Date: 30th October 2008

Film4 rules the BIFA list with an unprecedented 27 nominations


Film4, Channel 4’s film arm has chalked up an unprecedented 27 nominations for this year’s 11th British Independent Film Awards.

Film4 backed Hunger has already won several high profile international awards including the Camera d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. It received 7 nominations including Best Film, Best Director, Best New Talent, Best Actor and Best Screenplay. Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges also received 7 nominations including Best Film and Best Screenplay. Danny Boyle;s Slumdog Millionaire received 6 nominations including Most Promising Newcomer for Dev Patel who is best known for his role in Channel 4’s ‘Skins’.

“BIFA is a really important watermark for British Films,” says Film4’s Tessa Ross. “For Film4 talent to be recognised by these nominations is the very best endorsement we could ask for. In these times, for Channel 4 and in particular for Film4, it really is vital that our filmmakers are credited in this way, to help tell our story and to qualify our continuing discovery, development and celebration of these extraordinary talents.”

Other Film4 nominations include Mike Leigh’s Happy-Go-Lucky, which received 3 nominations, Chris Waitt’s The Complete History of my Sexual Failures, and Mark Tonderai’s Hush. Two short films from Film4’s Cinema Extreme project were also nominated – Simon Ellis’ Soft and Sean Conway’s Alex and her Arse Truck.


Film4 has been the driving force behind an extraordinary number of celebrated British films this year, developing, financing and executive producing some of the country’s finest on-screen and behind the camera talent including Steve McQueen, Danny Boyle, Shane Meadows, Thomas Turgoose and Martin McDonagh, whose Oscar®-winning short film Six Shooter was also backed by the funder.

Film4 received 19 nominations at last year’s 2007 Awards backing six of the favoured titles including David Mackenzie’s Hallam Foe, Anand Tucker’s When Did You Last See Your Father?, Sarah Gavron’s Brick Lane, Ken Loach’s It’s a Free World, Julien Temple’s Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten and Louise Osmond’s Deep Water. Film4 also scooped 7 major awards at the 2006 ceremony including Best Film for This is England, Best Director for Kevin Macdonald (Last King of Scotland), Best Supporting Actor for Leslie Philips (Venus) and Best Newcomer for Thomas Turgoose (This is England).


Film4 nominations in full:

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM
Hunger
In Bruges
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST DIRECTOR
Steve McQueen – Hunger
Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire

THE DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR
Steve McQueen – Hunger
Martin McDonagh – In Bruges

BEST SCREENPLAY
Enda Walsh, Steve McQueen – Hunger
Martin McDonagh – In Bruges
Simon Beaufoy – Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ACTRESS
Sally Hawkins – Happy-Go-Lucky

BEST ACTOR
Michael Fassbender – Hunger
Colin Farrell – In Bruges
Brendan Gleeson – In Bruges

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Alexis Zegerman – Happy-Go-Lucky

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Eddie Marsan – Happy-Go-Lucky
Liam Cunningham – Hunger
Ralph Fiennes – In Bruges

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER
Dev Patel – Slumdog Millionaire
Ayush Mahesh Khedekar – Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION
Hush

BEST TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
Cinematography – Sean Bobbitt – Hunger
Editing – Jon Gregory – In Bruges
Cinematography – Anthony Dod Mantle – Slumdog Millionaire

BEST DOCUMENTARY
A Complete History of My Sexual Failures

BEST SHORT FILM
Soft
Alex and her Arse Truck

Source: Press Release