'The Golden Spurtle', 'The Voice Of Hind Rajab'

Source: Dogwoof / The Party Film Sales

‘The Golden Spurtle’, ‘The Voice Of Hind Rajab’

EXCLUSIVE: The British Independent Film Awards (Bifas) has selected 15 features on each of the longlists for best feature documentary and best international independent film, with titles including Constantine Costi’s The Golden Spurtle and Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice Of Hind Rajab.

The debut feature documentary from Australian opera director Costi, The Golden Spurtle follows the competitors and organisers of the World Porridge Championships in the Scottish Highlands village of Carrbridge, where the Golden Spurtle is on offer to the best porridge maker.

Scroll down for the full longlists

The film debuted at Copenhagen’s CPH:DOX in March, going on to play festivals including Sydney, Melbourne, Edinburgh and Telluride. It is produced by Rebecca Lamond for Australia’s Hytra Films and John Archer for the UK’s Hopscotch Films; Dogwoof handles world sales.

Other titles on the documentary longlist include Zodiac Killer Project, in which filmmaker Charlie Shackleton explores his abandoned Zodiac killer documentary; women’s prison documentary Holloway, from Lollipop director Daisy-May Hudson and Sophie Compton; and James Jones’ Antidote, about whistleblowers and activists risking their lives exposing Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian regime.

The international list includes Ben Hania’s The Voice Of Hind Rajab, which won the Grand Jury Prize on debut at Venice in September. The film is a dramatisation of the Palestinian Red Crescent response to the calls of Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl trapped in a car under fire in Gaza and eventually killed by the Israel Defence Forces.

The Tunisia-France-US-UK co-production is Tunisia’s entry to the best international feature Oscar. The Party Film Sales handles international sales; Altitude acquired the film for UK-Ireland release last month.

Also on the international longlist are Cannes Competition titles It Was Just An Accident from Jafar Panahi, The Secret Agent from Kleber Mendonca Filho, Sentimental Value from Joachim Trier, Sirât from Oliver Laxe and Sound Of Falling from Mascha Schilinski.

Six of the best documentary longlisted titles were also longlisted in the best debut director – feature documentary category last week.

Longlists have now been unveiled for the four new talent categories, plus the breakthrough performance, documentary and international sections. Four films have secured the most longlist spots so far with five each – Stroma Cairns’ The Son And The Sea, Ronan Corrigan’s LifeHack, Daisy-May Hudson’s Lollipop and Imran Perretta’s Ish.

The final five nominations in each category will be announced on Monday, November 3; with winners revealed at the 28th Bifa ceremony on Sunday, November 30 at the Camden Roundhouse in London.

Bifa 2025 documentary, international longlists

Best feature documentary

Antidote, dir. James Jones

The Golden Spurtle, dir. Constantine Costi

Holloway, dirs. Sophie Compton, Daisy-May Hudson

How Deep Is Your Love, dir. Eleanor Mortimer

Mother Vera, dirs. Cecile Embleton, Alys Tomlinson

Motherboard, dir. Victoria Mapplebeck

Ocean With David Attenborough, dirs. Toby Nowlan, Keith Scholey, Colin Butfield

One To One: John & Yoko, dir. Kevin Macdonald

Palestine Comedy Club, dir. Alaa Aliabdallah

Power Station, dirs. Daniel Edelstyn, Hilary Powell

The Secret Of Me, dir. Grace Hughes-Hallett

The Shepherd And The Bear, dir. Max Keegan

Still Pushing Pineapples, dir. Kim Hopkins

A Want In Her, dir. Myrid Carten

Zodiac Killer Project, dir. Charlie Shackleton 

Best international independent film

Christy (Ire) dir. Brendan Canty

It Was Just An Accident (Iran-Fr-Lux)

Late Shift (Switz-Ger) dir. Petra Volpe

Left-Handed Girl (UK-Fr-Tai-Sing) dir. Shih-Ching Tsou

Little Trouble Girls (Slovenia-It-Cro-Ser) dir. Urska Djukic

The Love That Remains (Ice-Den-Swe-Fr) dir. Hlynur Palmason

No Other Choice (S Kor) dir. Park Chan-wook

The President’s Cake (Iraq-US-Qat) dir. Hasan Hadi

Put Your Soul On Your Hand And Walk (Fr) dir. Sepideh Farsi

The Secret Agent (Bra-Fr-Ger-Neth)

Sentimental Value (Nor-Fr-Ger-Den-Swe) dir. Joachim Trier

Sirât (Sp) dir. Oliver Laxe

Sorry, Baby (US-Fr-Sp) dir. Eva Victor

Sound Of Falling (Ger) dir. Mascha Schilinski

The Voice Of Hind Rajab (Tun-Fr-US-UK)

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