Nominated for a British Independent Film Award!

Finally able to say what's happened - heard end of last week that "What Does Your Daddy Do?" has been nominated for a British Independent Film Award for best British Short Film! I am so pleased and excited. Congratulations to the whole team.....

......in particular......

......... Andy Freedman for being stupid enough to put his own money into the project and then allowing me to work form his office as we sent the film out...

.......Jon Sidgwick for putting his heart into film and for also tirelessly being at every screening possible be it Venice or Rushes or Raindance he was there......

.........Aidan and Noise for not making it noise but for making it sound amazing....

........Migs for a phenomenal soundtrack which touches......

........Duncan for his generosity, his eyes and his light.....

..........John Wilson for his kindness and support.....

........Haresh for always being there to capture the best sound possible........

.......Katie for putting the production puzzle together....

........Bennet for living in Newham!......

.......VTR and Tom for the supprt and kindness.......

......Maurice for his generous performance......

.....Hutch for the vibes.......

......Helen for her smile.......

......Pete Hotchkiss and his crew for keeping the world informed.....

........Oli for his enthusiasm.......

.......Alistair for his energy.......

......Rufus for that sparkle..........

........Kirsty and Bex for the transfers, copies and the pain.....

.....Chris Calitz for caring......

.........Soren for his help............

........for all the crew without whom it would have never happened......

......and last but not least my wife Julia for living, breathing the film for the last two years, be it handling the post production, making sure we got fed on set, and tirelessly sending our the film to festival after festival. Thank you it worked. I love you.....

........I can't believe this has happened.......

....oh my God, I am now worried I have forgotten someone crucial, sorry if I haven't mentioned you directly, it;s late here in LA.....

......thank you all!!!!!!!! Congratulations each and every one of you. Take care.

Julia went along to the press announcement with Jon Sidgwick.

Press Release:

Nominations and Jury Announced for the
10th Annual British Independent Film Awards
Tuesday 23 October at Haymarket Hotel
Supported by The UK Film Council
Founded by Raindance
The nominations and jury members for the tenth annual British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) were announced today, Tuesday 23 October at the Haymarket Hotel in London.

In the 10th anniversary year of the BIFAs, the nominations reflect the wealth of both new and established on and off screen talent and also demonstrating a strong multicultural presence.

Elliot Grove, founder of Raindance and the British Independent Film Awards says: “As BIFA reaches its tenth year it is my hope that British filmmakers, whose work these Awards were set up to honour, continue to entertain, astound, delight and inspire and take their rightful place at the forefront of international independent cinema.”

Anton Corbijin’s Control leads with ten nominations, And When Did You Last See Your Father? receives seven nominations, Hallam Foe follows with six, followed by Eastern Promises (five nominations), Notes on a Scandal (four) and Garbage Warrior (three). Other films to receive multiple nominations include Brick Lane, Black Gold, It’s A Free World, Sunshine, Exhibit A and 28 Weeks Later.

First time BIFA actor nominees include Anne Hathaway, Sam Riley, Kierston Wareing, Sophia Myles, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Cillian Murphy, Imogen Poots, Matthew Beard, Bradley Cole, Armin Muehler Stahl and 2004 jury member Cate Blanchett. This year sees repeat nominations for actors Jamie Bell, Judi Dench, Jim Broadbent, Samantha Morton and Toby Kebbell.

The BIFA pre-selection committee viewed more than 150 films, out of which they selected the nominations with a handful of titles dominating most categories.

BIFA Directors, Johanna von Fischer & Tessa Collinson say: “We are delighted to announce the BIFA nominees and jury for 2007 and proud that both represent a wide range of established filmmakers and actors. For the 10th year, the BIFA Nominations throw the spotlight on the UK’s wealth of new emerging talent. We are also thrilled to be honouring two very different and special British acting talents and careers with our special awards: The Richard Harris Award and The Variety UK Award. All these ingredients promise to make our 10th anniversary a celebration of British film and filmmakers to remember.”

BIFA are delighted to announce Ray Winstone as the recipient of The Richard Harris Award for Outstanding contribution by an Actor. Winstone, who is a three time BIFA nominee, won Best Actor for Nil by Mouth at the very first Awards in 1998. Also this year, The Variety UK Award honours Daniel Craig for his contribution to bringing the international spotlight to the British film industry. Craig has also been nominated at BIFA three times and won Best Actor for his role in Some Voices.

BIFA’s new jury is comprised of professionals and talents from across the British film industry including: actresses Hayley Atwell, Archie Panjabi and Kathy Burke, actors Tony Curran, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Mathew Macfadyan, directors Annie Griffin, Menhaj Huda, Neil Marshall and Peter Webber, Musician Nitin Sawhney, LFF Artistic Director Sandra Hebron, producer Mark Herbert, cinematographer Brian Tufano and distributor Will Clarke.

The much anticipated 10th awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday 28 November 2007 at the Roundhouse in London and will be hosted by James Nesbitt.

