British Independent Film Award for Best Screenplay

Awarded for| Best Screenplay
Country| United Kingdom
Presented by| BIFA
Currently held by| Andrew Haigh for All of Us Strangers (2023)
Website| www.bifa.org.uk

The British Independent Film Award for Best Screenplay is an annual award given by the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) to recognize the best screenplay in a British independent film. The award was first presented in the 1998 ceremony with Paul Laverty being the first recipient of this award for his work in Ken Loach's My Name is Joe.

Steven Knight, Armando Iannucci and Simon Blackwell are the only nominees who have received this award more than once with two wins each while Paul Laverty has received the most nominations for this category with six followed by Lynne Ramsay with four.

## Winners and nominees

[edit]

### 1990s

[edit]

Year  | Film  | Recipient(s)

|
|

1998
(1st)
[1] | My Name is Joe | Paul Laverty
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels | Guy Ritchie
My Son the Fanatic | Hanif Kureishi
Nil by Mouth | Gary Oldman
Orphans | Peter Mullan
1999
(2nd)
[2] | East Is East | Ayub Khan-Din
Beautiful People | Jasmin Dizdar
Ratcatcher | Lynne Ramsay
A Room for Romeo Brass | Paul Fraser, Shane Meadows
This Year's Love | David Kane

### 2000s

[edit]

Year  | Film  | Recipient(s)

|
|

2000
(3rd)
[3] | Billy Elliot | Lee Hall
Gangster No. 1 | Johnny Ferguson
Last Resort | Rowan Joffé, Paweł Pawlikowski
Purely Belter | Mark Herman
Saving Grace | Craig Ferguson, Mark Crowdey
2001
(4th)
[4] | Sexy Beast | Louis Mellis, David Scinto
Bread and Roses | Paul Laverty
The Claim | Frank Cottrell Boyce
Jump Tomorrow | Joel Hopkins
2002
(5th)
[5][6] | Lawless Heart | Tom Hunsinger, Neil Hunter
Bloody Sunday | Paul Greengrass
Morvern Callar | Lynne Ramsay, Liana Dognini
Sweet Sixteen | Paul Laverty
2003
(6th)
[7][8] | Dirty Pretty Things | Steven Knight
Buffalo Soldiers | Gregor Jordan, Eric Weiss, Nora Maccoby
Calendar Girls | Tim Firth, Juliette Towhidi
The Magdalene Sisters | Peter Mullan
Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself | Anders Thomas Jensen, Lone Scherfig
2004
(7th)
[9] | Shaun of the Dead | Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg
Ae Fond Kiss... | Paul Laverty
Dead Man's Shoes | Paddy Considine, Shane Meadows
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers | Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely
Vera Drake | Mike Leigh
2005
(8th)
[10] | Millions | Frank Cottrell Boyce
A Cock and Bull Story | Martin Hardy
The Constant Gardener | Jeffrey Caine
Kinky Boots | Tim Firth, Geoff Deane
Mrs Henderson Presents | Martin Sherman
2006
(9th)
[11][12] | The Queen | Peter Morgan
The History Boys | Alan Bennet
The Last King of Scotland | Jeremy Brock, Peter Morgan
This Is England | Shane Meadows
Venus | Hanif Kureishi
2007
(10th)
[13][14] | Notes on a Scandal | Patrick Marber
And When Did You Last See Your Father? | David Nicholls
Control | Matt Greenhalgh
Eastern Promises | Steven Knight
Hallam Foe | David Mackenzie, Ed Whitmore
2008
(11th)
[15][16] | In Bruges | Martin McDonagh
Hunger | Enda Walsh, Steve McQueen
Slumdog Millionaire | Simon Beaufoy
Somers Town | Paul Fraser
Son of Rambow | Garth Jennings
2009
(12th)
[17][18] | In the Loop | Armando Iannucci, Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Tony Roche
An Education | Nick Hornby
Fish Tank | Andrea Arnold
Moon | Nathan Parker
Nowhere Boy | Matt Greenhalgh

### 2010s

[edit]

Year  | Film  | Recipient(s)

