Alex Garland’s sci-fi thriller won four awards, while Tom Hardy and Saoirse Ronan also went home with gongs at The British Independent Film Awards.
Another day and another red carpet was thrown down on Sunday evening in London to celebrate indie British cinema at Old Billingstate where actor/writer/director Richard Ayoade hosted the Moët British Independent Film Awards.
Heading up the nominations was Yorgos Lanthimos’ Cannes movie, THE LOBSTER LED, which led the pack with seven nominations, but by the end of the ceremony, it took only one, for Olivia Colman in Supporting Actress. In fact, it was Alex Garland’s EX MACHINA that stole the ceremony, scooping the most prizes, including Best British Independent Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Outstanding Achievement in Craft for its Visual Effects, by Andrew Whitehurst.
One of the big winners on the night was notably absent: Tom Hardy. He was unable to attend the ceremony due to is to his commitments for his new film, THE REVENANT. The special screening took place at the same time, so Hardy could only be in one place at once so opted to join his co-star Leonardo DiCaprio for the BAFTA screening of their movie in London’s Leicester Square.
Despite his absence, the British actor ended up winning the big prize – Best Actor.
Hardy withstood some tough competition against Tom Courteney for 45 YEARS, Colin Farrell for THE LOBSTER, Michael Fassbender for MACBETH and Tom Hiddleston for HIGH RISE . However, it was Hardy who won the coveted award for his performance as Ron and Reggie Kray in LEGEND.
His THE REVENANT co-star Domhnall Gleeson accepted the award on his behalf. The Irish actor was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for BROOKLYN, but was beaten by his own father Brendan Gleeson, who was in the same category for his performance in SUFFRAGETTE.
To add insult to injury, Domhnall ended up accepting Brendan’s award on his behalf too as he was also absent!
Elsewhere on the night, Oscar-tipped Saoirse Ronan won the best actress award for her performance in BROOKLYN, beating Alicia Vikander for EX MACHINA, Carey Mulligan for SUFFRAGETTE, Marion Cotillard for MACBETH and Charlotte Rampling for 45 YEARS.
Arguably the biggest shock of the night came in the documentary section, where AMY — which last week made it to the Academy’s shortlist — lost out to DARK HORSE: THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF DREAM ALLIANCE, Louise Osmond‘s story of a group of Welsh villagers who decide to breed a racehorse.
Another Oscar frontrunner, ROOM, was named best international independent film, with its young star, Jacob Tremblay, on hand to collect the award.
Old Billingsgate Market was guest of honour Kate Winslet, who received the Variety Award, which honours British film-makers or stars who have made a global inpact.
The full list of winners is below:
BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM
Ex Machina, Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich, Alex Garland
BEST DIRECTOR
Alex Garland, Ex Machina
BEST ACTRESS
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
BEST ACTOR
Tom Hardy, Legend
DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD FOR BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR
Stephen Fingleton, The Survivalist
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
Paul Katis & Andrew De Lotbiniere, Kajaki: The True Story
BEST SCREENPLAY
Alex Garland, Ex Machina
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Dark Horse: The Incredible True Story Of Dream Alliance, Judith Dawson, Louise Osmond
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Olivia Colman, The Lobster
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Brendan Gleeson, Suffragette
THE DISCOVERY AWARD
Orion: THe Man Who Would Be King, Jeanie Finlay
BEST INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM
Room, Ed Guiney, David Gross, Emma Donoghue, Lenny Abrahamson
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CRAFT
Andrew Whitehurst, Visual Effects, Ex Machina
BEST BRITISH SHORT FILM
Edmond, Emilie Jouffroy, Nina Gantz
MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER
Abigail Hardingham, Nina Forever
[…] It must have been a difficult choice for Hardy who was nominated for the coveted Best Actor award at the Moet British Independent Film Awards two miles away in the City of London – where he ended up winning the big prize. – You can read all of the information about the big winners here. […]
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