A debut film about a recently widowed woman coming to terms with her late husband’s shocking secret has become the main winner of Britain’s independent film awards.
Filmmaker Aleem Khan’s After Love picked up six awards at Sunday night’s ceremony hosted by comedian Asim Chaudhry. They included Best British Independent Film, Best Director, Douglas Hickox Award for Best Debut Director and Best Screenplay. Joanna Scanlan also won Best Actress and Talid Ariss Best Supporting Actor for their performances in the film.
Scanlan, who is best known for her comedic work on shows such as Getting On and The Thick of It, plays Mary, a white Englishwoman who converted to Islam many years ago to marry Ahmed (Nasser Memarzia ), with whom she lives near the Cliffs of Dover. But when Ahmed dies suddenly, Mary discovers that the husband she thought she knew was leading a secret life in Calais, making her question her relationship, culture and identity.
Khan, who won acclaim for shorts such as 2014’s Three Brothers, has spoken widely about how growing up Muslim and gay led him to direct “two very separate personal lives for a long time” – a feeling that runs through the film.
Meanwhile, the Best Actor award went to Adeel Akhtar for his role in Clio Barnard’s Forbidden Love Story Ali & Ava. Connie Farr and Harry Escot won Best Music for their work on the same film.
The Best Supporting Actress award went to Vinette Robinson for her work in Philip Barantini’s one-shot restaurant cooking drama Boiling Point. The film, which premiered to acclaim at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Czech Republic, also received awards for Best Cast, Best Cinematography and Best Sound.
The Bifas spotlight and celebrate the best independent British films and filmmakers and the best prospects, with nominees and winners selected by the industry.
This year’s breakthrough award went to Nell Barlow, star of Marley Morrison’s debut album at UK holiday park Sweetheart, who also won the breakthrough producer award for Michelle Antoniades.
Cathy Brady won Best Debut Screenwriter for Wildfire, which follows two sisters from Northern Ireland reconnecting with each other and their past.
Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché, Paul Sng and Celeste Bell’s intimate film about the titular punk figure and X-ray singer Spex, won Best Documentary, while Best British Short went to WOMAN , about a grim evening for a gay woman .
Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s Flee, the animated real-life story of a refugee childhood’s hidden past, won Best International Independent Film. The Souvenir Part II, Joanna Hogg’s sequel to her critically acclaimed 2019 feature film, received awards for Best Costume Design, Best Editing and Best Production Design.
The award for Best Effects went to Horror Dashcam On The Road and Best Makeup and Hairstyling went to period biopic The Electric Life of Louis Wain.
The Richard Harris Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Actor to British Cinema went to Riz Ahmed, who missed the Best Actor gong for his role in Encounter. The Special Jury Prize from the Bifa Main Jury went to Raising Films, the groundbreaking organization that supports and campaigns for parents and carers working in the UK screen industry.
Complete list of rewards
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Best British independent movie After Love
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Best Director Aleem Khan, After Love
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Best Screenplay Aleem Khan, After Love
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Best Actress Joanna Scanlan, After Love
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Best actor Adel Akhtar, Ali and Ava
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Best Supporting Actress Barberry Robinson, boiling point
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Best Supporting Actor Talid Ariss, After Love
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Douglas Hickox Award (For First Director) Aleem Khan, After Love
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Breakthrough Producer Michelle Antoniades, darling
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Revolutionary performance Nell Barlow, honey
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Best First Screenwriter Cathy Brady, Wildfire
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Best Documentary Poly Styrene: I’m a cliché
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Raindance Discovery Award Poly Styrene: I’m a cliché
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Best British Short Film Women
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Best International Independent Film To flee
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Best cast Boiling point
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Best Cinematography Boiling point
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Best Costume Design Remembrance Part II
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Best Editing Remembrance Part II
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Best Music Ali and Ava
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Best brandhair and hair design The Electric Life of Louis Wain
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Best Effects dash cam
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Best Production Design Remembrance Part II
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best sound Boiling point
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The Richard Harris Price for remarkable the contribution of a british actor movie Rice Ahmad
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the special jury price Raising Movies
