Aftersun, Charlotte Wells’ poignant portrait of a father and daughter’s complex relationship leads the nominations for the 2022 British Independent Film Awards (BIFA), receiving 16 nominations, including Best Director, Best Screenplay, the Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director) and Best Debut Screenwriter for Wells, a Best Joint Lead Performance nomination for stars Paul Mescal and newcomer Frankie Corio, who also received a Breakthrough Performance nomination, alongside a Best British Independent Film nod.

Set in late 80s Britain against the backdrop of Thatcher’s anti-gay Section 28 ruling, Georgia Oakley’s debut film Blue Jean follows a young school teacher forced to lead a double life. Blue Jean received 13 nominations including Best British Independent Film and Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Debut Director and Best Debut Screenwriter for Oakley, Breakthrough Producer for Hélène Sifre, Best Lead Performance and Breakthrough Performance for Rosy McEwen, Best Supporting Performance nominations for Kerrie Hayes and Lucy Halliday and a Best Ensemble Performance nomination for the film.

Sebastián Lelio also picked up multiple nomination for The Wonder, a 19th-century thriller focussing on a young Irish girl whose fasting is hailed as miraculous, but may be something more ominous…. The film scored BIFA Best Screenplay nomination shared with BIFA winners Alice Birch and Emma Donoghue, on whose book the screenplay is based. Lelio also adds a Best Director, Florence Pugh is nominated for Best Lead Performance, Kíla Lord Cassidy is nominated for Breakthrough Performance, additional cast members including Tom Burke, Toby Jones, Niamh Algar, Elaine Cassidy, Ciarán Hinds, Brían F. O’Byrne and Josie Walker join them in a Best Ensemble Performance nomination. The Wonder is also up for Best British Independent Film.

2022 British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) Nominees

Best British Independent Film

AFTERSUN Charlotte Wells, Barry Jenkins, Mark Ceryak, Adele Romanski, Amy Jackson
BLUE JEAN Georgia Oakley, Hélène Sifre
GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE Sophie Hyde, Katy Brand, Debbie Gray, Adrian Politowski
LIVING Oliver Hermanus, Kazuo Ishiguro, Stephen Woolley, Elizabeth Karlsen
THE WONDER Sebastián Lelio, Emma Donoghue, Alice Birch, Juliette Howell, Andrew Lowe, Tessa Ross, Ed Guiney

Best Director

OLIVER HERMANUS Living
SOPHIE HYDE Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
SEBASTIÁN LELIO The Wonder
GEORGIA OAKLEY Blue Jean
CHARLOTTE WELLS Aftersun

Best Screenplay

KATY BRAND Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
KAZUO ISHIGURO Living
SEBASTIÁN LELIO, ALICE BIRCH, EMMA DONOGHUE The Wonder
GEORGIA OAKLEY Blue Jean
CHARLOTTE WELLS Aftersun

Best Lead Performance

SALLY HAWKINS The Lost King
COSMO JARVIS It Is in Us All
EMMA MACKEY Emily
ROSY McEWEN Blue Jean
BILL NIGHY Living
FLORENCE PUGH The Wonder
EMILY WATSON God’s Creatures
HALA ZEIN Nezouh

Best Supporting Performance

ZOEY DEUTCH The Outfit
AISLING FRANCIOSI God’s Creatures
LUCY HALLIDAY Blue Jean
KERRIE HAYES Blue Jean
ZAINAB JODA Our River… Our Sky
FATMA MOHAMED Flux Gourmet
PAUL MESCAL God’s Creatures
FIONN WHITEHEAD Emily
AIMEE LOU WOOD Living

Best Joint Lead Performance

FRANKIE CORIO, PAUL MESCAL Aftersun
DARYL McCORMACK, EMMA THOMPSON Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
JESSIE BUCKLEY, RORY KINNEAR Men
TAMARA LAWRANCE, LETITIA WRIGHT The Silent Twins

Best Ensemble Performance

BLUE JEAN Ensemble including Rosy McEwen, Kerrie Hayes, Lucy Halliday, Lydia Page, Stacy Abalogun, Farrah Cave, Amy Booth-Steel

EMILY Ensemble including Amelia Gething, Emma Mackey, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Fionn Whitehead, Alexandra Dowling, Gemma Jones, Adrian Dunbar

FLUX GOURMET Ensemble including Makis Papadimitriou, Gwendoline Christie, Asa Butterfield, Fatma Mohamed, Ariane Labed, Richard Bremmer

OUR RIVER… OUR SKY Ensemble including Zainab Joda, Darina Al Joundi, Amed Hashimi, Mahmoud Abo Al Abbas, Basim Hajar, Labwa Arab, Meriam Abbas, Siham Mustafa

THE WONDER Ensemble including Kíla Lord Cassidy, Florence Pugh, Tom Burke, Toby Jones, Niamh Algar, Elaine Cassidy, Ciarán Hinds, Brían F. O’Byrne, Josie Walker

The Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director)

ANDREW CUMMING The Origin
THOMAS HARDIMAN Medusa Deluxe
FRANCES O’CONNOR Emily
GEORGIA OAKLEY Blue Jean
CHARLOTTE WELLS Aftersun

Breakthrough Producer

ALEKSANDRA BILIĆ, JENNIFER CORCORAN Nascondino [Hide & Seek]
PAUL KENNEDY Nightride [also produced by Jon Silk]
RUPERT MAJENDIE Brian and Charles
NADIRA MURRAY Winners [also produced by Paul Welsh]
HÉLÈNE SIFRE Blue Jean