|
|

2010
(13th)
[19][20] | The King's Speech | David Seidler
Four Lions | Jesse Armstrong
Kick-Ass | Jane Goldman
Made in Dagenham | William Ivory
Never Let Me Go | Alex Garland
2011
(14th)
[21][22] | Submarine | Richard Ayoade
The Guard | John Michael McDonagh
Kill List | Ben Wheatley
Shame | Steve McQueen, Abi Morgan
We Need to Talk About Kevin | Lynne Ramsay, Rory Stewart Kinnear
2012
(15th)
[23][24] | Sightseers | Alice Lowe, Steve Oram, Amy Jump
Berberian Sound Studio | Peter Strickland
Broken | Mark O'Rowe
The Iron Lady | Abi Morgan
Song for Marion | Paul Andrew Williams
2013
(16th)
[25][26] | Locke | Steven Knight
Le Week-End | Hanif Kureishi
Philomena | Jeff Pope, Steve Coogan
The Selfish Giant | Clio Barnard
Starred Up | Jonathan Asser
2014
(17th)
[27][28] | Frank | Jon Ronson, Peter Straughan
'71 | Gregory Burke
Calvary | John Michael McDonagh
The Imitation Game | Graham Moore
Pride | Stephen Beresford
2015
(18th)
[29][30] | Ex Machina | Alex Garland
45 Years | Andrew Haigh
Brooklyn | Nick Hornby
High-Rise | Amy Jump
The Lobster | Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou
2016
(19th)
[31][32] | Under the Shadow | Babak Anvari
I, Daniel Blake | Paul Laverty
Adult Life Skills | Rachel Tunnard
American Honey | Andrea Arnold
I Am Not a Serial Killer | Christopher Hyde, Billy O'Brien
2017
(20th)
[33][34] | Lady Macbeth | Alice Birch
The Death of Stalin | Armando Iannucci, David Schneider, Ian Martin
God's Own Country | Francis Lee
I Am Not a Witch | Rungano Nyoni
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | Martin McDonagh
2018
(21st)
[35][36] | The Favourite | Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara
American Animals | Bart Layton
Beast | Michael Pearce
Disobedience | Sebastián Lelio, Rebecca Lenkiewicz
You Were Never Really Here | Lynne Ramsay
2019
(22nd)
[37][38] | The Personal History of David Copperfield | Armando Iannucci, Simon Blackwell
In Fabric | Peter Strickland
Sorry We Missed You | Paul Laverty
The Souvenir | Joanna Hogg
Wild Rose | Nicole Taylor

### 2020s

[edit]

Year  | Film  | Recipient(s)

|
|

2020
(23rd)
[39][40] | The Father | Florian Zeller, Christopher Hampton
His House | Remi Weekes
Mogul Mowgli | Bassam Tariq, Riz Ahmed
Rocks | Theresa Ikoko, Claire Wilson
Saint Maud | Rose Glass
2021
(24th)
[41] | After Love | Aleem Khan
Ali & Ava | Clio Barnard
Benediction | Terence Davis
The Nest | Sean Durkin
The Souvenir Part II | Joanna Hogg
2022
(25th)
[42] | Aftersun | Charlotte Wells
Blue Jean | Georgia Oakley
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande | Katy Brand
Living | Kazuo Ishiguro
The Wonder | Sebastián Lelio, Alice Birch and Emma Donoghue
2023
(26th)
[43] | All of Us Strangers | Andrew Haigh
Femme | Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping
How to Have Sex | Molly Manning Walker
Rye Lane | Nathan Bryon and Tom Melia
Scrapper | Charlotte Regan

## Multiple nominations

[edit]

6 nominations

* Paul Laverty

4 nominations

* Lynne Ramsay

3 nominations

* Armando Iannucci
* Steven Knight
* Hanif Kureishi
* Shane Meadows

2 nominations

* Jesse Armstrong
* Andrea Arnold
* Clio Barnard
* Alice Birch
* Simon Blackwell
* Frank Cottrell Boyce
* Tim Firth
* Paul Fraser
* Alex Garland
* Matt Greenhalgh
* Andrew Haigh
* Joanna Hogg
* Nick Hornby
* Amy Jump
* Sebastián Lelio
* John Michael McDonagh
* Martin McDonagh
* Steve McQueen
* Abi Morgan
* Peter Morgan
* Peter Mullan
* Peter Strickland

|

## Multiple wins

[edit]

