British Independent Film Awards: ‘Kneecap’ Leads Nominations 

The subversive Irish flick Kneecap leads this year’s British Independent Film Award nominations with 14 nods, including Best Director and Best Screenplay.

Directed by Rich Peppiatt, the film’s impressive noms haul also includes nods for Best Debut Screenwriter, Best British Independent Film, and eight craft categories, including Best Casting and Best Cinematography. 

Kneecap debuted at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and has been picked to represent Ireland in the International Feature Film category of the 97th annual Academy Awards.

Trailing Kneecap is Rose Glass’ punk rock flick Love Lies Bleeding, which landed 12 nominations. The film’s noms include Best British Independent Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. The film’s two leads, Katy O’Brian and Kristen Stewart, also landed nods for Best Joint Lead Performance.

Elsewhere, Saoirse Ronan’s indie flick The Outrun landed nine noms, and Andrea Arnold’s fifth feature Bird picked up seven nods. 

Winners will be revealed at the BIFA awards ceremony on Sunday 8 December, which this year returns to the Roundhouse in Camden.

Check out the full list of noms below. 

Best British Independent Film

KNEECAP Rich Peppiatt, Trevor Birney, Jack Tarling

LOVE LIES BLEEDING Rose Glass, Weronika Tofilska, Andrea Cornwell, Oliver Kassman

ON BECOMING A GUINEA FOWL Rungano Nyoni, Tim Cole, Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe

THE OUTRUN Nora Fingscheidt, Amy Liptrot, Sarah Brocklehurst, Dominic Norris, Jack Lowden, Saoirse Ronan

SANTOSH Sandhya Suri, Mike Goodridge, James Bowsher, Balthazar de Ganay, Alan McAlex

Best International Independent Film sponsored by Champagne Taittinger

ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT Payal Kapadia, Thomas Hakim, Julien Graff

ANORA Sean Baker, Alex Coco, Samantha Quan

LA CHIMERA Alice Rohrwacher, Carlo Cresto-Dina, Paolo Del Brocco

NO OTHER LAND Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Fabrien Greenberg, Bård Kjøge Rønning

THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG Mohammad Rasoulof, Rozita Hendijanian, Amin Sadraei, Jean-Christophe Simon, Mani Tilgner

Best Director sponsored by Sky Cinema

ANDREA ARNOLD Bird

NORA FINGSCHEIDT The Outrun

ROSE GLASS Love Lies Bleeding

RUNGANO NYONI On Becoming a Guinea Fowl

RICH PEPPIATT Kneecap

Best Lead Performance

RADHIKA APTE Sister Midnight

SUSAN CHARDY On Becoming a Guinea Fowl

MARIANNE JEAN-BAPTISTE Hard Truths

ELLIOT PAGE Close to You

SAOIRSE RONAN The Outrun ALICIA VIKANDER The Assessment

Best Screenplay sponsored by Apple Original Films

NORA FINGSCHEIDT, AMY LIPTROT The Outrun

ROSE GLASS, WERONIKA TOFILSKA Love Lies Bleeding

RUNGANO NYONI On Becoming a Guinea Fowl

RICH PEPPIATT Kneecap SANDHYA SURI Santosh

Best Supporting Performance

MICHELE AUSTIN Hard Truths

ELIZABETH CHISELA On Becoming a Guinea Fowl

BARRY KEOGHAN Bird

JACK O’CONNELL Back to Black

FRANZ ROGOWSKI Bird HAYLEY SQUIRES Hoard

Best Joint Lead Performance

JOSEPH QUINN, SAURA LIGHTFOOT LEON Hoard

KATY O’BRIAN, KRISTEN STEWART Love Lies Bleeding

LIAM ÓG Ó HANNAIDH, NAOISE Ó CAIREALLÁIN, JJ Ó DOCHARTAIGH Kneecap JASON PATEL, BEN HARDY Unicorns

The Douglas Hickox Award
(Best Debut Director)
sponsored by BBC Film

CHRISTOPHER ANDREWS Bring Them Down

LUNA CARMOON Hoard

JAMES KRISHNA FLOYD Unicorns [also directed by Sally El Hosaini]

KARAN KANDHARI Sister Midnight

RICH PEPPIATT Kneecap

Breakthrough Producer
sponsored by Pinewood and Shepperton Studios

HOLLIE BRYAN, LUCY MEER The Ceremony

BALTHAZAR DE GANAY, JAMES BOWSHER Santosh [also produced by Mike Goodridge, Alan McAlex]

JACOB SWAN HYAM Bring Them Down [also produced by also produced by Julianne Ford, Ivana MacKinnon, Jean-Yves Roubin, Ruth Treacey, Cassandre Warnauts]

BEN TOYE Treading Water

REBECCA WOLFF Grand Theft Hamlet [also produced by Julia Ton]

