The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) announced their 2023 nominees on 2 November, with a strong showing from several debut films. Raine Allen-Miller’s Rye Lane and Charlotte Regan’s Scrapper emerged as the most-nominated features, reflecting a year of vibrant new voices in British independent cinema.
The nominations were revealed at a presentation in London’s One Hundred Shoreditch, hosted by Susan Wokoma and Morfydd Clark. BIFA’s selection highlights the independent films and filmmakers the organisation regards as the most outstanding from the year, covering feature films, documentaries, shorts and a wide range of craft categories.
In total, 26 British feature films earned nominations. Rye Lane led the field with 16 nominations, followed by Scrapper with 14. Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers, featuring Paul Mescal, Andrew Scott, Claire Foy and Jamie Bell, also secured 14 nominations. Molly Manning Walker’s How to Have Sex followed closely with 13 nominations. Other notable films receiving multiple nominations include Femme with 11 and The End We Start From with nine.
On the international stage, Cannes Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall was shortlisted in the Best International Independent Film category, along with festival favourites such as Past Lives and Fallen Leaves. Performances by acclaimed actors including Tilda Swinton, Andrew Scott and Jodie Comer were recognised in the Best Lead Performance category, underlining the blend of emerging talent and established figures represented in this year’s list.
Below are the nominees for the 2023 British Independent Film Awards, organised by category.
Best British Independent Film
- All of Us Strangers
- Femme
- How to Have Sex
- Rye Lane
- Scrapper
Best International Independent Film (sponsored by Champagne Taittinger)
- Anatomy of a Fall
- Fallen Leaves
- Fremont
- Monster
- Past Lives
Best Director (sponsored by Sky Cinema)
- Raine Allen-Miller — Rye Lane
- Sam H Freeman & Ng Choon Ping — Femme
- Andrew Haigh — All of Us Strangers
- Molly Manning Walker — How to Have Sex
- Charlotte Regan — Scrapper
Best Screenplay (sponsored by Apple Original Films)
- Nathan Bryon & Tom Melia — Rye Lane
- Sam H Freeman & Ng Choon Ping — Femme
- Andrew Haigh — All of Us Strangers
- Molly Manning Walker — How to Have Sex
- Charlotte Regan — Scrapper
Best Lead Performance
- Jodie Comer — The End We Start From
- Mia McKenna-Bruce — How to Have Sex
- Tia Nomore — Earth Mama
- Nabhaan Rizwan — In Camera
- Andrew Scott — All of Us Strangers
- Tilda Swinton — The Eternal Daughter
Best Supporting Performance
- 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
- Paul Mescal — All of Us Strangers
- Alia Shawkat — Drift
- Shaun Thomas — How to Have Sex
- Katherine Waterston — The End We Start From
Best Joint Lead Performance
- Lola Campbell & Harris Dickinson — Scrapper
- David Jonsson & Vivian Oparah — Rye Lane
- Nathan Stewart-Jarrett & George MacKay — Femme
The Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director) — sponsored by BBC Film
- Raine Allen-Miller — Rye Lane
- Sam H Freeman & Ng Choon Ping — Femme
- Savanah Leaf — Earth Mama
- Molly Manning Walker — How to Have Sex
- Charlotte Regan — Scrapper
Breakthrough Producer (sponsored by Pinewood and Shepperton Studios)
- Theo Barrowclough — Scrapper
- Georgia Goggin — Pretty Red Dress
- Yvonne Isimeme Ibazebo — Rye Lane
- Gannesh Rajah — If the Streets Were on Fire
- Chi Thai — Raging Grace
Breakthrough Performance (sponsored by Netflix)
- Le’Shantey Bonsu — Girl
- Lola Campbell — Scrapper
- Priya Kansara — Polite Society
- Mia McKenna-Bruce — How to Have Sex
- Vivian Oparah — Rye Lane
Best Debut Screenwriter (sponsored by Film4)
- Nathan Bryon & Tom Melia — Rye Lane
- Sam H Freeman & Ng Choon Ping — Femme
- Molly Manning Walker — How to Have Sex
- Nida Manzoor — Polite Society
- Charlotte Regan — Scrapper
Best Debut Director — Feature Documentary
- Chloe Abrahams — The Taste of Mango
- 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
- Is There Anybody Out There?
- Name Me Lawand
- Raging Grace
- Red Herring
Best Feature Documentary (sponsored by Intermission Film)
- Another Body
- Bobi Wine: The People’s President
- If the Streets Were on Fire
- Lyra
- Occupied City
Best British Short Film
- Christopher At Sea
- Festival of Slaps
- Lions
- Muna
- The Talent
Best Casting (sponsored by Casting Society & Spotlight)
- Shaheen Baig — Scrapper
- Kharmel Cochrane — Rye Lane
- Kahleen Crawford — All of Us Strangers
- Isabella Odoffin — How to Have Sex
- Salome Oggenfuss, Geraldine Barón & Abby Harri — Earth Mama
Best Cinematography (sponsored by Harbor & Kodak)
- Olan Collardy — Rye Lane
- Suzie Lavelle — The End We Start From
- Molly Manning Walker — Scrapper
- Jamie D. Ramsay — All of Us Strangers
- James Rhodes — Femme
Best Costume Design
- George Buxton — How to Have Sex
- Oliver Cronk — Scrapper
- Buki Ebiesuwa — Femme
- Cynthia Lawrence-John — Rye Lane
- PC Williams — The End We Start From
Best Editing
- Jonathan Alberts — All of Us Strangers
- 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
- Paddy Eason — Polite Society
- Theodor Flo-Groeneboom — The End We Start From
- Jonathan Gales & Richard Baker — The Kitchen
Best Music Supervision
- Ciara Elwis — Femme
- Connie Farr — All of Us Strangers
- David Fish — Rye Lane
Best Make-Up & Hair Design (sponsored by The Wall Group)
- Zoe Clare Brown — All of Us Strangers
- Claire Carter — Polite Society
- Marie Deehan — Femme
- Natasha Lawes — How to Have Sex
- Bianca Simone Scott — Rye Lane
Best Original Music (sponsored by Universal Music Publishing Group)
- Adam Janota Bzowski — Femme
- Patrick Jonsson — Scrapper
- Kwes — Rye Lane
- Anna Meredith — The End We Start From
- Ré Olunuga — Girl
Best Production Design (sponsored by ATC & Broadsword)
- Laura Ellis Cricks — The End We Start From
- Sarah Finlay — All of Us Strangers
- Elena Muntoni — Scrapper
- Nathan Parker — The Kitchen
- Anna Rhodes — Rye Lane
Best Sound (supported by Halo)
- Scrapper
- How to Have Sex
- All of Us Strangers
- Enys Men
- The End We Start From
The 2023 BIFA nominations reflect a year of creative risk-taking and storytelling diversity across British independent filmmaking. The list recognises both new filmmakers making impactful debuts and established artists continuing to push the boundaries of independent cinema.