The British Independent Film Award nominations for 2025 have been unveiled, celebrating the past year of independently funded productions from the United Kingdom. Akinola Davies Jr.’s Cannes premiere “My Father’s Shadow,” a coming-of-age story set during the 1993 Nigerian presidential election, leads the pack with 12 nominations, including for Best British Independent Film.
Harry Lighton’s queer BDSM romance “Pillion,” starring Alexander Skarsgård, follows with 10 nominations, as does Kirk Jones’ “I Swear,” about Tourette syndrome campaigner John Davidson. The other films up for Best British Independent Film were Harris Dickinson’s “Urchin” (six nominations) and James Griffiths’ “The Ballad of Wallis Island” (five). While not nominated in this category, “Die My Love” also did very well on Monday with eight nominations, including for director Lynne Ramsay and actress Jennifer Lawrence.
The other actors nominated for lead performance are Robert Aramayo for “I Swear,” Frank Dillane for “Urchin,” David Jonsson for “Wasteman,” Harry Melling for “Pillion,” and Cillian Murphy for “Steve.”
The ceremony will take place on November 30 at the Roundhouse in London.
See the full list of British Independent Film Award nominations below.
Best British Independent Film
“The Ballad of Wallis Island”
“I Swear”
“My Father’s Shadow”
“Pillion”
“Urchin”
Best Lead Performance
Robert Aramayo,” I Swear”
Frank Dillane, “Urchin”
David Jonsson, “Wasteman”
Jennifer Lawrence, “Die My Love”
Harry Melling, “Pillion”
Cillian Murphy, “Steve”
Best Supporting Performance
Tom Blyth, “Wasteman”
Scott Ellis Watson, “I Swear”
Jay Lycurgo, “Steve”
Peter Mullan, “I Swear”
Maxine Peake, “I Swear”
Alexander Skarsgård, “Pillion”
Best Joint Lead Performance
Ebada Hassan, Saffiya Ingar, “Brides”
Tim Key, Tom Basden, “The Ballad of Wallis Island”
Andrea Riseborough, Brenda Blethyn, “Dragonfly”
Best Director
Laura Carreira, “On Falling”
Akinola Davies Jr, “My Father’s Shadow”
Kirk Jones, “I Swear”
Harry Lighton, “Pillion”
Lynne Ramsay, “Die My Love”
Best Screenplay
Tom Basden, Tim Key, “The Ballad of Wallis Island”
Laura Carreira, “On Falling”
Wale Davies, “My Father’s Shadow”
Kirk Jones, “I Swear”
Harry Lighton, “Pillion”
The Douglas Hickox Award for Best Debut Director
Laura Carreira, “On Falling”
Akinola Davies Jr, “My Father’s Shadow”
Harris Dickinson, “Urchin”
Harry Lighton, “Pillion”
Cal McMau, “Wasteman”
Breakthrough Producer
Wyn Baptiste, “Shoot the People”
Charlotte Knowles, “Palestine Comedy Club”
Joann Kushner, “Lifehack” [also produced by Timur Bekmambetov, Aleksandr Kletzov]
Dhiraj Mahey, “Ish” [also produced by Bennett McGhee]
Archie Pearch, “Urchin” [also produced by Scott O’Donnell]
Breakthrough Performance
Scott Ellis Watson, “I Swear”
Ebada Hassan, “Brides”
Safiyya Ingar, “Brides”
Posy Sterling, “Lollipop”
Connor Tompkins, “The Son and the Sea”
Best Debut Screenwriter
Hunter Andrews, Eoin Doran, “Wasteman”
Tom Basden, Tim Key, “The Ballad of Wallis Island”
Laura Carreira, “On Falling”
Wale Davies, “My Father’s Shadow”
Harry Lighton, “Pillion”
Best Feature Documentary
“Antidote” — James Jones, David Moulton
