British Independent Film Awards Nominations: My Father’s Shadow Leads

According to CinemaDrame News Agency, My Father’s Shadow, directed by Akinola Davies Jr., leads the nominations at the 2025 British Independent Film Awards (BIFA). The film, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and explores the political turmoil in Nigeria in 1993, has received 12 nominations, including Best British Independent Film and Best Director.

The LGBTQ+ drama Pillion, starring Alexander Skarsgård, follows with 10 nominations in categories such as Best Director and Best Screenplay, while It Was Just an Accident, directed by Jafar Panahi, has earned a nomination for Best International Independent Film. I Swear has received 9 nominations, Die My Love by Lynne Ramsay has 8, and Urchin follows with 6, making them some of the most recognized titles of the year.

The British Independent Film Awards will be presented on November 30, 2025 (9 Azar 1404).

Full list of nominees for the 2025 British Independent Film Awards:

Best British Independent Film
Urchin
I Swear
My Father’s Shadow
The Ballad of Wallis Island
Pillion

Best Lead Performance
Robert Aramayo – I Swear
Frank Dillane – Urchin
David Jonsson – Wasteman
Jennifer Lawrence – Die My Love
Harry Melling – Pillion
Cillian Murphy – Steve

Best Supporting Performance
Tom Blyth – Wasteman
Scott Ellis Watson – I Swear
Jay Lycurgo – Steve
Peter Mullan – I Swear
Maxine Peake – I Swear
Alexander Skarsgård – Pillion

Best Joint Performance
Abadeh Hassan & Safiye Engar – Brides
Tim Key & Tom Basden – The Ballad of Wallis Island
Andrea Riseborough & Brenda Blethyn – Dragonfly

Best Director
Laura Carreira – On Falling
Akinola Davies Jr. – My Father’s Shadow
Kirk Jones – I Swear
Harry Leighton – Pillion
Lynne Ramsay – Die My Love

Best Screenplay
The Ballad of Wallis Island
Laura Carreira – On Falling
My Father’s Shadow
I Swear
Pillion

Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director)
Laura Carreira – On Falling
Akinola Davies Jr. – My Father’s Shadow
Harris Dickinson – Urchin
Harry Leighton – Pillion
Cal McMaho – Wasteman

Breakthrough Producer
Wayne Baptiste – Shoot the People
Charlotte Knowles – Palestine Comedy Club
Joanne Kushner – Lifehack
Daraj Mahi – Ish
Archie Perch – Urchin

Breakthrough Performance
Scott Ellis Watson – I Swear
Abadeh Hassan – Brides
Safiye Engar – Brides
Posie Sterling – Lollipop
Connor Tomkins – The Son and the Sea

Best Debut Screenwriter
Hunter Andrews & Ian Doran – Wasteman
Tom Basden & Tim Key – The Ballad of Wallis Island
Laura Carreira – On Falling
Val Davies – My Father’s Shadow
Harry Leighton – Pillion

Best Documentary
Antidote
Mother Vera
Motherboard
The Shepherd and the Bear
A Want in Her

Best Debut Documentary Director
Miread Carton – A Want in Her
Cecile Embleton & Alice Tomlinson – Mother Vera
Victoria Mapplebeck – Motherboard

Raindance Maverick Award
Foul Evil Deeds
Holloway
Mother Vera
Motherboard
A Want in Her

Best International Independent Film
It Was Just an Accident
Sentimental Value
Sirāt
Sorry, Baby
Sound of Falling

Best Casting
Shaheen Baig – Brides
Shaheen Baig – Urchin
Carmel Cochrane – Warfare
Lauren Evans – I Swear
Robert Sterne – Steve

Best Cinematography
H Is for Hawk
Jermaine Edwards – My Father’s Shadow
Cecile Embleton – Mother Vera
Seamus McGarvey – Die My Love
Piotr Niemyjski – A Pale View of Hills

Best Costume Design
100 Nights of Hero
Tornado
Pillion
A Pale View of Hills
My Father’s Shadow

Best Editing
Lifehack
My Father’s Shadow
Warfare
One to One: John & Yoko
Pillion

Best Visual Effects
Warfare
Die My Love
The Thing With Feathers

Best Music Supervision
Wasteman
Die My Love
Urchin

Best Make-Up & Hair Design
My Father’s Shadow
Pillion
Warfare
Die My Love
100 Nights of Hero

Best Original Music
Tom Basden & Adem Ilhan – The Ballad of Wallis Island
Bobby Krlic – Anemone
Jed Kurzel – Tornado
C.J. Mirra – My Father’s Shadow
Steven Price – Ocean With David Attenborough

Best Production Design
Jennifer & Pablo Antti – My Father’s Shadow
Mark Digby – Warfare
Tim Grimes – Die My Love
Nathan Parker – Harvest
Sophia Saccomani – 100 Nights of Hero

Best Sound
Anemone
Die My Love
Ish
My Father’s Shadow
Warfare

Best British Short Film
Flock
Magid/Zafar
A Sisyphean Task
Stomach Bug
Two Black Boys in Paradise

Cinema of the Year
Depot Cinema
The Magic Lantern Cinema
Montrose Playhouse
Queen’s Film Theatre
Watershed