Breakthrough Performance

FRANKIE CORIO Aftersun
LEO LONG I Used to Be Famous
KÍLA LORD CASSIDY The Wonder
ROSY McEWEN Blue Jean
SAFIA OAKLEY-GREEN The Origin

Best Debut Screenwriter

SHANE CROWLEY God’s Creatures
DAVID EARL, CHRIS HAYWARD Brian and Charles
RUTH GREENBERG The Origin
GEORGIA OAKLEY Blue Jean
CHARLOTTE WELLS Aftersun

Best Debut Director – Feature Documentary

KATHRYN FERGUSON Nothing Compares
VICTORIA FIORE Nascondino [Hide & Seek]
LEAH GORDON, EDDIE HUTTON MILLS Kanaval
JONO McLEOD My Old School
BECKY HUTNER Fashion Reimagined

The Raindance Discovery Award

ELECTRIC MALADY Marie Lidén, Aimara Reques
FADIA’S TREE Sarah Beddington, Susan Simnett
OFF THE RAILS Peter Day, Grant Keir, Rob Alexander
REBELLION Elena Sánchez Bellot, Maia Kenworthy, Kat Mansoor
WINNERS Hassan Nazer, Nadira Murray, Paul Welsh

Best Feature Documentary

MY CHILDHOOD, MY COUNTRY – 20 YEARS IN AFGHANISTAN Phil Grabsky, Shoaib Sharifi, Amanda Wilkie
MY OLD SCHOOL Jono McLeod, John Archer, Olivia Lichtenstein
NASCONDINO [HIDE & SEEK] Victoria Fiore, Jennifer Corcoran, Aleksandra Bilić
NOTHING COMPARES Kathryn Ferguson, Eleanor Emptage, Michael Mallie
YOUNG PLATO Neasa Ní Chianáin, Declan McGrath, David Rane

Best British Short Film

A FOX IN THE NIGHT Keeran Anwar Blessie, Benjamin Jacob Smith
HONESTY Roxy Rezvany, Emily Renée, Elly Camisa
SANDSTORM Seemab Gul, Abid Aziz Merchant
SCALE Joseph Pierce, Hélène Mitjavile
TOO ROUGH Sean Lìonadh, Ross McKenzie, Alfredo Covelli

Best International Independent Film

ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED Laura Poitras, Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Nan Goldin, Yoni Golijov,
CLOSE Lukas Dhont, Angelo Tijssens, Michiel Dhont, Dirk Impens
DECISION TO LEAVE Park Chan-Wook, Chung Seo-Kyung
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, Jonathan Wang, Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, Mike Larocca
THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD Joachim Trier, Eskil Vogt, Andrea Berentsen Ottmar, Thomas Robsahm

Best Casting

SHAHEEN BAIG Blue Jean
LEILA BERTRAND Our River… Our Sky
KHARMEL COCHRANE The Silent Twins
KAHLEEN CRAWFORD Living
LUCY PARDEE Aftersun

Best Cinematography

NASCONDINO [HIDE & SEEK] Alfredo de Juan
ROB HARDY Men
JOEL HONEYWELL Kanaval
GREGORY OKE Aftersun
ARI WEGNER The Wonder

Best Costume Design

JENNY BEAVAN Mrs Harris Goes to Paris
SAFFRON CULLANE Flux Gourmet
ODILE DICKS-MIREAUX The Wonder
FRANK GALLACHER Aftersun
SANDY POWELL Living

Best Editing

JOANNA CRICKMAY Elizabeth: A Portrait in Parts
IZABELLA CURRY Blue Jean
MÁTYÁS FEKETE Flux Gourmet
MICK MAHON Nothing Compares
BLAIR McCLENDON Aftersun

Best Original Music

DANNY BENSI, SAUNDER JURRIAANS God’s Creatures
OLIVER COATES Aftersun
MATTHEW HERBERT The Wonder
ADAM JANOTA BZOWSKI The Origin
BEN SALISBURY, GEOFF BARROW Men

Best Make-Up & Hair Design

OYA AYGÖR, MURAT ÇAĞIN Aftersun
MORNA FERGUSON, LORRI ANN KING The Wonder
SIOBHAN HARPER-RYAN Flux Gourmet
NIAMH MORRISON The Origin
EUGENE SOULEIMAN, SCARLETT O’CONNELL Medusa Deluxe

Best Effects

CHRIS MARSHALL The Feast
DAVID SIMPSON Men
AHMED YOUSRY Nezouh

Best Music Supervision

LUCY BRIGHT Aftersun
PHIL CANNING The Phantom of the Open
RUPERT HOLLIER Living

Best Sound

TIM HARRISON, RAOUL BRAND, CASSANDRA RUTLEDGE Flux Gourmet
GLENN FREEMANTLE, BEN BARKER, GILLIAN DODDERS, HOWARD BARGOFF, MITCH LOW Men
JOVAN AJDER Aftersun
HUGH FOX, BEN BAIRD The Wonder
DOM CORBISIERO, DAI SHELL The Feast

Best Production Design

FLETCHER JARVIS Flux Gourmet
GRANT MONTGOMERY The Wonder
HELEN SCOTT Living
BILLUR TURAN Aftersun
GARY WILLIAMSON Medusa Deluxe