Elsinore Leads With 12 Nominations at the British Independent Film Awards

Andrew Scott’s Elsinore has taken an early lead at the British independent film awards, picking up 12 nominations ahead of a ceremony at London’s Roundhouse on 6 December. The drama, directed by Simon Stone, casts Scott as actor Ian Charleson, who was preparing to play Hamlet at the National Theatre in the last months of his life while seriously ill with Aids. Charleson died in 1990.

How Elsinore dominates the nominations

Elsinore’s nominations include best British independent film, best director for Stone, best screenplay for Stephen Beresford, best lead performance for Scott and best supporting performance for Billie Piper. It is also shortlisted across the craft categories: casting, cinematography, costume design, editing, make-up and hair design, original music and production design. Olivia Colman and Johnny Flynn also appear in the cast.

The film’s reception has been strong. The Guardian’s review called it “a devastating movie”, and Variety describes it as the film to beat this year. Scott is already being talked about as a contender in the Oscars best actor race. The Guardian notes he would be the first out gay actor to win the award.

The rest of the field

Clio Barnard’s I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning is second with eight nominations, including best British independent film, best director, best screenplay for Enda Walsh and best ensemble performance. It stars Anthony Boyle, Joe Cole, Jay Lycurgo, Daryl McCormack and Lola Petticrew as five childhood friends confronting unfulfilled dreams against the backdrop of the UK housing crisis.

Ashley Walters’ feature directorial debut Animol has seven nominations. It follows two teenagers inside a young offender institution and also stars Stephen Graham and Sharon Duncan-Brewster. Walters is up for the Douglas Hickox Award for best debut director, and Tut Nyuot is nominated for lead performance.

Welsh-language film Effi o Blaenau and Queen at Sea each have six nominations, both including best British independent film. Mike Leigh’s Tender Loving Care, which he has said is “most likely” his last film, has four, including best director. Among the debut features, Extra Geography, Straight Circle and Florid have five each, according to Variety.

A distinctive acting race

The British independent film awards use non-gendered acting categories, which makes for an unusual lead performance contest. Scott and Nyuot are up against Juliette Binoche for Queen at Sea, Erin Doherty for Faith, Leisa Gwenllian for Effi o Blaenau and Jonathan Jules for Florid. Variety notes that Doherty and Jules are both nominated for their first lead roles.

The supporting category is just as crowded. Piper is joined by Claire Foy for Ink, Anna Calder-Marshall and Tom Courtenay for Queen at Sea, Sekou Diaby for Animol and Bill Pullman for Everybody Digs Bill Evans. The documentary shortlist is All Rivers Spill Their Stories to the Sea, Everybody to Kenmure Street, One in a Million, Something Familiar and We, the Hated.

Cinema of the year and what comes next

The awards also honour exhibitors. The cinema of the year prize was won in its inaugural year in 2025 by the Magic Lantern Cinema in Tywyn, Wales. This year’s shortlist includes Abbeygate Cinema in Bury St Edmunds, Campus West in Welwyn Garden City, the Hippodrome in Bo’ness and the Ultimate Picture Palace in Oxford. The Guardian reports that the Oxford venue is threatened with closure by its landlord, Oriel College.

Winners will be revealed in two stages. Craft category winners will be announced on the awards’ social media channels on 24 November, and the remaining prizes will be presented at the Roundhouse on 6 December. The nominations were announced by previous winners Jay Lycurgo and Posy Sterling.

Sources differ slightly on Elsinore’s festival debut. The Guardian cites a September premiere at Telluride, while other outlets say it opened the BFI London Film Festival. Either way, the film has gone from festival debut to the front of the British independent film awards race.

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File photo: Andrew Scott 2025.jpg by Raph_PH, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.