Paul Mescal leads nominations at British Independent Film Awards

Paul Mescal leads the stars nominated for the British Independent Film Awards (Bifas), alongside Dame Emma Thompson and Florence Pugh in its first year with gender neutral acting categories.

With the organisation's 25th anniversary this year, the body has changed up its award system, moving to award five acting achievements lacking the mention of gender, as well as adding a new selection of performance awards.

Aftersun, Scottish director Charlotte Wells' feature debut, leads the nominations with 16 nods. The film details a father and daughter’s complex relationship explored through a holiday in Turkey. 'Normal People' star Mescal plays the father, Calum, with Frankie Corio taking up the role of his daughter Sophie. The two received a nomination in the best joint lead performance category.

Mescal and Corio go head to head with Dame Emma and Daryl McCormack for Good Luck To You, Leo Grande; West End Cabaret star Jessie Buckley and Rory Kinnear for Men; and Tamara Lawrance and Letitia Wright for The Silent Twins.

Other nominations for Aftersun include: best British independent film, best director, best debut director, best screenplay and best debut screenwriter, along with Frankie Coro receiving a breakthrough performance nomination.

The best British independent film nominations see Aftersun up against Georgia Oakley’s Blue Jean, Sophie Hyde’s Good Luck To You, Leo Grande, Oliver Hermanus’s Living and Sebastian Lelio’s The Wonder.

Blue Jean is also a debut from Georgia Oakley, following a young school teacher forced to lead a double life. The film is set during the late '80s against the backdrop of Thatcher’s anti-gay Section 28 ruling. Oakley's debut follows Wells' as the second most nominated project with 13 nods.

Lucy Halliday and Kerrie Hayes, both featuring in Blue Jean, are among the nominees for the best supporting performance alongside Mescal for his role in Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer's God’s Creatures, as well as 'Sex Education'’s Aimee Lou Wood for her performance in Living.

Florence Pugh also scored a nomination for best lead performance for her role in The Wonder, going up against Emma Mackey for the biographical drama Emily based on Emily Bronte, and Rosy McEwen for Blue Jean.

Nominations were announced by the ceremony’s hosts Sam Claflin and Kosar Ali on Friday at the Everyman Broadgate event. 36 British feature films were recognised in total throughout the nominations.

The organisation announced the new gender neutral performance categories back in July, and for the first time, the hosts announced nominations for: best lead performance, best supporting performance, best joint lead performance for two (or exceptionally three) performances that are the joint focus of the film, and best ensemble.

Bifa was Created in 1998, Bifa has since spent each year celebrating and promoting British independent cinema and filmmaking talent in the UK.

Winners will be revealed at the Bifa ceremony, which will take place on Sunday, December 4, 2022.

Read more about Florence Pugh's role in The Wonder in our new issue, which you can purchase - here.