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM
And When Did You Last See Your Father?
Control
Eastern Promises
Hallam Foe
Notes on a Scandal

BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway - Becoming Jane
Tannishtha Chatterjee - Brick Lane
Sophia Myles - Hallam Foe
Kierston Wareing - It's A Free World...
Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal

BEST ACTOR
Jim Broadbent - And When Did You Last See Your Father?
Sam Riley - Control
Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises
Jamie Bell - Hallam Foe
Cilian Murphy - Sunshine

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR/ACTRESS
Colin Firth - And When Did You Last See Your Father?
Samantha Morton - Control
Toby Kebbell - Control
Armin Muehler Stahl - Eastern Promises
Cate Blanchett - Notes on a Scandal

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER
Imogen Poots - 28 Weeks Later
Matthew Beard - And When Did You Last See Your Father?
Sam Riley - Control
Bradley Cole - Exhibit A
Kierston Wareing - It's A Free World...

BEST SCREENPLAY
David Nicholls - And When Did You Last See Your Father?
Matt Greenhalgh - Control
Steven Knight - Eastern Promises
David Mackenzie & Ed Whitmore - Hallam Foe
Patrick Marber - Notes on a Scandal

BEST DIRECTOR
Anand Tucker - And When Did You Last See Your Father?
Sarah Gavron - Brick Lane
Anton Corbijn - Control
David Cronenberg - Eastern Promises
David Mackenzie - Hallam Foe

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION
Black Gold
Control
Exhibit A
Extraordinary Rendition
Garbage Warrior

THE DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD [BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR]
Marc Francis & Nick Francis - Black Gold
Anton Corbijn - Control
Oliver Hodge - Garbage Warrior
David Schwimmer - Run, Fat Boy, Run
Steve Hudson - True North

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Black Gold
Deep Water
Garbage Warrior
In the Shadow of the Moon
Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten

BEST TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
Enrique Chediak - Cinematography - 28 Weeks Later
TBC - Editing - And When Did You Last See Your Father?
TBC - Cinematography - Control
TBC - Music - Hallam Foe
Mark Tildesley - Production design - Sunshine

BEST BRITISH SHORT
A Bout de Truffe - The Truffle Hunter
Cherries
Dog Altogether
Girls, The
What Does Your Daddy Do?

BEST FOREIGN INDEPENDENT FEATURE
Black Book
La Vie en Rose
Lives of Others, The
Once
Tell No One

THE RAINDANCE AWARD
Exhibit A
The Inheritance
Tovarisch: I Am Not Dead

SPECIAL AWARDS

THE RICHARD HARRIS AWARD
Ray Winstone

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
To be announced at the Awards on Wedensday 28 November

THE VARIETY AWARD
Daniel Craig


Proud supporters and patrons of BIFA include Tilda Swinton, Ray Winstone, Mike Figgis, Tom Hollander, Adrian Lester, Ken Loach, Ewan McGregor, Samantha Morton, Bill Nighy, Trudie Styler, Meera Syal and Michael Winterbottom.

For further press information, please contact Elizabeth Benjamin or Keeley Naylor at Emfoundation: elizabeth@emfoundation.com / keeley@emfoundation.com / 020 7247 4171
For further information on BIFA, please go to www.bifa.org.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA 2007
A film will be eligible for an Award if:
* it is intended for theatrical release, AND has had a public screening to a paying audience either on general release in the UK OR has screened at a British-based film festival between 1 December 2006 and 30 November 2007
* it is not solely funded by studio sources OR has a budget of £8M ($16M) or less
* it has been produced or majority co-produced by a British company OR is in receipt of at least 51% of its budget from a British source or sources OR it qualifies as a British Film under the DCMS guidelines AND includes sufficient creative elements from the UK
* BIFA also consider foreign independent films for the Best Foreign Independent Film category. Foreign films must have a British theatrical release during the eligibility period stated above
* Films that have been entered previously are not eligible. Re-issues of previously released films are not eligible
All films submitted for consideration will be viewed by the Advisory Committee with the help of a nominated screening panel. The Advisory Committee will then decide the nominations by ballot.
All nominated films will be viewed by the Jury. The winners will be decided by a secret ballot see above).
For more information on BIFA rules please go to www.bifa.org.uk

AWARDS AND SPONSORS
Best British Independent Film
Best Director sponsored by The Creative Partnership
Best Actor
Best Actress sponsored by MAC
Best Supporting Actor / Actress sponsored by Tiscali
Most Promising Newcomer (on-screen) sponsored by Diesel
Best Screenplay sponsored by BBC Films
Best Foreign Independent Film
The Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director) sponsored by Pathé
Best British Documentary
Best Technical Achievement sponsored by Skillset
Best Achievement in Production
Best British Short sponsored by Canon
The Raindance Award
The Variety UK Film Achievement Award
The Richard Harris Award (Outstanding Contribution to British Film by an Actor) sponsored by Buena Vista International
The Special Jury Prize sponsored by the UK Film Council