#Paul Mescal, ‘All of Us Strangers’ Take Home Top Prizes at British Independent Film Awards

Andrew Haigh’s acclaimed gay romance All of Us Strangers took home the lion’s share of the honors at the 2023 British Independent Film Awards.

The Searchlight title, starring Andrew Scott, won best British independent film, best director and best screenplay for Haigh, and one of two best supporting performance awards for Paul Mescal. The feature had previously won three BIFA craft awards (cinematography, editing, music supervision), bringing its total to seven.

Meanwhile, Mia Mckenna-Bruce, the breakout star of Molly Manning Walker’s acclaimed debut feature How to Have Sex and The Hollywood Reporter‘s Next Big Thing in Cannes, won best lead performance. Shaun Thomas won best supporting performance for his role in the film, which previously won a BIFA craft award for best casting.

Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and George MacKay were presented with the best joint lead performance award for Femme, Sam H Freeman and Ng Choon Ping’s revenge thriller, a BIFA craft winner for both costume design and make-up and hair design.

Best debut director went to Savanah Leaf for Earth Mama, while best debut screenwriter went to Nida Manzoor for Polite Society.

Breakthrough producer went to Theo Barrowclough for Charlotte Regan’s debut feature Scrapper, while Rye Lane star Vivian Oparah won the breakthrough performance award. Rye Lane previously landed the original music award.

Best documentary feature was won by Alice Russell’s debut feature If the Streets Were on Fire. Best debut director for documentary feature went to Chloe Abrahams for The Taste of Mango.

Other winners on the night included Abdou Cisse’s Festival of Slaps for best British short film and Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or-winning Anatomy of a Fall, which was named best international independent film.

Previously announced craft winners who were celebrated at the ceremony included Mark Jenkin, who won best sound for his 1970s-set remote island mystery Enys Men and the two awards for Daniel Kaluuya and Kibwe Tavares’ future-set dystopian drama The Kitchen —  best production design and best effects.

The 2023 Richard Harris Award for outstanding contribution by an actor to British film was presented to Stephen Graham by his old friend Jodie Comer.

The special jury prize, awarded by the BIFA Jury and presented by 2023 jury member Paapa Essiedu, went to We Are Parable, the grassroots company founded by Anthony and Teanne Andrews to deliver Black cinema to audiences.