British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) 2005: In Africa

• British Independent Film Awards 2005: Besides being named Best British Film, Fernando Meirelles’ The Constant Gardener also topped the Best Actor (Ralph Fiennes) and Best Actress (Rachel Weisz) categories. BIFA’s Best Director was Neil Marshall for The Descent.

British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) 2005: Fernando Meirelles’ sociopolitical romantic drama The Constant Gardener is top pick

Deemed, however weirdly, a “non-European” production at the European Film Awards, Fernando Meirelles’ sociopolitical romantic drama The Constant Gardener was named Best British Film at the 2005 British Independent Film Awards (BIFA), held on Nov. 30 at the Hammersmith Palais in London. (See full list of this year’s BIFA winners further below.)

Besides its Best British Film win – this may come as a shock to some, but the United Kingdom is actually very much a part of Europe – The Constant Gardener earned stars Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz Best Actor and Best Actress honors for their portrayal of a British couple – he’s a somewhat timid low-level diplomat, she’s a resolute social activist – who become entangled in Big Pharma’s deadly dirty deals in Africa.

Expect to see/hear more of The Constant Gardener this awards season on both sides of the North Atlantic. (If you call that “The Pond” you deserve be drowned in it.)

Horror thriller wins Best Director

Instead of Fernando Meirelles, Neil Marshall topped the Best Director category for the horror thriller The Descent, the story of a group of explorers trapped by a rockfall in a dark, creepy cavern inhabited by unneighborly humanoid creatures.

BIFA’s Best Screenplay winner was Frank Cotrell Boyce for the Danny Boyle-directed comedy-drama Millions, based on Boyce’s own children’s novel. Alex Etel, James Nesbitt, and Daisy Donovan star.

The Best Supporting Performance (male or female) award went to Rosamund Pike for Laurence Dunmore’s late 17th-century-set drama The Libertine, in which she is the wife of the titular character (played by U.S. actor Johnny Depp).

The Best Foreign Film was Oliver Hirschbiegel’s World War II drama Downfall, a chronicle of the psychotic last days of Adolf Hitler (played by veteran Bruno Ganz). This costly, controversial, and commercially successful German production beat three U.S. films – Jim Jarmusch’s Broken Flowers, Paul Haggis’ Crash, Nicole Kassell’s 2004 London Film Festival winner The Woodsman – in addition to Jonathan Jakubowicz’s Venezuelan crime drama Secuestro Express.

Immediately below is the full list of this year’s British Independent Film Award winners and nominees.

British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) 2005: Winners & nominations

Best British Film
A Cock and Bull Story / Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story
* The Constant Gardener
The Descent
The Libertine
Mrs. Henderson Presents

Best Foreign Film
Broken Flowers (United States)
Crash (United States)
* Downfall / Der Untergang (Germany)
Secuestro Express (Venezuela)
The Woodsman (United States)

Best Director
Michael Winterbottom – A Cock and Bull Story
Fernando Meirelles – The Constant Gardener
* Neil Marshall – The Descent
Laurence Dunmore – The Libertine
Stephen Frears – Mrs. Henderson Presents

Best Actor
* Ralph Fiennes – The Constant Gardener
Matthew Macfadyen – In My Father’s Den
Chiwetel Ejiofor – Kinky Boots
Johnny Depp – The Libertine
Bob Hoskins – Mrs. Henderson Presents

Best Actress
Natasha Richardson – Asylum
* Rachel Weisz – The Constant Gardener
Judi Dench – Mrs. Henderson Presents
Emily Watson – Wah-Wah
Joan Allen – Yes

Best Supporting Actress/Actor
Rob Brydon – A Cock and Bull Story
Bill Nighy – The Constant Gardener
* Rosamund Pike – The Libertine
Tom Hollander – The Libertine
Kelly Reilly – Mrs. Henderson Presents

Most Promising Newcomer
Thelma Barlow – Mrs. Henderson Presents
Alex Etel – Millions
* Emily Barclay – In My Father’s Den
Samina Awan – Love + Hate
Rupert Friend – The Libertine

Best Screenplay
A Cock and Bull Story – Martin Hardy
The Constant Gardener – Jeffrey Caine
Kinky Boots – Geoff Deane & Tim Firth
* Millions – Frank Cotrell Boyce
Mrs. Henderson Presents – Martin Sherman

Debut Director – Douglas Hickox Award
Gaby Dellal – On a Clear Day
Laurence Dunmore – The Libertine
Richard E. Grant – Wah-Wah
* Annie Griffin – Festival
Julian Jarrold – Kinky Boots

Best British Documentary
Andrew and Jeremy Get Married
Black Sun
* The Liberace of Baghdad
McLibel
Sisters in Law

Technical Achievement
César Charlone, Cinematography – The Constant Gardener
Peter Christelis, Editing – A Cock and Bull Story
* Jon Harris, Editing – The Descent
Sandy Powell, Costume Design – Mrs. Henderson Presents
Ben Van Os, Production Design – The Libertine

Achievement in Production
The Business
Guy X
* Gypo
It’s All Gone Pete Tong
Song of Songs

Best British Short
Can’t Stop Breathing
Dupe
Pitch Perfect
* Six Shooter

Raindance Award
Billy Childish Is Dead
* Evil Aliens
Sam Jackson’s Secret Video Diary

U.K. Personality of the Year
Keira Knightley – Pride & Prejudice, The Jacket, Domino

Richard Harris Award
Tilda Swinton

Special Jury Award
Sanford Lieberson (a.k.a. Sandy Lieberson)

“British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) 2005: In Africa” notes

British Independent Film Awards website.

Rachel Weisz and Ralph Fiennes The Constant Gardener image: Focus Features.

“British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) 2005: In Africa” last modified in March 2026.