“Mother Vera” — Cécile Embleton, Alys Tomlinson, Laura Shacham
“Motherboard” — Victoria Mapplebeck
“The Shepherd and the Bear” — Max Keegan, Elizabeth Woodward, Amanda Mcbaine, Jesse Moss
“A Want in Her” — Myrid Carten, Tadhg O’Sullivan, Roisín Geraghty, Kat Mansoor
Best Debut Director – Feature Documentary
Myrid Carten, “A Want in Her”
Cécile Embleton, Alys Tomlinson, “Mother Vera”
Victoria Mapplebeck, “Motherboard”
The Raindance Maverick Award
“Foul Evil Deeds,” Richard Hunter
“Holloway,” Sophie Compton, Daisy-May Hudson, Stella Heath Keir, Alice Hughes, Polly Creed
“Mother Vera,” Cécile Embleton, Alys Tomlinson, Laura Shacham
“Motherboard,” Victoria Mapplebeck
“A Want in Her,” Myrid Carten
Best International Independent Film
“It Was Just an Accident”
“Sentimental Value”
“Sirāt”
“Sorry, Baby”
“Sound of Falling”
Best Casting
Shaheen Baig, “Brides”
Shaheen Baig, “Urchin”
Kharmel Cochrane, “Warfare”
Lauren Evans, “I Swear”
Robert Sterne, “Steve”
Best Cinematography
Charlotte Bruus Christensen, “H Is for Hawk”
Jermaine Edwards, “My Father’s Shadow”
Cécile Embleton, “Mother Vera”
Seamus Mcgarvey, “Die My Love”
Piotr Niemyjski, “A Pale View of Hills”
Best Costume Design
Susie Coulthard, “100 Nights of Hero”
Kirsty Halliday, “Tornado”
Grace Snell, “Pillion”
Sayaka Takahashi, Matthew Price, “A Pale View of Hills”
PC Williams, “My Father’s Shadow”
Best Editing
Ronan Corrigan, Aleksandr Kletsov, “Lifehack”
Omar Guzmán Castro, “My Father’s Shadow”
Fin Oates, “Warfare”
Sam Rice-Edwards, “One to One: John & Yoko”
Gareth C. Scales, “Pillion”
Best Effects
Simon Stanley-Clamp, Ryan Conder, “Warfare”
Victor Tomi, “Die My Love”
Hayley Williams, Conor O’Sullivan, Martin Malmqvist, “The Thing With Feathers”
Best Music Supervision
Phil Canning, “Wasteman”
Ian Neil, Raife Burchell, “Die My Love”
Bridget Samuels, “Urchin”
Best Make-Up & Hair Design
Kehinde Are, Feyzo Oyebisi, “My Father’s Shadow”
Diandra Ferreira, “Pillion”
Paul Gooch, Tristan Versluis, “Warfare”
Colleen Labaff, Miho Suzuki, “Die My Love”
Natasha Lawes, “100 Nights of Hero”
Best Original Music
Tom Basden, Adem Ilhan, “The Ballad of Wallis Island”
Bobby Krlic, “Anemone”
Jed Kurzel, “Tornado”
CJ Mirra, “My Father’s Shadow”
Steven Price, “Ocean With David Attenborough”
Best Production Design
Jennifer Anti, Pablo Anti, “My Father’s Shadow”
Mark Digby, “Warfare”
Tim Grimes, “Die My Love”
Nathan Parker, “Harvest”
Sofia Sacomani, “100 Nights of Hero”
Best Sound
Steve Fanagan, Stevie Haywood, “Anemone”
Tim Burns, Paul Davies, Linda Forsén, Andrew Stirk, Ron Osiowy, “Die My Love”
Nina Hartstone, Jake Whitelee, Jens Petersen, Mike Tehrani, Rob Davidson, “Ish”
CJ Mirra, James Ridgway, Joe Jackson, Adele Fletcher, Pius Fatoke, “My Father’s Shadow”
Sound team “Warfare”
Best British Short Film
“Flock” — Mac Nixon, Matt Ashwell, Daley Nixon
“Magid/ Zafar” — Luís Hindman, Sufiyaan Salam, Aidan Robert Brooks
“A Sisyphean Task” — Gus Flind-Henry, George Malcher, George Telfer
“Stomach Bug” — Matty Crawford, Karima Sammout Kanellopoulou
“Two Black Boys in Paradise” — Ben Jackson, Baz Sells, Dean Atta
Cinema of the Year
Depot Cinema
The Magic Lantern Cinema
Montrose Playhouse
Queen’s Film Theatre
Watershed
