BIFA 2026 Nominations: 'Elsinore' Leads With 12, Ceremony Set for Dec. 6

By James Calloway

'Elsinore' leads the 2026 British Independent Film Awards with 12 nominations. BIFA-winning actors Jay Lycurgo and Posy Sterling announced the list Tuesday at One Hundred Shoreditch in London. The ceremony lands Dec. 6 at the Camden Roundhouse.

The 12-nomination haul for Simon Stone's film doubles the count of its nearest rival. Clio Barnard's 'I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning' took eight. 'Animol', the feature directorial debut of 'Adolescence' star Ashley Walters, took seven.

Andrew Scott stars in 'Elsinore' and produces alongside Stone, Stephen Beresford and seven other credited producers. The film appears in best British independent film, best director, best screenplay, best lead performance and multiple craft categories.

Who competes for best British independent film?

Five titles made the cut:

• 'Effi O Blaenau' — Marc Evans
• 'Elsinore' — Simon Stone
• 'I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning' — Clio Barnard
• 'Queen at Sea' — Lance Hammer
• 'Tender Loving Care' — Mike Leigh

Best director mirrors the category almost exactly: Barnard, Stone, Leigh, Andrew Haigh for 'A Long Winter' and Mark Jenkin for 'Rose of Nevada'. Leigh pulls double duty, nominated for both directing and writing 'Tender Loving Care'.

The Douglas Hickox Award for best debut director, sponsored by BBC Film, lists five first-timers: Billy Lumby ('Florid'), Molly Manners ('Extra Geography'), Bertil Nilsson ('Masc'), Louis Paxton ('The Incomer') and Walters ('Animol').

What do the performance races look like?

Best lead performance pits Scott against five contenders:

• Juliette Binoche — 'Queen at Sea'
• Erin Doherty — 'Faith'
• Leisa Gwenllian — 'Effi O Blaenau'
• Jonathan Jules — 'Florid'
• Tut Nyuot — 'Animol'
• Andrew Scott — 'Elsinore'

Best supporting performance names Claire Foy ('Ink'), Tom Courtenay ('Queen at Sea'), Sekou Diaby ('Animol'), Anna Calder-Marshall ('Queen at Sea'), Billie Piper ('Elsinore') and Bill Pullman ('Everybody Digs Bill Evans'). 'Queen at Sea' places two actors in the same supporting category, splitting its own vote.

Best ensemble performance covers three casts. 'I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning' fields Anthony Boyle, Joe Cole, Jay Lycurgo, Daryl McCormack and Lola Petticrew. 'Sunny Dancer' brings a 13-strong roster including Bella Ramsey, James Norton, Neil Patrick Harris, James Blunt and Jessica Gunning. 'Tender Loving Care' lists Marion Bailey, Paul Jesson, Kate O'Flynn and Alice Bailey Johnson.

Breakthrough performance, sponsored by Netflix, includes Galaxie Clear, Sekou Diaby, Leisa Gwenllian, Jonathan Jules and Tut Nyuot — three of whom double as lead-performance nominees, a signal of thin walls between the two races this year.

Which craft categories tell the story?

Connie Farr collected two nominations in a three-slot category. Music supervisors voted her in twice: for 'I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning' and 'Queen at Sea'. Phil Canning ('Sunny Dancer') takes the third slot.

Nadia Stacey also doubled up, nominated for make-up and hair design on both 'Elsinore' and 'Madfabulous'. 'Elsinore' appears across cinematography (Mike Eley), editing (Valerio Bonelli), costume (Mel Page), production design (Helen Scott), original music (Stefan Gregory), casting (Jessica Ronane) and sound.

What else is on the ballot?

Best international independent film, sponsored by Champagne Taittinger, lists 'All of a Sudden' (Ryusuke Hamaguchi), 'Club Kid' (Jordan Firstman), 'La Bola Negra', 'La Gradiva' and 'Possible Love' (Lee Chang-dong).

Best feature documentary, sponsored by Intermission Film, names five titles: 'All Rivers Spill Their Stories to the Sea', 'Everybody to Kenmure Street', 'One in a Million', 'Something Familiar' and 'We, the Hated'. 'One in a Million' also landed a breakthrough producer nomination for its five-person team.

The craft ballot spans editing, effects, sound, production design and costume, with sponsors attached across the board: Apple Original Films (screenplay), Kodak & Molinare (cinematography), Film4 (debut screenwriter), Pinewood and Shepperton Studios (breakthrough producer), Universal Music Publishing Group (original music), ATC (production design) and Bleat (sound).

Five cinemas compete for Cinema of the Year, supported by Kia: Abbeygate Cinema, Campus West, Hippodrome Cinema, the Kinema in the Woods and the Ultimate Picture Palace. The Raindance Maverick Award lists five titles. Best British short film names five, including Aneil Karia's 'Vote Gavin Lyle' and Orlando Von Einsiedel's 'Allies in Exile'.

The Richard Harris Award for outstanding contribution by an actor to British film remains unannounced. BIFA will name that recipient at a later date.