‘Hunger’, ‘In Bruges’ and ‘The Escapist’ were all winners at Sunday night’s British Independent Film Awards at the Old Billingsgate Market in London.
Hosted by Irish actor James Nesbitt (Fairytales), the Cannes winning ‘Hunger’ picked up Best Director for Steve McQueen, Best Actor for Michael Fassbender and Best Cinematography for Sean Bobbitt.
Irish writer Martin McDonagh won best script for ‘In Bruges’, while ‘The Escapist’, co produced by Parallel Films, picked up Best Achievement in Production.
Vera Farmiga picked up the Best Actress award for her role in John Boyne’s ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ while actor David Thewlis, who also stars in the film, picked up The Richard Harris Award for outstanding contribution to British Film.
The nominees and winners are as follows:
BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM
++Slumdog Millionaire
Hunger
In Bruges
Man on Wire
Somers Town
BEST DIRECTOR
++Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire
Sponsored by The Creative Partnership
Mark Herman – The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Steve McQueen – Hunger
Shane Meadows – Somers Town
Garth Jennings – Son of Rambow
THE DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD [BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR]
++Steve McQueen – Hunger
James Watkins – Eden Lake
Rupert Wyatt – The Escapist
Martin McDonagh – In Bruges
Eran Creevy – Shifty
BEST SCREENPLAY
++Martin McDonagh – In Bruges
Sponsored by BBC Films
Enda Walsh, Steve McQueen – Hunger
Simon Beaufoy – Slumdog Millionaire
Paul Fraser – Somers Town
Garth Jennings – Son of Rambow
BEST ACTRESS
++Vera Farmiga – The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Sponsored by M.A.C.
Samantha Morton – The Daisy Chain
Keira Knightley – The Duchess
Kelly Reilly – Eden Lake
Sally Hawkins – Happy-Go-Lucky
BEST ACTOR
++Michael Fassbender – Hunger
Colin Farrell – In Bruges
Brendan Gleeson – In Bruges
Riz Ahmed – Shifty
Thomas Turgoose – Somers Town
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
++Alexis Zegerman – Happy-Go-Lucky
Emma Thompson – Brideshead Revisited
Hayley Atwell – The Duchess
Kristin Scott Thomas – Easy Virtue
Sienna Miller – The Edge of Love
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
++Eddie Marsan – Happy-Go-Lucky
Sponsored by Tiscali
Ralph Fiennes – The Duchess
Liam Cunningham – Hunger
Ralph Fiennes – In Bruges
Daniel Mays– Shifty
MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER
++Dev Patel – Slumdog Millionaire
Asa Butterfield – The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Ayush Mahesh Khedekar – Slumdog Millionaire
Bill Milner – Son of Rambow
Will Poulter – Son of Rambow
BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION
++The Escapist
Sponsored by Recorded Picture Company
The Daisy Chain
Hush
Shifty
Telstar
RAINDANCE AWARD
++Zebra Crossings
Clubbed
Flick
One Day Removals
BEST TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
++Cinematography – Sean Bobbitt – Hunger
Sponsored by Skillset
Wardrobe – Michael O’Connor – The Duchess
Editing – Jon Gregory – In Bruges
Music – Harry Escott, Molly Nyman – Shifty
Cinematography – Anthony Dod Mantle – Slumdog Millionaire
BEST DOCUMENTARY
++Man on Wire
Sponsored by Chapter Media
A Complete History of My Sexual Failures
Derek
Of Time and the City
Three Miles North of Molkom
BEST BRITISH SHORT
++Soft
Sponsored by Dailymotion
Alex and Her Arse Truck
Gone Fishing
Love Does Grow on Trees
Red Sands
BEST FOREIGN FILM
++Waltz with Bashir
The Diving Bell & The Butterfly
Gomorrah
I’ve Loved You So Long
Persepolis
THE RICHARD HARRIS AWARD (for outstanding contribution to British Film)
Sponsored by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
David Thewlis
THE VARIETY AWARD
Michael Sheen
THE SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Joe Dunton