Britain’s biggest independent film festival, Raindance is recognised for championing maverick filmmaking on a limited budget. Raindance celebrates these creative, cash-conscious and risk-taking filmmakers with the Raindance Maverick Award at the annual BIFAs (British Independent Film Awards C.I.C), the awards ceremony founded by Raindance in 1998. This award honours maverick films made with a budget of under £1M.
This year’s BIFA Raindance Maverick Award longlist comprises 13 remarkable films, split between documentaries and features, and encompassing everything from the 1980s miners’ strike to the cinematic portrayal of witches, from modern fairytales to radical thrillers.
“The Raindance Maverick Award longlist captures the essence of independent cinema at its purest, rebellious and unapologetic best,” shares Elliot Grove, founder of Raindance and BIFA. “Raindance will always be a place to discover the mavericks, so we are thrilled to spotlight this selection of risk-takers.”
Shot entirely inside the video game Grand Theft Auto, GRAND THEFT HAMLET charts the story of two out-of-work actors trying to stage a production of Hamlet within this violent digital world. Part therapy, part road trip, in SILENT MEN BAFTA-winning filmmaker Duncan Cowles asks men how they show their emotions, to help him confront his own struggles with opening up to loved ones. Best Documentary Audience Award winner at Sheffield DocFest, STRIKE: AN UNCIVIL WAR uses personal testimony, formerly hidden government documents, and unseen archive footage to tell the story of the Battle of Orgreave during the miners’ strike of 1984/85. THE FLIGHT OF BRYAN charts how an unemployed amateur cyclist, an in-debt father-of-three, together with a rag-tag team of neuro-diverse outliers, set out to untangle the mystery of human powered flight and in doing so win the most coveted prize in aviation. THE STIMMING POOL is a hybrid film that presents the possibilities of a world informed by autistic perspectives and perception. Genre-busting documentary TOPS sees an invasive TV presenter explore trans masc experiences across the UK with a satirical odyssey through the lives and homes of four unique individuals. Acclaimed at festivals including LFF and Tribeca, WITCHES examines the relationship between cinematic portrayals of witches and postpartum depression, utilizing film history footage alongside personal testimony.
KING BABY is a modern fairytale set in a kingdom populated only by a King and a Servant, whose carefully constructed world is thrown by the arrival of a mannequin Queen. The second feature from BAFTA-nominated writer-director Virginia Gilbert, and starring Jared Harris and Juliet Stevenson, REAWAKENING is the powerful tale of a couple whose only child ran away from home when she was fourteen, and ten years later she returns. In RESTLESS, the quiet life of an empty nester is turned upside down when hard partying, and potentially dangerous, new neighbours move in. Having premiered at this year’s Raindance Film Festival, SATU – YEAR OF THE RABBIT follows an orphan child labourer in Laos who goes in search of his long lost mother, accompanied by a young photojournalist. THE CEREMONY follows two migrant workers whose quest to find a burial ground for a departed colleague is hampered by their differences. TREADING WATER portrays a man, newly released from prison, who is struggling with addiction and mental health issues, and whose obsession with a past love leads to tragic consequences.
FULL LONGLIST:
- THE CEREMONY – Jack King, Hollie Bryan, Lucy Meer
- THE FLIGHT OF BRYAN – James Erskine, Victoria Gregory, Philipp Manderla
- GRAND THEFT HAMLET – Pinny Grylls, Sam Crane, Julia Ton, Rebecca Wolff
- KING BABY – Arran Shearing, Kit Redstone
- REAWAKENING – Virginia Gilbert, Barry Castagnola
- RESTLESS – Jed Hart, Benedict Turnbull
- SATU – YEAR OF THE RABBIT – Joshua Trigg
- SILENT MEN – Duncan Cowles
- THE STIMMING POOL – Robin Elliot Knowles, Sam Chown Ahern, Benjamin Brown, Steven Eastwood, Georgia Bradburn, Lucy Walker, Chloe White
- STRIKE: AN UNCIVIL WAR – Daniel Gordon, Nick Taussig, Fjolla Iberhysaj
- TOPS – Ames Pennington, Archie Sinclair
- TREADING WATER – Gino Evans, Ben Toye
- WITCHES – Elizabeth Sankey, Jeremy Warmsley, Chiara Ventura, Manon Ardisson
The BIFA Raindance Maverick Award was presented in 2023 to Alice Russell and Gannesh Rajah for IF THE STREETS WERE ON FIRE, documenting a rebellious group of young people who tear through London’s streets in the name of ‘Knives Down, Bikes Up’. Funded through the BFI Doc Society, this powerful film exploring the increase of youth violence in London also won the 2023 BIFA for Best Feature Documentary.
The final list of nominations will be announced on Tuesday 5th November.
Winner announcements at the BIFA awards ceremony on Sunday 8th December.
