01/12/2005

The ceremony of the 8th annual British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) held last night in London was a triumph for Brazilian director Fermando Meirelles’ The Constant Gardener [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] which won three top awards for Best Independent Film, Best Actor (Ralph Fiennes) and Best Actress (Rachel Weisz). The sweeping tale of romance set in Africa was a personal success for UK producer Simon Channing Williams, regular partner to filmmaker Mike Leigh whose Vera Drake dominated last year’s BIFAs with six major awards.

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Neil Marshall’s horror film The Descent [+see also:
trailer
film profile] took the Best Director Award, surprisingly beating Stephen Frears for Mrs Henderson Presents, the favourite among the nominees, which left empty handed. The Descent also won Best Technical Achievement for the film’s editor Jon Harris.
Scriptwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce, regular collaborator to Michael Winterbottom, won this year for Danny Boyle’s Millions [+see also:
trailer
film profile]; two rising young UK actresses Rosamund Pike and Emily Barclay were awarded respectively for Best Supporting Actress in the costume film The Libertine [+see also:
trailer
film profile], and for Most Promising Newcomer in the UK/New Zealand co-production In My Father’s Den.
Annie Griffin’s debut feature Festival added last night the ‘Douglas Hickox Award’ (Debut Director) to her already full list of awards from Stockholm (Best Script) and Baftas Scotland (Best Actor and Best Director).
Oliver Hirschbiegel’s Downfall [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bernd Eichinger
interview: Joachim Fest
interview: Oliver Hirschbiegel
film profile] released by Momentum Distribution which is now the biggest German earner in the UK with over £1.5m (€ 2.2m) gross, took the Best Foreign Independent Film Award, while the Best Documentary Award went to Sean McAllister’s The Liberace of Baghdad.

As previously announced, two prominent yet totally different UK actresses received special honours at the BIFAs: Keira Knightley was handed out the Variety UK personality Award, and Tilda Swinton the Richard Harris Award given annually to recognise outstanding achievement to the craft.