(December 7, 2015 – Toronto, Ontario) Canadian co-pros did well at the 2015 Moët British Independent Film Awards, which were handed out in London last night. Performance awards were spread across the board: Saoirse Ronan picked up Best Actress for Brooklyn and Tom Hardy won Best Actor for his dual role as Ronnie and Reggie Kray in Legend. But the big winner was Ex Machina which won four awards: Best British Independent Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay for Alex Garland and Outstanding Achievement in Craft for its Visual Effects, by Andrew Whitehurst.
While the win for Saoirse Ronan’s performance in the Ireland-Canada co-production Brooklyn is wonderful, another Canada-Ireland co-pro, Room, was named Best International Independent Film. The young Canadian costar, Jacob Tremblay, was at the awards and joined the team on stage when they collected the award.
Other awards included Olivia Colman winning her third BIFA for her Best Supporting Actress performance in The Lobster. Brendan Gleeson made it two years in a row, winning Best Supporting Actor for Suffragette this year after taking away Best Actor for Calvary last year.
Colin Farrell presented the Most Promising Newcomer award to Abigail Hardingham for her breakthrough performance in Nina Forever.
In the closely-fought Best Documentary category, Dark Horse: The Incredible True Story of Dream Alliance won out over Amy, Palio, A Syrian Love Story, and How to Change the World from director Jerry Rothwell, which is the story of the people who founded Greenpeace and defined the modern green movement.
The team behind Kajaki: The True Story took home Producer of the Year and Stephen Fingleton was named Best Debut Director for The Survivalist. The award is presented in honour of director Douglas Hickox.
Edmond won Best Short and The Discovery Award went to Orion: The Man Who Would Be King.
The Special Jury Prize was presented to Chris Collins, the BFI executive who died late last year. Director of the BFI Lottery Film Fund Ben Roberts said, “This is a really wonderful tribute to Chris. He is greatly missed, but his contribution to so many films and filmmakers continues to burn brightly. A heartfelt thanks to the BIFA jury.”
Photo credit: (L to R) Ed Guiney, Jacob Tremblay and Lenny Abrahamson, accepting the Best International Independent Film award for Room, poses at the Moet British Independent Film Awards 2015 at Old Billingsgate Market on December 6, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for The Moet British Independent Film Awards)
