British Independent Film Awards: ‘Elsinore’ Leads Nominations With 12

Andrew Scott’s Elsinore leads the nominations for the 2026 British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs), which were unveiled on Tuesday. BIFA-winning actors Jay Lycurgo and Posy Sterling revealed at One Hundred Shoreditch in London that the film received 12 nominations, followed by Clio Barnard’s I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning with eight, and Animol, the directorial feature debut of Adolescence star Ashley Walters, with seven. In the best British independent film category, Simon Stone’s Elsinore and I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning are joined by Marc Evans’ Effi O Blaenau, Queen at Sea, directed by Lance Hammer, and Mike Leigh’s Tender Loving Care. Stone and Barnard also scored best debut director nominations, along with Andrew Haigh for A Long Winter, Mark Jenkin for Rose of Nevada and Leigh for Tender Loving Care. Best lead performance nominees include Scott for Elsinore, Juliette Binoche for her role in Queen at Sea,Erin Doherty for Faith, Leisa Gwenllian for Effi o Blaenau, Jonathan Jules for Florid, and Tut Nyuot for Animol. Claire Foy, Tom Courtenay, Sekou Diaby, Anna Calder-Marshall, Billie Piper and Bill Pullman were nominated as best supporting performers. And among the nominees in the best ensemble performance category are the likes of Bella Ramsey, Anthony Boyle, Joe Cole, Lycurgo, Daryl McCormack, Lola Petticrew, James Blunt, James Norton and Neil Patrick Harris. Competing for the best international independent film are All of a Sudden, Club Kid, La Bola Negra, La Gradiva and Possible Love. Meanwhile, nominated for the feature documentary award are All Rivers Spill Their Stories to the Sea, Everybody to Kenmure Street, One in a Million, Something Familiar and We, the Hated. And in a notable feat, the best music supervision award category features Connie Farr receiving two nominations. The BIFAs 2026 ceremony takes place on Dec. 6 at the Camden Roundhouse in London. Check out the full list of nominees for the 2026 BIFAs below. Best British Independent FilmEffi O Blaenau Marc Evans, Gary Owen, Branwen Cennard Elsinore Simon Stone, Stephen Beresford, Andrea Occhipinti, Gabrielle Tana, Pete Shilaimon, Mickey Liddell, Stefano Massenzi, Carolyn Marks Blackwood, Andrew Scott I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning Clio Barnard, Enda Walsh, Tracy O’riordan Queen at Sea Lance Hammer, Tristan Goligher Tender Loving Care Mike Leigh, Georgina Lowe Best DirectorClio Barnard I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning Andrew Haigh A Long Winter Mark Jenkin Rose of Nevada Mike Leigh Tender Loving Care Simon Stone Elsinore Best Screenplay, sponsored by Apple Original FilmsStephen Beresford Elsinore Lance Hammer Queen at Sea Mike Leigh Tender Loving Care Gary Owen Effi O Blaenau Enda Walsh I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning Best Lead PerformanceJuliette Binoche Queen at Sea Erin Doherty Faith Leisa Gwenllian Effi O Blaenau Jonathan Jules Florid Tut Nyuot Animol Andrew Scott Elsinore Best Supporting PerformanceAnna Calder-Marshall Queen at Sea Tom Courtenay Queen at Sea Sekou Diaby Animol Claire Foy Ink Billie Piper Elsinore Bill Pullman Everybody Digs Bill Evans Best Joint Lead PerformanceSéamus Mclean Ross, Samuel Bottomley California Schemin’ Flora Nicholson, Clare Dunne, Mia Tharia The Education of Jane Cumming Marni Duggan, Galaxie Clear Extra Geography Chimpaye Florence Mariserena, Bizimana Hussain Small Gods Best Ensemble PerformanceI See Buildings Fall Like Lightning Anthony Boyle, Joe Cole, Jay Lycurgo, Daryl Mccormack, Lola Petticrew Sunny Dancer Bella Ramsey, Daniel Quinn-Toye, Ruby Stokes, Earl Cave, Conrad Khan, Jasmine Elcock, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Louis Gaunt, Josie Walker, Jessica Gunning, James Norton, Neil Patrick Harris, James Blunt Tender Loving Care Marion Bailey, Paul Jesson, Kate O’flynn, Alice Bailey Johnson Best Feature Documentary, sponsored by Intermission FilmAll Rivers Spill Their Stories to the Sea Jeanie Finlay, Charlie Phillips Everybody to Kenmure Street Felipe Bustos Sierra, Ciara Barry One in a Million Itab Azzam, Jack Macinnes, Will Anderson, Andrew Palmer, James Bluemel, Raney Aronson-Rath Something Familiar Rachel Taparjan, Aleksandra Bilic, Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan