BIFA Nominations Announced

Shane Meadows' Dead Man's Shoe's is deservedly up for eight of the nine categories it's eligible for.

Oct 27 2004

This year's nominations for the 7th Annual British Independent Film Awards seem to have been taken straight from Time Out's Film of the Week review. My Summer of Love, Old Boy, Dead Man's Shoes, Hero… oh alright, so we can't take all (or actually any of) the credit - some of it has to go to the writers, directors, cast and crew who have supplied us with an unforgettable array of incredible films this year.

'This year's nominees reflect the growing strength and diversity of British independent filmmaking,' says BIFA founder and director, Elliot Grove, 'Our selection committee had a harder time than ever narrowing down the field. It's also extremely gratifying to see two of our past Douglas Hickox Award (for Best Directorial Debut) winners following through on the promise they showed: both Kevin Macdonald and Shane Meadows were recognised by BIFA for their first feature films and both are nominated this year in the Best Director category.'

Shane Meadows, more than any other, certainly has followed through on the promise he showed. His excellent small-town revenge flick, Dead Man's Shoe's is deservedly up for eight of the nine categories it's eligible for: Best British Independent Film, Best Actor (Paddy Considine), Best Supporting Actor (Gary Stretch), Best Director (Shane Meadows) and Best Screenplay.

There's tough competition though as several other films have also received multiple nominations - Mike Leigh's, Vera Drake, bagged seven. There are only two categories that Meadows' and Leigh's films are not in competition for - Best Actress and Most Promising Newcomer. Imelda Staunton, who gave a powerful portrayal of Vera Drake, an abortionist in the 1950s, is in competition with Natalie Press (My Summer of Love), Eva Birthistle (Ae Fond Kiss), Anne Reid (The Mother) and Scarlett Johansson (Girl with the Pearl Earring) for the title of Best Actress. Toby Kebell, who gave a superbly understated performance as Paddy Considine's younger, mentally handicapped brother in Dead Man's Shoes, is up against Emily Blunt (My Summer of Love), Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead), Ashley Walters (Bullet Boy) and Atta Yaqub (Ae Fond Kiss) for Most Promising Newcomer.

Meadows himself is up for Best Director and Best Screenplay (co-written with Paddy Considine), facing not only Mike Leigh in both categories, but Kevin McDonald (Touching the Void), Pawel Pawlikowsky (My Summer of Love), and Roger Michel (Enduring Love) for Best Director, and Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead), Paul Laverty (Ae Fond Kiss) and Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (The Life and Death of Peter Sellers) for Best Screenplay.

Other notable nominations are Matthew Vaughn for the Best Debut Director (Layer Cake) and Romola Garai (Inside I'm Dancing).

The awards will be held on Tuesday November 30 at Hammersmith Palais - Time Out, of course, will cover the Meadows vs Leigh showdown, and let you know who takes the title of British Indie Film King 2004.

Aleida Strowger

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