2 wins

* Simon Blackwell
* Armando Iannucci
* Steven Knight

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "The Awards 1998". British Independent Film Awards. 24 October 1998. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
2. ^ "The Awards 1999". British Independent Film Awards. 24 October 1999. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
3. ^ "The Awards 2000". British Independent Film Awards. 24 October 2000. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
4. ^ Frater, Patrick (October 24, 2001). "Sexy Beast scores at British indie film awards". Screen Daily. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
5. ^ "Morvern Callar leads British Independent Film Awards nominations". Screen Daily. September 17, 2002. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
6. ^ Gibbons, Fiachra (October 31, 2002). "Sweet Sixteen named best of the independents". The Guardian. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
7. ^ Dams, Tim (September 22, 2003). "Dirty Pretty Things leads BIFA nominations". Screen Daily. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
8. ^ "Dirty Pretty Things sweeps Brit indie awards". The Guardian. November 3, 2003. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
9. ^ Dawtrey, Adam (November 30, 2004). "'Drake' takes the cake". Variety. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
10. ^ "Constant Gardener wins UK awards". BBC News. December 1, 2005. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
11. ^ "'Scotland' duo, 'Queen' pic among top BIFA nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. October 31, 2006. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
12. ^ ""This is England" Takes Top Prize at British Independent Film Awards". Indiewire. November 30, 2006. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
13. ^ "British Independent Film Awards nominations list". Variety. October 23, 2007. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
14. ^ "Control takes over at British Independent Film Awards". CBC News. November 29, 2007. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
15. ^ Ward, Audrey (October 28, 2008). "Nominations for British Independent Film Awards announced". Screen Daily. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
16. ^ Kemp, Stuart (December 1, 2008). "'Slumdog' wins big at British indie awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
17. ^ Knegt, Peter (October 26, 2009). ""Fish Tank," "Moon" Lead British Indie Award Nods". IndieWire. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
18. ^ Thompson, Anne (December 6, 2009). "British Independent Film Awards: Moon Wins Best Film". IndieWire. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
19. ^ Child, Ben (November 2, 2010). "The King's Speech rings out in Bifa awards nominations". The Guardian. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
20. ^ Masters, Tim (December 6, 2010). "King's Speech reigns at British Independent Film awards". BBC News. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
21. ^ Knegt, Peter (October 31, 2011). ""Shame," "Tyrannosaur" and "Tinker Tailor" Lead British Independent Film Award Nominations". IndieWire. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
22. ^ Masters, Tim (December 5, 2011). "Tyrannosaur in triple win at British Independent Film Awards". BBC News. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
23. ^ Child, Ben (November 6, 2012). "Broken fixed up with nine British independent film award nominations". The Guardian. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
24. ^ Mueller, Matt (December 9, 2012). "British Independent Film Awards: 'Broken' Takes Best Film, 'Berberian Sound Studio' and 'The Imposter' Big Winners". IndieWire. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
25. ^ "'Metro Manila' gets 5 nominations in British film awards". ABS-CBN News. November 13, 2013. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
26. ^ Kemp, Stuart (December 8, 2013). "'Metro Manila' Wins Big at British Independent Film Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
27. ^ Rosser, Michael (November 3, 2014). "'71, Pride lead BIFA nominations". Screen Daily. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
28. ^ "Pride wins best film at British Independent Film Awards". BBC News. December 7, 2014. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
29. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (November 3, 2015). "'The Lobster', '45 Years', 'Macbeth' Lead British Independent Film Award Nominations". Deadline. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
30. ^ Lee, Benjamin (December 7, 2015). "Ex Machina triumphs at British independent film awards". The Guardian. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
31. ^ Evans, Alan (November 1, 2016). "I, Daniel Blake leads British independent film award nominations". The Guardian. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
32. ^ Barranclough, Leo (December 4, 2016). "'American Honey' Triumphs at British Independent Film Awards". Variety. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
33. ^ Clarke, Stewart (November 1, 2017). "'Lady Macbeth' Tops Nominations for British Independent Film Awards". Variety. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
34. ^ Nordine, Michael (December 10, 2017). "British Independent Film Awards: 'God's Own Country' and 'Lady Macbeth' Win Top Prizes". IndieWire. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
35. ^ Brown, Mark (October 31, 2018). "The Favourite dominates British independent film award nominations". The Guardian. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
36. ^ Nordine, Michael (December 2, 2018). "'The Favourite' Wins 10 British Independent Film Awards, Living Up to Its Title". IndieWire. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
37. ^ Sharf, Zack (October 30, 2019). "2019 British Indie Film Awards Nominations: 'David Copperfield,' Zellweger, and More". IndieWire. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
38. ^ Ritman, Alex (December 1, 2019). "British Independent Film Awards: 'For Sama' Wins Top Prize". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
39. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (December 9, 2020). "'Saint Maud,' 'His House,' 'Rocks' Lead British Independent Film Awards Nominations". Variety. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
40. ^ Grater, Tom (February 18, 2021). "'Rocks' & 'His House' Win Big At British Independent Film Awards". Deadline. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
41. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (November 3, 2021). "'Belfast,' 'Boiling Point' Lead BIFA Nominations". Variety. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
42. ^ Szalai, Georg (4 November 2022). "British Independent Film Awards: Debut Movies 'Aftersun,' 'Blue Jean' Lead Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
43. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (2 November 2023). "Jodie Comer, Paul Mescal Score Nods as 'Rye Lane,' 'Scrapper', 'All of Us Strangers' Lead British Independent Film Awards Nominations". Variety. Retrieved 2 November 2023.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
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British Independent Film Awards

Categories|

* British Independent Film
* Director
* Lead Performance
* Joint Lead Performance
* Supporting Performance
* Screenplay
* Breakthrough Performance
* Documentary
* British Short Film
* International Independent Film
* Casting
* Cinematography
* Costume Design
* Editing
* Effects
* Make-Up & Hair Design
* Original Music
* Music Supervision
* Production Design
* Sound
* The Richard Harris Award
* The Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director)
* Debut Screenwriter
* Breakthrough Producer
* Raindance Discovery Award
* Special Jury Prize
* Variety Award

Retired categories|

* Actor in a British Independent Film
* Actress in a British Independent Film
* Supporting Actor
* Supporting Actress

Ceremonies|

* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023

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