We, the Hated Rich Felgate, David Allen Cinema of the Year, supported by Kia Abbeygate Cinema Campus West Hippodrome Cinema The Kinema in the Woods The Ultimate Picture PalaceThe Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director), sponsored by BBC FilmBilly Lumby Florid Molly Manners Extra Geography Bertil Nilsson Masc Louis Paxton The Incomer Ashley Walters Animol Breakthrough Producer, sponsored by Pinewood and Shepperton Studios Itab Azzam, Jack Macinnes, Will Anderson, James Bluemel, Andrew Palmer One in a Million [also produced by Raney Aronson-Rath] Branwen Cennard Effi O Blaenau Tom Hawkins Animol [also Produced by Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor, Nick Love, Ashley Walters] Oskar Pimlott Bad Apples Alex Polunin Black Church Bay [also Produced by Tristan Goligher] Breakthrough Performance, sponsored by NetflixGalaxie Clear Extra Geography Sekou Diaby Animol Leisa Gwenllian Effi O Blaenau Jonathan Jules Florid Tut Nyuot Animol Best Debut Screenwriter, sponsored by Film4Miriam Battye Extra Geography Thea Gajić Surviving Earth Rhys Marc Jones Black Church Bay Jess O’Kane Bad Apples Louis Paxton The Incomer The Raindance Maverick AwardAct 3 Christine Molloy, Joe Lawlor, Alex Thiele, Hannah Patterson Chatlines Neil Ely, Lloyd Eyre-Morgan, Paul Mortlock Masc Bertil Nilsson The Peril at Pincer Point Jake Kuhn, Noah Stratton-Twine Something Familiar Rachel Taparjan, Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan, Elena Martin, Aleksandra Bilic Best British Short FilmAllies in Exile Hasan Kattan, Orlando Von Einsiedel Coyotes Said Zagha, Myriam Sassine, Laura Jumel Forgotten Spaceman Elham Ehsas, Lorraine Bhattachary Untitled Woman Camille Summers-Valli, Rosmarie Vind, Sorcha Bacon, Martha Mcguirk, David Zander Vote Gavin Lyle Aneil Karia, Scott O’donnell, Tom Gardner Best International Independent Film, sponsored by Champagne TaittingerAll of a Sudden Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Léa Le Dimna, David Gauquié, Julien Deris, Kôsuke Oshida, Yûji Sadai, Jean-Luc Ormières, Renan Artukmaç, Hiroko Matsuda Club Kid Jordan Firstman, Galen Core, Alex Coco La Bola Negra Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo La Gradiva Marine Atlan, Anne Brouilet, Inès Daïen Dasi Possible Love Lee Chang-Dong, Oh Jung-Mi Best CastingShaheen Baig I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning Heather Basten Animol Lara Manwaring Florid Lucy Pardee Extra Geography Jessica Ronane Elsinore Best Cinematography, sponsored by Kodak & MolinareMike Eley Elsinore Piers Mcgrail Everybody Digs Bill Evans Christopher Ripley Straight Circle Simon Tindall I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning André Turpin a Long Winter Best Costume DesignSarah Blenkinsop The Incomer Alex Bovaird Savage House Carol Case A Long Winter Darion Hing Straight Circle Mel Page Elsinore Best EditingValerio Bonelli Elsinore Otto Burnham Black Is Beautiful: the Kwame Brathwaite Story Fouad Gaber Straight Circle Maya Maffioli I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning Fin Oates Ink Best EffectsJon Biggins, Jeff Dillon Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom Ruslan Borysov, Richard Cheal, Tim Ledbury The Magic Faraway Tree Daniel Morris The Incomer Best Music SupervisionConnie Farr I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning Connie Farr Queen at Sea Phil Canning Sunny Dancer Best Make-Up & Hair DesignJacquetta Levon Savage House Nadia Stacey Elsinore Nadia Stacey Madfabulous Karen Hartley Thomas The Magic Faraway Tree Tristan Versluis Straight Circle Best Original Music, sponsored by Universal Music Publishing GroupRoger Goula Everybody Digs Bill Evans Stefan Gregory Elsinore Mark Jenkin Rose of Nevada Hannah Peel Underland Siôn Trefor, Ioana Selaru Effi O Blaenau Best Production Design, sponsored by ATCLuke Moran-Morris Straight Circle Gareth Pugh, Carson McColl Ink Helen Scott Elsinore Alexandra Walker The Magic Faraway Tree Gary Williamson Savage House Best Sound, sponsored by BleatAndy Coles, John Brennan Everybody Digs Bill Evans Paul Cotterell, Ron Osiowy, Joakim Sundström A Long Winter Simon Hayes, Johnnie Burn Ink Mark Jenkin, Ian Wilson Rose of Nevada Dario Swade, George Elliott, Tom Harburt Florid The Richard Harris Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Actor to British FilmTo be announced later