35 features have made it onto the British Independent Film Awards’ (BIFA) prestigious Filmmaker New Talent Longlists, with 20 fiction and 15 documentary features included in the four debut filmmaking categories. From a record number of British film entries, 19 first-time fiction feature directors, 17 first-time feature documentary directors, 17 first-time writers and 24 breakthrough producers have been recognised by BIFA voters this year for their outstanding achievements.
BIFA will announce the 2023 Breakthrough Performance sponsored by Netflix longlist, which highlights extraordinary British acting talent in their first significant role in a British feature film, on Tuesday 24th October.
BIFA Springboard, an annual programme supporting second-time feature filmmakers will launch in early 2024. In direct response to the lack of support for filmmakers at this pivotal point in their career, Springboard offers labs, mentoring, networking and access to industry experts, paving a pathway for talent to progress further and build more robust and sustainable careers. Springboard has supported over 160 filmmakers over the past 3 years, including 105 who have been recognised on the BIFA new talent longlists.
The final five nominations in each category will be announced Thursday 2 November. Winners will be revealed at the 26th BIFA ceremony on Sunday 3 December.
For details of how to watch the longlisted films, visit watch.bifa.film.
The Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director) sponsored by BBC Film
- PRASANNA PUWANARAJAH Ballywalter
- SAVANAH LEAF Earth Mama
- MAHALIA BELO The End We Start From
- SAM H FREEMAN, NG CHOON PING Femme
- ADURA ONASHILE Girl
- MOLLY MANNING WALKER How To Have Sex
- NAQQASH KHALID In Camera
- NEIL BOYLE, KIRK HENDRY Kensuke’s Kingdom
- KIBWE TAVARES, DANIEL KALUUYA The Kitchen
- NIDA MANZOOR Polite Society
- DIONNE EDWARDS Pretty Red Dress
- PARIS ZARCILLA Raging Grace
- RAINE ALLEN-MILLER Rye Lane
- CHARLOTTE REGAN Scrapper
- MOIN HUSSAIN Sky Peals
- FARAH NABULSI The Teacher
Best Debut Screenwriter sponsored by Film4
- SAVANAH LEAF Earth Mama
- SAM H FREEMAN, NG CHOON PING Femme
- ADURA ONASHILE Girl
- MOLLY MANNING WALKER How To Have Sex
- NAQQASH KHALID In Camera
- DANIEL KALUUYA The Kitchen (also written by Joe Murtagh)
- ALEX MACKEITH The Lesson
- ANGELI MACFARLANE LOLA (also written by Andrew Legge)
- NIDA MANZOOR Polite Society
- DIONNE EDWARDS Pretty Red Dress
- PARIS ZARCILLA Raging Grace
- NATHAN BRYON, TOM MELIA Rye Lane
- CHARLOTTE REGAN Scrapper
- MOIN HUSSAIN Sky Peals
- FARAH NABULSI The Teacher
Best Debut Director – Feature Documentary
- OSCAR HARDING A Life on the Farm
- CHRISTOPHER MORRIS A Year In a Field
- SOPHIE COMPTON, REUBEN HAMLYN Another Body
- CHRISTOPHER SHARP Bobi Wine: The People’s President (also directed by Moses Bwayo)
- FRANKY MURRAY BROWN Dalton’s Dream (also directed by Kim Longinotto)
- RICH FELGATE Finite: The Climate of Change
- ALICE RUSSELL If the Streets Were on Fire
- ELLA GLENDINING Is There Anybody Out There?
- EVA WEBER Merkel
- PETER BEARD, BRUCE FLETCHER Otto Baxter: Not a F***ing Horror Story
- KATE STONEHILL Phantom Parrot
- KIT VINCENT Red Herring
- JANE GILES, ALI CATTERALL Scala!!! or, The Wildest Cinema and How It Influenced a Mixed-up Generation of Weirdos and Misfits
- CHLOE ABRAHAMS The Taste Of Mango
Breakthrough Producer sponsored by Pinewood & Shepperton Studios
- SOPHIE COMPTON, REUBEN HAMLYN Another Body (also produced by Elizabeth Woodward)
- LORINE PLAGNOL Dalton’s Dream (also produced by Kim Longinotto)
- MEDB RIORDAN, SHIRLEY O’CONNOR, SAVANAH LEAF Earth Mama (also produced by Cody Ryder and Sam Bisbee)
- SAM RITZENBERG, MYLES PAYNE Femme
- GANNESH RAJAH If the Streets Were on Fire
- JULIETTE LARTHE In Camera (also produced by Mary Burke)
- FLEUR NIEDDU, EDWARD LOVELACE, SAM ARNOLD, BEYAN TAHER, NEIL ANDREWS Name Me Lawand (also produced by Marisa Clifford)
- GEORGIA GOGGIN Pretty Red Dress
- CHI THAI Raging Grace
- YVONNE ISIMEME IBAZEBO Rye Lane
- THEO BARROWCLOUGH Scrapper
- ADAM DEACON, JAZZIE ZONZOLO Sumotherhood (also produced by Finn Bruce)
- FARAH NABULSI, SAWSAN ASFARI The Teacher (also produced by Ossama Bawadi)
- JULIET DOWLING The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (also produced by Marilyn Milgrom and Kevin Loader)
