The winners of the 2023 British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) were revealed at a live ceremony held at Old Billingsgate in London on Sunday, 3 December 2023. Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers emerged as the evening’s most celebrated film, taking home the award for Best British Independent Film amid multiple other honors.
Hosted by Kiell Smith-Bynoe and Lolly Adefope, the ceremony highlighted a strong year for British independent cinema. All of Us Strangers dominated the night, earning awards for Best British Independent Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Music Supervision and Best Editing. Paul Mescal, who received significant acclaim this year, was named a joint winner for Best Supporting Performance for his role in the film.
The event also celebrated international cinema, with Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall honored as Best International Independent Film. The awards recognized a broad range of talent across acting, writing, directing, production and technical categories, reflecting the diversity and creativity of the independent film scene in the UK and beyond.
Key winners and highlights
All of Us Strangers emerged as the clear success of the evening. In addition to the top prize of Best British Independent Film, the film won several major technical and creative awards: Best Director (Andrew Haigh), Best Screenplay (Andrew Haigh), Best Cinematography (Jamie D. Ramsay), Best Editing (Jonathan Alberts) and Best Music Supervision (Connie Farr). The film’s strong showing underscored its broad critical reception and influence across multiple disciplines within film production.
Mia McKenna-Bruce won Best Lead Performance for her role in How to Have Sex, demonstrating the awards’ commitment to recognizing compelling new voices and performances. Isabella Odoffin was honored for Best Casting for her work on How to Have Sex, emphasizing the importance of casting in shaping successful independent films.
Other notable winners included Paul Mescal, who shared the Best Supporting Performance award for his role in All of Us Strangers, and the film Femme, which saw Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and George MacKay win Best Joint Lead Performance. Savanah Leaf received recognition with the Douglas Hickox Award for Best Debut Director for Earth Mama.
Full list of 2023 British Independent Film Awards winners and nominees
Best British Independent Film – All of Us Strangers
Nominees: Femme; How to Have Sex; Rye Lane; Scrapper
Best International Independent Film – Anatomy of a Fall
Nominees: Fallen Leaves; Fremont; Monster; Past Lives
Best Director – Andrew Haigh (All of Us Strangers)
Nominees: Raine Allen-Miller (Rye Lane); Sam H Freeman & Ng Choon Ping (Femme); Molly Manning Walker (How to Have Sex); Charlotte Regan (Scrapper)
Best Screenplay – Andrew Haigh (All of Us Strangers)
Nominees: Nathan Bryon & Tom Melia (Rye Lane); Sam H Freeman & Ng Choon Ping (Femme); Molly Manning Walker (How to Have Sex); Charlotte Regan (Scrapper)
Best Lead Performance – Mia McKenna-Bruce (How to Have Sex)
Nominees: Jodie Comer (The End We Start From); Tia Nomore (Earth Mama); Nabhaan Rizwan (In Camera); Andrew Scott (All of Us Strangers); Tilda Swinton (The Eternal Daughter)
Best Supporting Performance – Paul Mescal (All of Us Strangers)
Nominees: Ritu Arya (Polite Society); Jamie Bell (All of Us Strangers); Samuel Bottomley (How to Have Sex); Alexandra Burke (Pretty Red Dress); Amir El-Masry (In Camera); Claire Foy (All of Us Strangers); Alia Shawkat (Drift); Shaun Thomas (How to Have Sex); Katherine Waterston (The End We Start From)
Best Joint Lead Performance – Nathan Stewart-Jarrett & George MacKay (Femme)
Nominees: Lola Campbell & Harris Dickinson (Scrapper); David Jonsson & Vivian Oparah (Rye Lane)
The Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director) – Savanah Leaf (Earth Mama)
Nominees: Raine Allen-Miller (Rye Lane); Sam H Freeman & Ng Choon Ping (Femme); Molly Manning Walker (How to Have Sex); Charlotte Regan (Scrapper)
Breakthrough Producer – Theo Barrowclough (Scrapper)
Nominees: Georgia Goggin (Pretty Red Dress); Yvonne Isimeme Ibazebo (Rye Lane); Gannesh Rajah (If the Streets Were on Fire); Chi Thai (Raging Grace)
Breakthrough Performance – Vivian Oparah (Rye Lane)
Nominees: Le’Shantey Bonsu (Girl); Lola Campbell (Scrapper); Priya Kansara (Polite Society); Mia McKenna-Bruce (How to Have Sex)
Best Debut Screenwriter – Nida Manzoor (Polite Society)
Nominees: Nathan Bryon & Tom Melia (Rye Lane); Sam H Freeman & Ng Choon Ping (Femme); Molly Manning Walker (How to Have Sex); Charlotte Regan (Scrapper)
Best Debut Director – Feature Documentary – Chloe Abrahams (The Taste of Mango)
Nominees: Sophie Compton & Reuben Hamlyn (Another Baby); Ella Glendining (Is There Anybody Out There?); Alice Russell (If the Streets Were on Fire); Christopher Sharp (Bobi Wine: The People’s President)
The Raindance Maverick Award – If the Streets Were on Fire
Nominees: Is There Anybody Out There?; Name Me Lawand; Raging Grace; Red Herring
Best Feature Documentary – If the Streets Were on Fire
Nominees: Another Body; Bobi Wine: The People’s President; Lyra; Occupied City
Best British Short Film – Festival of Slaps
Nominees: Christopher At Sea; Lions; Muna; The Talent
Best Casting – Isabella Odoffin (How to Have Sex)
Nominees: Shaheen Baig (Scrapper); Kharmel Cochrane (Rye Lane); Kahleen Crawford (All of Us Strangers); Salome Oggenfuss, Geraldine Barón, Abby Harri (Earth Mama)
Best Cinematography – Jamie D. Ramsay (All of Us Strangers)
Nominees: Olan Collardy (Rye Lane); Suzie Lavelle (The End We Start From); Molly Manning Walker (Scrapper); James Rhodes (Femme)
Best Costume Design – Buki Ebiesuwa (Femme)
Nominees: George Buxton (How to Have Sex); Oliver Cronk (Scrapper); Cynthia Lawrence-John (Rye Lane); PC Williams (The End We Start From)
Best Editing – Jonathan Alberts (All of Us Strangers)
Nominees: Victoria Boydell (Rye Lane); Paul Carlin (Bobi Wine: The People’s President); Avdhesh Mohla (High & Low – John Galliano); Arttu Salmi (The End We Start From)
Best Effects – Jonathan Gales & Richard Baker (The Kitchen)
Nominees: Paddy Eason (Polite Society); Theodor Flo-Groeneboom (The End We Start From)
Best Music Supervision – Connie Farr (All of Us Strangers)
Nominees: Ciara Elwis (Femme); David Fish (Rye Lane)
Best Make-Up & Hair Design – Marie Deehan (Femme)
Nominees: Zoe Clare Brown (All of Us Strangers); Claire Carter (Polite Society); Natasha Lawes (How to Have Sex); Bianca Simone Scott (Rye Lane)
Best Original Music – Kwes (Rye Lane)
Nominees: Adam Janota Bzowski (Femme); Patrick Jonsson (Scrapper); Anna Meredith (The End We Start From); Ré Olunuga (Girl)
Best Production Design – Nathan Parker (The Kitchen)
Nominees: Laura Ellis Cricks (The End We Start From); Sarah Finlay (All of Us Strangers); Elena Muntoni (Scrapper); Anna Rhodes (Rye Lane)
Best Sound – Mark Jenkin (Enys Men)
Nominees: Scrapper; How to Have Sex; All of Us Strangers; The End We Start From
This summary is based on the official 2023 BIFA winners and nominations.