noms haul also includes nods for Best Debut Screenwriter, Best British Independent Film, and eight craft categories, including Best Casting and Best Cinematography.

Kneecap debuted at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and has been picked to represent Ireland in the International Feature Film category of the 97th annual Academy Awards.

Trailing Kneecap is Rose Glass’ punk rock flick Love Lies Bleeding, which landed 12 nominations. The film’s noms include Best British Independent Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. The film’s two leads, Katy O’Brian and Kristen Stewart, also landed nods for Best Joint Lead Performance.

Elsewhere, Saoirse Ronan’s indie flick The Outrun landed nine noms, and Andrea Arnold’s fifth feature Bird picked up seven nods.

Winners...

“Kneecap” and “Love Lies Bleeding” lead the nominees for this year’s British Independent Film Awards.

“How to Have Sex” breakout Mia McKenna-Bruce and “Rye Lane” star Vivian Oparah announced the nominations in London on Tuesday morning. “Kneecap” received the most nods with 14, including best screenplay, director for Rich Peppiatt and joint lead performance for Kneecap members Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and JJ Ó Dochartaigh.

Rose Glass’ “Love Lies Bleeding” follows with 12, including best British independent film, director, screenplay and joint lead performance for Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian. “The Outrun,” starring Saoirse Ronan, received nine nods for best British independent film, director for Nora Fingsheidt, screenplay for Fingsheidt and Amy Liptrot and lead performance for Ronan.

Andrea Arnold’s “Bird,” Rungano Nyoni’s “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” and James Krishna Floyd’s “Unicorns” each garnered seven nominations.

The winners will be revealed, in addition to...

The 2024 British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) nominations were unveiled Tuesday morning by Mia McKenna-Bruce (How to Have Sex) and Vivian Oparah (Rye Lane) at One Hundred Shoreditch in London, with Kneecap, the Irish rap comedy featuring Michael Fassbender, and Love Lies Bleeding with Kristen Stewart leading the charge, followed by The Outrun with Saoirse Ronan, as well as Andrea Arnold’s Bird with Barry Keoghan, queer romance Unicorns, and Rungano Nyoni’s On Becoming a Guinea Fowl.

In the performance categories, big-name nominees include the likes of Saoirse Ronan, Barry Keoghan, Kristen Stewart, Alicia Vikander, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Elliot Page, and Jack O’Connell.

In the best international feature category, Sean Baker’s Anora will compete with the likes of Mohammad Rasoulof‘s The Seed of the Sacred Fig.

“Celebrating remarkable films and outstanding talent from the British film industry and beyond, this year’s list highlights the U.K.’s brightest...

Rich Peppiatt’s Kneecap, Rose Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding and Nora Fingscheidt’s The Outrun headed the nominations for the 2024 British Independent Film Awards (Bifas).

Comedy Kneecap about the eponymous west Belfast hip-hop trio scored the most nominations with 14, including director, screenplay and best British independent film for Peppiatt - the latter alongside producers Trevor Birney and Jack Tarling - and joint lead performance for its stars Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and JJ Ó Dochartaigh.

Scroll down for the full list of Bifa 2024 nominations

Glass – a Bifa best debut director winner in 2020 for Saint Maud – has scored...

The 2024 Chicago Film Festival shined a light on films that stretch the limits of storytelling. From Italy to Cape Verde, this year’s award winners drew viewers in with stories about family, identity, and resilience, along with fresh directing approaches and standout performances. Below are some highlights from the festival’s top prize categories.

Gold Hugo for Best Film: Vermiglio

Directed by Maura Delpero, Vermiglio tells the story of a young woman finding her way within a complex family in Italy’s scenic Alps. The film won the festival’s top honor for its attention to human details and beautiful visuals, capturing relationships that feel timeless.

Silver Hugo for Jury Prize: All We Imagine As Light

Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light explores choice and control across generations in a journey that invites audiences to confront life’s crossroads. It balances comfort with disruption and presents these choices with a relatable vulnerability.

The Chicago International Film Festival is wrapping up its 60th edition by handing out its prizes. In fact, though the New York Film Festival has been around longer (it just wrapped its 62nd festival), Chicago is the longest running fest in North America to give out awards. And as you’d expect from this festival that’s especially focused on international film, its winners have also been standouts at Cannes and Venice.

