2009 British Independent Film Award Nominations
Katie Jarvis in Fish Tank (top); Sam Rockwell in Moon (middle); Carey Mulligan, Dominic Cooper in An Education (bottom)
Andrea Arnold’s Fish Tank leads the list of 2009 British Independent Film Award nominees.
The tale of a rough teenager (Katie Jarvis) whose life is upended after her mother gets a new boyfriend, Fish Tank was shortlisted in eight categories including best independent British film, best director, best screenplay (Arnold), best actress (Jarvis), best supporting actress (Kierston Wareing), best supporting actor (2008 BIFA best actor winner Michael Fassbender), and most promising newcomer (also Jarvis).
Duncan Jones‘ feature-film debut, the sci-fi thriller Moon, received seven nominations including best British film, best director, best debut director, and best actor (Sam Rockwell).
Lone Scherfig’s An Education, about a London schoolgirl (best actress nominee Carey Mulligan) who falls for a man in his 30s; Armando Iannucci’s political comedy In the Loop; and Sam Taylor Wood’s John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy each garnered six nominations.
Best foreign film nominees include Paolo Sorrentino’s Il Divo, a clever look at former Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti and the netherworld of Italian politics; Kathryn Bigelow’s Iraq War drama The Hurt Locker; and Tomas Alfredson’s Swedish vampire tale Let the Right One In.
Curiously, Jane Campion’s Bright Star, about the short-lived love affair between poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne, was shortlisted in four categories including best director, best actress (Abbie Cornish), and best supporting actress (Kerry Fox) — but not best film, best screenplay, best actor (Ben Whishaw), or best supporting actor (the much-praised Paul Schneider).
Also absent from the British Independent Film Award list of nominees are Christopher Plummer and Heath Ledger for The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus; Emma Thompson, Peter Sarsgaard, and Cara Seymour for An Education; and filmmaker Ken Loach for Looking for Eric.
Of note: three of the five best director nominees are women (Campion, Scherfig, and Arnold), in addition to actress-turned-filmmaker Samantha Morton (for The Unloved) in the best debut director category.
Also worthy of note, especially considering that truly small movies — no matter how good — hardly ever get recognized by award-giving groups (including those promoting “independent” films), are this year’s Raindance Award nominations for films made against the odds: Marc Price’s zombie-horror Colin, J. Blakeson’s drama The Disappearance of Alice Creed, Ben Wheatley’s comedy Down Terrace, Stuart Hazeldine’s thriller Exam (above), and Gordon Mason’s documentary They Call It Acid.
Daniel Day-Lewis, whose latest vehicle, Nine, opens later this year in the US, will be honored with the Richard Harris Award for outstanding contribution to British film.
The British Independent Film Award nominees are selected by an Advisory Committee whose members are supposed to have watched more than 200 films before making their selections. To be considered for this year’s awards, a film must have had a public, paid screening or UK festival screening between December 1, 2008, and November 30, 2009. Its budget cannot exceed £10 million (US$ 20 million).
Among those in the jury panel who’ll be voting for this year’s winners are actors Jodie Whittaker, Idris Elba, Liam Cunningham, Eddie Marsan and Peter Mullan, documentary filmmaker Kate Blewett, and directors Sarah Gavron and Eran Creevy.
Among previous BIFA winners that have gone on to win or be nominated for awards elsewhere are Slumdog Millionaire, Waltz with Bashir, The Lives of Others, City of God, Mike Leigh for Vera Drake, Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener, Viggo Mortensen for Eastern Promises, Steve McQueen for Hunger, and Stephen Daldry for Billy Elliot.
The British Independent Film Award winners will be announced on Sunday, Dec. 6, at The Brewery in London. James Nesbitt will host the ceremony.
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Tags: An Education, Andrea Arnold, Bright Star, British Independent Film Awards, Carey Mulligan, Daniel Day-Lewis, Duncan Jones, Film Awards, Fish Tank, Jane Campion, Katie Jarvis, Lone Scherfig, Moon, Sam Rockwell
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Michael Fassbender for the Oscars!!!!!!!!