A celebration of all that is fine in British independent cinema, the BIFAs are a little like the BAFTAs' fun little brother. The 2016 awards take place this December and will follow in the footsteps of this year's Cannes Film Festival in recognising the humanity and gritty poetry of Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake with seven nominations.
The Palme d’Or-winning drama’s nominations include Best British Independent Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay. Its stars, newcomers Hayley Squires and Dave Jones, have both been recognised with acting nods.
Andrea Arnold’s coming-of-age roadtrip film American Honey collected six nominations, including Best British Independent Film, while Tehran-set horror Under The Shadow and hard-hitting docudrama Notes On Blindness also picked up six each.
Here are the main nominations:
Best British Independent Film
American Honey
Couple In A Hole
I, Daniel Blake
Notes On Blindness
Under The Shadow
Best Director
Andrea Arnold, American Honey
Babak Anvari, Under The Shadow
Ben Wheatley, Free Fire
Ken Loach, I, Daniel Blake
Peter Middleton, James Spinney, Notes On Blindness
Best Actress
Hayley Squires, I, Daniel Blake
Jodie Whittaker, Adult Life Skills
Kate Dickie, Couple In A Hole
Narges Rashid, Under The Shadow
Sasha Lane, American Honey
Best Actor
Dave Johns, I, Daniel Blake
Max Records, I Am Not A Serial Killer
Michael Fassbender, Trespass Against Us
Shia Labeouf, American Honey
Steve Brandon, My Feral Heart
The 2016 BIFAs will take place in London on 4 December. Check back then for the full list of winners.