Breakthrough Performance
sponsored by Netflix

NYKIYA ADAMS Bird

SUSAN CHARDY On Becoming a Guinea Fowl

SAURA LIGHTFOOT-LEON Hoard

RUARIDH MOLLICA Sebastian

JASON PATEL Unicorns

Best Debut Screenwriter
sponsored by Film4

JAMES KRISHNA FLOYD Unicorns

KARAN KANDHARI Sister Midnight

RICH PEPPIATT Kneecap

SANDHYA SURI Santosh

MRS & MR THOMAS The Assessment [also written by John Donnelly]

Best Debut Director – Feature Documentary

PINNY GRYLLS, SAM CRANE Grand Theft Hamlet

MANON OUIMET, JACOB PERLMUTTER Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other

RACHEL RAMSAY Copa 71 [also directed by James Erskine]

CLAIR TITLEY The Contestant

The Raindance Maverick Award

THE CEREMONY Jack King, Hollie Bryan, Lucy Meer

GRAND THEFT HAMLET Pinny Grylls, Sam Crane, Julia Ton, Rebecca Wolff

RESTLESS Jed Hart, Benedict Turnbull

SATU – THE YEAR OF THE RABBIT Joshua Trigg

WITCHES Elizabeth Sankey, Jeremy Warmsley, Chiara Ventura, Manon Ardisson

Best Feature Documentary sponsored by Intermission Film

THE CONTESTANT Clair Titley, Megumi Inman, Andee Ryder, Amit Dey, Ian Bonhôte

GRAND THEFT HAMLET Pinny Grylls, Sam Crane, Julia Ton, Rebecca Wolff

SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY Ian Bonhôte, Peter Ettedgui, Lizzie Gillett, Robert Ford

TWO STRANGERS TRYING NOT TO KILL EACH OTHER Jacob Perlmutter, Manon Ouimet, Signe Byrge Sørensen

WITCHES Elizabeth Sankey, Jeremy Warmsley, Chiara Ventura, Manon Ardisson

Best British Short Film

DELIVERY Ben Lankester, Bophanie Lun, Joe Binks

HOUSEWARMING Liam White, Guy Lindley

MEAT PUPPET Eros V, Masha Thorpe, Leah Draws

A MOVE Elahe Esmaili, Hossein Behboudi Rad

WANDER TO WONDER Nina Gantz, Stienette Bosklopper, Simon Cartwright, Daan Bakker, Maarten Swart

Best Casting
sponsored by Casting Society & Spotlight

HEATHER BASTEN Hoard

ISABELLA ODOFFIN On Becoming a Guinea Fowl

LUCY PARDEE Bird

CARLA STRONGE Kneecap

MARY VERNIEU, LINDSAY GRAHAM AHANONU Love Lies Bleeding

Best Cinematography
sponsored by Kodak & Molinare

PAWEL EDELMAN Lee

BEN FORDESMAN Love Lies Bleeding

ROB HARDY Civil War

YUNUS ROY IMER The Outrun

RYAN KERNAGHAN Kneecap

Best Costume Design

ZJENA GLAMOCANIN Kneecap

MEGHAN KASPERLIK Civil War

OLGA MILL Love Lies Bleeding

NIRAGE MIRAGE Unicorns

MICHAEL O’CONNOR Firebrand

Best Editing

STEPHEN BECHINGER The Outrun

JOE BINI Bird

MARGARIDA CARTAXO, STUART DAVIDSON Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger

JAKE ROBERTS Civil War J

ULIAN ULRICHS, CHRIS GILL Kneecap

Best Effects

JAMES ALLEN Love Lies Bleeding

GLEN MCGUIGAN, INGO PUTZE Lee

DAVID SIMPSON Civil War

Best Music Supervision

IAIN COOKE, GILES MARTIN Back to Black

KLE SAVIDGE Sister Midnight

GARY WELCH, JEANETTE REHNSTROM Kneecap

Best Make-Up & Hair Design

MEGAN DAUM, FRIEDA VALENZUELA Love Lies Bleeding

PETA DUNSTALL Back to Black

KAT MORGAN The Outrun

LISA MUSTAFA Unicorns

JENNY SHIRCORE Firebrand

Best Original Music
sponsored by Universal Music Publishing Group

MICHAEL ‘MIKEY J’ ASANTE Kneecap

BURIAL Bird

STUART EARL Unicorns

JOHN GÜRTLER, JAN MISERRE The Outrun

CLINT MANSELL Love Lies Bleeding

Best Production Design
sponsored by ATC & Broadsword

BOBBIE COUSINS Hoard

JAN HOULLEVIGUE The Assessment

KATIE HICKMAN Love Lies Bleeding

CATY MAXEY Civil War

NICOLA MORONEY Kneecap

Best Sound

LOUISE BURTON, BRENDAN REHILL, AZA HAND, SIMON KERR Kneecap

PAUL DAVIES, ANDREW STIRK, LINDA FORSÉN, ROSE BLADH, TIM BURNS Love Lies Bleeding

GLEN FREEMANTLE Civil War

DOMINIK LEUBE, OSCAR STIEBITZ, JONATHAN SCHORR, GREGOR BONSE The Outrun

MIKE PRESTWOOD SMITH, CSABA MAJOR, JIMMY BOYLE Lee