The Best Film winner, or Gold Hugo, at the Chicago International Film Festival is Maura Delpero’s “Vermiglio,” a World War II drama centered in the Alps that drew praise out of Venice, though received a mixed reception from IndieWire. Italy has named the film its entry for next year’s Best International Feature competition at the Academy Awards. The previous three winners of the Gold Hugo at Chicago are Gabor Reisz’s “Explanation for Everything,” Hlynur Palmason’s “Godland,...

With her second feature film, Zambian-Welsh director Rungano Nyoni looks at the pain, memory, and absurdity of familial Zambian tradition. On Becoming a Guinea Fowl follows Shula (Susan Chardy), who finds her uncle dead in the middle of the road one night. Shula and her cousin Nsansa (Elizabeth Chisela) spend the first minutes of Nyoni’s film in a car, waiting for the night to end and police to arrive. Her uncle is wearing a sumo suit and has been found near the town’s brothel, making him to be a neighborhood clown acting without restraint or limitation.

Shula’s soon being visited by several aunts who plead she come to the house to mourn her uncle’s death, admonishing her for a lack of emotion. Each aunt seems to have had a serious connection to their now-dead brother, who we learn has sexually abused many of the young women in the family.

Memoir Of A Snail took the Best Film title in London Photo: Courtesy of London Film Festival Adam Elliot’s Memoir Of A Snail has won the Best Film Award in Official Competition at the 68th BFI London Film Festival.

The stop-motion sees a woman (voiced by Sarah Snook) recall the unfortunate events that have peppered her life with tragicomic verve. It continues a winning run for the Aussie director, who also took the top prize in Annecy in June. The film is due for release in the UK and Ireland next February.

Rungano Nyoni’s On Becoming A Guinea Fowl received a special mention.

Laura Carreira’s UK debut On Falling, about a migrant working as a picker in a Scots fulfilment warehouse, which already took the directing Silver Shell in San Sebastian, won the Lff Sutherland Award for Best First Feature. It will be distributed in the UK by Conic.

After taking home the prestigious Cristal at Annecy earlier this year, Adam Eliot’s stop-motion wonder Memoir of a Snail has now added another feather to its cap, winning the coveted top award at the 68th BFI London Film Festival.

Elliot’s meticulous craftsmanship shines through in every frame of Memoir of a Snail, where each stop-motion character exudes a lifelike depth. The film’s visual design, much like its predecessor Mary and Max, is filled with minute, painstaking details that bring the story to life.

The snails, though ornamental in Grace Pudel’s collection, become a powerful metaphor for the slow, often isolating, passage of time in her life. Each snail represents a chapter of Grace’s existence, echoing the themes of loneliness and personal reflection. Through Elliot’s distinct visual language and his ability to extract profound emotions from inanimate figures, the film invites viewers to reflect on...

The 68th edition of the BFI London Film Festival (Lff) is wrapping up Sunday night with Piece by Piece, the animated Lego biopic of Pharrell Williams by Morgan Neville (Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, 20 Feet From Stardom) following the unveiling of this year’s various competition winners, led by Adam Elliot’s claymation feature Memoir of a Snail.

Set in Australia in the 1970s, the movie, which had already won the animation-focused Annecy Film Festival, stars Succession‘s Sarah Snook as Grace Pudel, a shy girl born with a cleft palate who grows up with her wild and occasionally pyromaniac twin brother Gilbert (Kodi Smit-McPhee) but eventually becomes a lonely hoarder of ornamental snails. Her only friend is a wild octogenarian named Pinky (Jacki Weaver). Eric Bana, Dominique Pinon, and Nick Cave provide supporting voice work. IFC Films has set an Oct. 25 U.S. release date.

Memoir of a...

After claiming the Cristal at Annecy earlier in the year, Australian animation “Memoir of a Snail” has now won the top honor at the BFI London Film Festival.

Adam Eliot’s acclaimed stop-motion feature won the best film award in the official competition, selected by a jury led by Alexandre O. Philippe.

“Our jury was incredibly moved by Adam Elliot’s ‘Memoir of a Snail,’ which is a singular achievement in filmmaking,” the jury said. “Emotionally resonant and constantly surprising, Memoir tackles pertinent issues such as bullying, loneliness and grief head-on, creating a crucial and universal dialogue in a way that only animation can. The jury is delighted to recognise an animated film alongside its live-action peers.”

Rungano Nyoni’s Cannes hit “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” was given a special mention, described as an “intricately crafted story brimming with imagination that dares to say the unsayable about a sexual...