The British Independent Film Award Nominations Are In!

The winners of the British Independent Film Awards will be announced in a ceremony to be held on December 6 in the Old Billingsgate in London.

The nominations were announced today with The Lobster, Macbeth and Suffragette all leading the charge. I've put who I'd like to win so far in bold, but there's quite a few films that I have yet to see on this list including 45 Years, Brooklyn and The Danish Girl so things could change before the awards. Please click any of the titles of the films I have seen for my full reviews.

UPDATE: Winners are now written in large!

Here is the complete list:

Best Actor:

• Colin Farrell for The Lobster
• Michael Fassbender for Macbeth
• Tom Courtenay for 45 Years
• Tom Hardy for Legend
• Tom Hiddleston for High-Rise 

This one is really tough but Tom Hardy deserves it for tackling dual roles and for sheer entertainment value.

 Best Supporting Actor:

• Ben Whishaw for The Lobster
• Brendan Gleeson for Suffragette
• Domhnall Gleeson for Brooklyn
• Luke Evans for High-Rise
• Sean Harris for Macbeth

 I suspect I may be eating my words on this one, once I've seen Brooklyn. 

 Best Actress:

• Alicia Vikander for The Danish Girl
• Carey Mulligan for Suffragette
• Charlotte Rampling for 45 Years
• Marion Cotillard for Macbeth
• Saoirse Ronan for Brooklyn

So far I think Mulligan deserves this, but there are three nominees on here whose performances I still need to see.

Best Supporting Actress:

• Anne Marie Duff for Suffragette
• Helena Bonham Carter for Suffragette
• Julie Walters for Brooklyn
• Olivia Colman for The Lobster
• Sienna Miller for High-Rise

Of the four performances I have seen here, Anne Marie Duff is the clear winner. Really glad to see her nominated.

 Best Director:

• 45 Years Andrew Haigh
• Amy Asif Kapadia
• Ex Machina Alex Garland
• The Lobster Yorgos Lanthimos
• Macbeth Justin Kurzel

This is the toughest category to call. Of the four I have seen, they are all brilliant and well-deserving. I don't understand why Alex Garland isn't in the debut director category as that would make this decision easier. 

 Best Documentary:

• Amy
• Dark Horse: The Incredible True Story of Dream Alliance
• How to Change the World
• Palio
• A Syrian Love Story

 I've only seen Amy and Palio, but it's hard to imagine a better documentary than Amy this year.

 Best Debut Director:

• The Hallow Corin Hardy
• Kajaki: The True Story Paul Katis
• Nina Forever Chris Blaine, Ben Blaine
• Slow West John Maclean
• The Survivalist Stephen Fingleton

 I've only seen Slow West and The Survivalist, so I'd go with Stephen Fingleton for this one. 

  Best Screenplay:

• 45 Years Andrew Haigh
• Brooklyn Nick Hornby
• Ex Machina Alex Garland
• High-Rise Amy Jump
• The Lobster Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthymis Filippou

 I loved Ex Machina and I haven't seen Brooklyn yet. The first half of The Lobster would also be a very worthy winner, but perhaps not the second half. Not sure you can give half a film an award though.

 Best British Independent Film:

• 45 Years Andrew Haigh
• Brooklyn Nick Hornby
• Ex Machina  Alex Garland
• High-Rise Amy Jump
• The Lobster Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthymis Filippou 

Now I think I'm becoming a bit too predictable, but until I see Brooklyn, there is no competition.

 Most Promising Newcomer:

• Mr Holmes
• Nina Forever
• A Royal Night Out
• Sunset Song
• The Survivalist 

 I've only seen The Survivalist and A Royal Night Out, so again, I stand with Fingleton!

Producer of the Year:

• 45 Years
• Amy
• Kajaki: The True Story
• The Lobster
• The Violators

I've only seen Amy and The Lobster, but I suspect Amy was probably the trickier film to get made and a bigger achievement.

 Outstanding Achievement in Craft:

• Editing - Chris King for Amy
• Casting - Fiona Weir for Brooklyn
• Production Design - Mark Digby for Ex Machina 
• VFX - Andrew Whitehurst for Ex Machina 
• Cinematography - Adam Arkapaw for Macbeth 

Another incredibly tough category. Macbeth's cinematography, Amy's editing and both the VFX and production design for Ex Machina are all top-notch. Very hard to call.

The Discovery Award:

• Aaaaaaaah!
• Burn Burn Burn
• Orion: The Man Who Would Be King
• The Return
• Winter

 This is my category of shame. Not seen a single one of these.

 Best British Short:

• Balcony
• Crack
• Edmond
• Love Is Blind
• MANoMAN

 Another category of shame. 

 Best International Independent Film:

• Carol
• Force Majeure
• Girlhood
• Room
• Son of Saul

Really hope Son of Saul gets this but I doubt it has a chance against Carol.

What do you think of the nominees? 

The Lobster Review and Trailer (Cannes 2015)

Being single might be a nightmare for some, but spare a thought for poor Colin Farrell, who in The Lobster plays a man running out of time to find a mate, or else he will be turned into the titular sea creature. The Lobster takes the viewer to an odd alternate reality where the social pressure to escape a solitary existence is exaggerated by the powers that be, who keep strict controls on the single population.

David (Colin Farrell) is the paunchy, unlucky-in-love man whose previous relationship lasted almost twelve years, but is now booked in to a hotel where singles are forced to either pair up for life, or they will be transformed into an animal of their choice. David chooses to become a lobster but on arrival at the hotel, is given matching suits with the other male members, and 45 days to find a female partner. Accompanied by his brother, who was unsuccessful in his quest for love and so is now a dog, David meets fellow single men Robert (John C. Reilly) and John (Ben Whishaw) and begins the search for his perfect match. The singles are kept segregated from those that have formed into blossoming couples and are attempting to make a go of relationships. If the stress of finding a lover wasn’t enough, the singles are forced to hunt for ‘loners’ who have opted out of ordinary society and now live a wild existence in nearby woods. Catch one of these socially unacceptable loners and the singletons buy themselves extra days to stay in the hotel.

Loved this film! Read the rest of my review of The Lobster from Cannes 2015 over at Tastic Film.  

Watch the trailer below:

Cannes Film Festival Day 2 and 3: Mad Max Fury Road, Son of Saul, The Lobster

I have seen a further six films over the past couple of days after catching my first two films at the 68th Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday, I saw:

Mad Max: Fury Road
One Floor Below
Son of Saul
The Lobster
Irrational Man
The Fourth Direction

Click the titles for reviews that I have gotten around to writing.

I also met Jamie Graham from Total Film and he actually knew who I was from Twitter which was pretty incredible to me. Unfortunately he didn't offer me a job right then and there on the spot, funnily enough.

Come back for more updates from the festival soon or check out my Cannes page here.