The Personal History of David Copperfield leads the nominations for the 2019 British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs). Armando Iannucci’s fresh take on Dickens’ novel about the ups and downs in the life of its eponymous character is recognized for Best British Independent Film and Best Screenplay amongst nine other awards. Dev Patel is nominated for Best Actor, with co-stars Tilda Swinton and Hugh Laurie competing in the respective Supporting categories.

Completing the five Best British Independent Film nominations alongside The Personal History of David Copperfield are Bait (4 nominations), For Sama (5 nominations), The Souvenir (8 nominations) and Wild Rose (10 nominations).

Jessie Buckley returns to BIFA this year in the Best Actress category for Wild Rose, having taken home the trophy for Most Promising Newcomer in 2018 for her role in Beast. The film receives broad recognition alongside its Best British Independent Film nod, with nominations including Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress, Debut Screenwriter, Best Casting, Best Costume Design, Best Make Up & Hair Design, Best Music and Best Sound.

Also competing in the Best Actress category is Sally Hawkins, who has previously been nominated at BIFA four times and is nominated this year for Eternal Beauty. Sally Hawkins and Jessie Buckley are nominated alongside first-time BIFA nominees Holliday Grainger (Animals), Renee Zellweger (Judy) and Vicky Knight (Dirty God), who also features in this year’s Most Promising Newcomer Category.

In the Best Actor category, up against Dev Patel for The Personal History of David Copperfield, the field of nominees includes Tom Burke (The Souvenir), Kris Hitchen (Sorry We Missed You), Sam Adewunmi (The Last Tree), also nominated in the Most Promising Newcomer Category, and 2017 Best Actor winner Josh O’Connor (Only You).

Tilda Swinton (The Personal History of David Copperfield), whose daughter Honor Swinton Byrne (The Souvenir) features in this year’s Most Promising Newcomer nominations, is joined by Julie Walters (Wild Rose), Jessica Barden (Scarborough), Elizabeth Debicki (Vita & Virginia) and Ruthxjiah Bellenea (The Last Tree) in being nominated for the Best Supporting Actress award. Swinton and Walters have both previously received The Richard Harris award at BIFA for their contributions to the British film industry.

Chiwetel Ejiofor is nominated for both The Douglas Hickox Award for Debut Director and Best Supporting Actor for The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Also nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category are Peter Mullan (The Vanishing), Bluey Robinson (Dirty God), Edlison Manuel Olbera Núñez (Yuli – The Carlos Acosta Story) and Hugh Laurie (The Personal History of David Copperfield).

The 2019 BIFA nominations feature a strong show from documentaries. Waad al-Kateab and Edward Watts are nominated for Best Director sponsored by Broadsword Event House for For Sama, as is Asif Kapadia for Diego Maradona. Both titles picked up five nominations overall; Kapadia continues his long association with BIFA with his fifth nomination, following past recognition for The Warrior and Amy. For Sama marks the first nomination for Al-Kateab and Watts.

Winners will be announced at the British Independent Film Award Ceremony on Sunday December 1, at Old Billingsgate. The ceremony will be hosted by award-winning stand-up, writer and actress Aisling Bea.

BIFA NOMINATIONS 2019

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM

BAIT
Mark Jenkin, Kate Byers, Linn Waite

FOR SAMA
Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts

THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD
Armando Iannucci, Simon Blackwell, Kevin Loader

THE SOUVENIR
Joanna Hogg, Luke Schiller

WILD ROSE
Tom Harper, Nicole Taylor, Faye Ward

BEST DIRECTOR

WAAD AL-KATEAB, EDWARD WATTS
For Sama

OLIVER HERMANUS
Moffie

JOANNA HOGG
The Souvenir

MARK JENKIN
Bait

ASIF KAPADIA
Diego Maradona

BEST SCREENPLAY

JOANNA HOGG
The Souvenir

ARMANDO IANNUCCI, SIMON BLACKWELL
The Personal History of David Copperfield

PAUL LAVERTY
Sorry We Missed You

PETER STRICKLAND
In Fabric

NICOLE TAYLOR
Wild Rose

BEST ACTRESS

JESSIE BUCKLEY
Wild Rose

HOLLIDAY GRAINGER
Animals

SALLY HAWKINS
Eternal Beauty

VICKY KNIGHT
Dirty God

RENEE ZELLWEGER
Judy

BEST ACTOR

SAM ADEWUMNI
The Last Tree

TOM BURKE
The Souvenir

KRIS HITCHEN
Sorry We Missed You

JOSH O’CONNOR
Only You

DEV PATEL
The Personal History of David Copperfield

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

JESSICA BARDEN
Scarborough

RUTHXJIAH BELLENEA
The Last Tree

ELIZABETH DEBICKI
Vita & Virginia

TILDA SWINTON
The Personal History of David Copperfield

JULIE WALTERS
Wild Rose

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

CHIWETEL EJIOFOR
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

HUGH LAURIE
The Personal History of David Copperfield

EDLISON MANUEL OLBERA NÚÑEZ
Yuli – The Carlos Acosta Story

PETER MULLAN
The Vanishing

BLUEY ROBINSON
Dirty God

THE DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD (DEBUT DIRECTOR)

WILL BECHER, RICHARD PHELAN
A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon

FYZAL BOULIFA
Lynn + Lucy

NINIAN DOFF
Boyz in the Wood

CHIWETEL EJIOFOR
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

HARRY WOOTLIFF
Only You

BREAKTHROUGH PRODUCER

FINN BRUCE Tucked

KATE BYERS, LINN WAITE Bait

JOY GHARORO-AKPOJOTOR Blue Story [also produced by Damian Jones]

BECKY READ Three Identical Strangers [also produced by Grace Hughes-Hallett]

JACK SIDEY Moffie [also produced by Eric Abraham]

DEBUT SCREENWRITER

KIERAN HURLEY Beats

LISA OWENS Days of the Bagnold Summer

NICOLE TAYLOR Wild Rose

EMMA JANE UNSWORTH Animals

HARRY WOOTLIFF Only You

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER

SAM ADEWUMNI The Last Tree

VICKY KNIGHT Dirty God

LORN MACDONALD Beats

ROXANNE SCRIMSHAW Lynn + Lucy

HONOR SWINTON BYRNE The Souvenir

BEST DOCUMENTARY

COUP 53 Taghi Amirani, Walter Murch, Paul Zaentz

DIEGO MARADONA Asif Kapadia, James Gay-Rees, Paul Martin

FOR SAMA Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts

SEAHORSE Jeanie Finlay, Andrea Cornwell

TELL ME WHO I AM Ed Perkins, Simon Chinn

THE RAINDANCE DISCOVERY AWARD

A BUMP ALONG THE WAY Shelly Love

CHILDREN OF THE SNOW LAND Zara Balfour, Marcus Stephenson, Mark Hakansson

HERE FOR LIFE Andrea Luka Zimmerman, Adrian Jackson, James Lingwood, Michael Morris, Cressida Day

MUSCLE Gerard Johnson, Matthew James Wilkinson, Richard Wylie, Ed Barratt

THE STREET Zed Nelson

BEST BRITISH SHORT FILM

ANNA Dekel Berenson, Merlin Merton, Olga Beskhmelnitsyna

BOILING POINT Philip Barantini, Bart Ruspoli, James Cummings, Gabriella Callea, Grace Nelder

THE DEVIL’S HARMONY Dylan Holmes Williams, Jess O’Kane, Nathan Craig

GOLDFISH Hector Dockrill, Laura Dockrill, Benedict Turnbull, Harri Kamalanathan

SERIOUS TINGZ Abdou Cissé, Kieran Kenlock, Matt Ellingham

BEST INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM

ASH IS PUREST WHITE Jia Zhang-Ke, Shôzô Ichiyama

MARRIAGE STORY Noah Baumbach, David Heyman

MONOS Alejandro Landes, Alexis Dos Santos, Fernando Epstein, Cristina Landes, Santiago A Zapata

PARASITE Bong Joon-ho, Jan Young-Hwan, Moon Yang-kwon, Sin-ae Kwak, Han Jin Won

PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE Céline Sciamma, Véronique Cayla, Bénédicte Couvreur

BEST CASTING

SHAHEEN BAIG In Fabric

SHAHEEN BAIG, AISHA BYWATERS The Last Tree

KAHLEEN CRAWFORD, CAROLINE STEWART Only You

KAHLEEN CRAWFORD Wild Rose

SARAH CROWE The Personal History of David Copperfield

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

OLE BRATT BIRKELAND Judy

BENJAMIN KRACUN Beats

ZAC NICHOLSON The Personal History of David Copperfield

JAMIE D RAMSAY Moffie

ARI WEGNER In Fabric

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

SUZIE HARMAN, ROBERT WORLEY The Personal History of David Copperfield

ANNA MARY SCOTT ROBBINS Wild Rose

GRACE SNELL The Souvenir

JANY TEMIME Judy

JO THOMPSON In Fabric

BEST EDITING

MICK AUDSLEY, PETER LAMBERT The Personal History of David Copperfield

MARK JENKIN Bait

CHRIS KING Diego Maradona

CHLOE LAMBOURNE, SIMON McMAHON For Sama

HELLE LE FEVRE The Souvenir

BEST EFFECTS

HOWARD JONES A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon

PAUL MANN In Fabric

ANDY QUINN The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

BEST MAKE UP & HAIR DESIGN

MORTEN JACOBSEN, ROGIER SAMUELS, LINDELOTTE VAN DER MEER Dirty God

KAREN HARTLEY-THOMAS The Personal History of David Copperfield

EMMA SCOTT In Fabric

JODY WILLIAMS Wild Rose

JEREMY WOODHEAD Judy

BEST MUSIC

JACK ARNOLD Wild Rose

CAVERN OF ANTI-MATTER In Fabric

NAINITA DESAI For Sama

ANTONIO PINTO Diego Maradona

JD TWITCH, PENELOPE TRAPPES, STEPHEN HINDMAN Beats

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

CRISTINA CASALI The Personal History of David Copperfield

STÉPHANE COLLONGE The Souvenir

KAVE QUINN Judy

ANNE SEIBEL The White Crow

PAKI SMITH In Fabric

BEST SOUND

ANNA MY BERTMARK, JONATHAN SEALE, JULES WOODS Gwen

DAVID BOWTLE-McMILLAN, JOAKIM SUNDSTRÖM, ROBERT FARR Beats

STEPHEN GRIFFITHS, TIM CAVAGIN, MAX WALSH, ANDY SHELLEY Diego Maradona

LEE WALPOLE, COLIN NICHOLSON, STUART HILLIKER Wild Rose

MARTIN PAVEY In Fabric