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 Film
Effi 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 Director
Clio Barnard I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning
Best Screenplay, sponsored by Apple Original Films
Stephen Beresford Elsinore
Enda Walsh I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning
Best Lead Performance
Juliette Binoche Queen at Sea
Best Supporting Performance
Anna Calder-Marshall Queen at Sea
Best Joint Lead Performance
Séamus 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 Performance
I 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 Film
All 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
The Ultimate Picture Palace
The Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director), sponsored by BBC Film
Billy Lumby Florid
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]
Tom Hawkins Animol [also Produced by Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor, Nick Love, Ashley Walters]
Alex Polunin Black Church Bay [also Produced by Tristan Goligher]
Breakthrough Performance, sponsored by Netflix
Galaxie Clear Extra Geography
Best Debut Screenwriter, sponsored by Film4
Miriam Battye Extra Geography
The Raindance Maverick Award
Act 3 Christine Molloy, Joe Lawlor, Alex Thiele, Hannah Patterson
Chatlines Neil Ely, Lloyd Eyre-Morgan, Paul Mortlock
The Peril at Pincer Point Jake Kuhn, Noah Stratton-Twine
Something Familiar Rachel Taparjan, Monica Lăzurean-Gorgan, Elena Martin, Aleksandra Bilic
Best British Short Film
Allies 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 Taittinger
All 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 Casting
Shaheen Baig I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning
Best Cinematography, sponsored by Kodak & Molinare
Mike Eley Elsinore
Simon Tindall I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning
Best Costume Design
Sarah Blenkinsop The Incomer
Otto Burnham Black Is Beautiful: the Kwame Brathwaite Story
Maya Maffioli I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning
Best Effects
Jon Biggins, Jeff Dillon Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom
Ruslan Borysov, Richard Cheal, Tim Ledbury The Magic Faraway Tree
Best Music Supervision
Connie Farr I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning
Best Make-Up & Hair Design
Jacquetta Levon Savage House
Karen Hartley Thomas The Magic Faraway Tree
Best Original Music, sponsored by Universal Music Publishing Group
Roger Goula Everybody Digs Bill Evans
Siôn Trefor, Ioana Selaru Effi O Blaenau
Best Production Design, sponsored by ATC
Luke Moran-Morris Straight Circle
Best Sound, sponsored by Bleat
Andy Coles, John Brennan Everybody Digs Bill Evans
Paul Cotterell, Ron Osiowy, Joakim Sundström A Long Winter
Dario Swade, George Elliott, Tom Harburt Florid
The Richard Harris Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Actor to British Film
To be announced later
