The British Independent Film Award (BIFA) nominations wereannounced today, with Shane Meadows' DeadMan's Shoes leading the field with eight nominations, closely followed byMike Leigh's Vera Drake with seven nods including Best Actress for ImeldaStaunton.

Other strong contenders include Pawel Pawlikoski's My Summer Of Love; Kevin Macdonald's Touching The Void and Shaun Of The Dead, nominated for BestFilm, Best Screenplay and Best Newcomer for Nick Frost.

The awards will take place on November 30.

Best British Independent Film
Dead Man's Shoes
Touching The Void
Vera Drake
Shaun Of The Dead
My Summer Of Love

Best Actor
Paddy Considine - Dead Man's Shoes
Geoffrey Rush - The Life & Death OfPeter Sellers
Daniel Craig - Enduring Love
Phil Davis - Vera Drake
Ian Hart - Blind Flight

Best Actress
Imelda Staunton - Vera Drake
Natalie Press - My Summer Of Love
Eva Birthistle - Ae Fond Kiss...
Anne Reid - The Mother
Scarlett Johansson - Girl With A PearlEarring

Best Supporting Actor/Actress
Paddy Considine - My Summer Of Love
Gary Stretch - Dead Man's Shoes
Romola Garai - Inside I'm Dancing
Samantha Morton - Enduring Love
Eddie Marsan - Vera Drake

Most Promising Newcomer
Toby Kebbell - Dead Man's Shoes
Emily Blunt - My Summer Of Love
Nick Frost - Shaun Of The Dead
Ashley Walters - Bullet Boy
Atta Yaqub - Ae Fond Kiss

Best Director
Kevin Macdonald - Touching The Void
Shane Meadows - Dead Man's Shoes
Mike Leigh - Vera Drake
Pawel Pawlikowsky - My Summer Of Love
Roger Michell - Enduring Love

Best Screenplay
Shane Meadows & Paddy Considine - DeadMan's Shoes
Simon Pegg & Edgar Wright - Shaun OfThe Dead
Paul Laverty - Ae Fond Kiss...
Mike Leigh - Vera Drake
Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely - TheLife & Death Of Peter Sellers

Douglas Hickox Award (Debut Director)
Peter Webber - Girl With A PearlEarring
John Crowley - Intermission
Matthew Vaughn - Layer Cake
Saul Dibb - Bullet Boy
Emily Young - Kiss Of Life

Best Technical Achievement
Cinematography - Touching The Void- Mike Eley
Wardrobe - Bride & Prejudice - EduardoCastro & Ralph Holes
Cinematography - Enduring Love - Haris Zambarloukos
Editing - Dead Man's Shoes - LucasRoche & Chris Wyatt
Production Design - Code 46 - MarkTildesley

Best Achievement in Production
Dead Man's Shoes
Vera Drake
Girl With A Pearl Earring
Code 46
Bride & Prejudice

Best Foreign Film
Motorcycle Diaries
Oldboy
Fahrenheit 9/11
Hero
Pieces Of April

Best Documentary
Touching The Void
Aileen
Trollywood
Drowned Out
Peace One Day

The Raindance Award
The Barn
Blinded
Chicken Tikka Masala

UK Personality of the Year
J K Rowling

To be announced:
The Special Jury Prize
Best British Short Film
The Richard Harris Award