Harry Lighton’s Pillion was the biggest winner at the 2025 British Independent Film Awards (Bifas) with four prizes, including best British independent film.
Comedians Lou Sanders and Harriet Kemsley hosted the ceremony, which took place tonight (November 30) at London’s Roundhouse.
Pillion follows the unconventional relationship between a BDSM biker, played by Alexander Skarsgard and a timid traffic warden, played by Harry Melling. Lighton also walked away with best debut screenwriter award, with four wins in total including two previously announced craft prizes, for costume design and make-up and hair design.
During his debut screenwriter prize speech, Lighton reflected on his experience shooting his debut feature: “I was warned at the end of my first feature I would hate my producer, but that didn’t happen.”
He also thanked the film’s stars Skarsgard and Melling, noting: “I sent you a script about buttplugs and you said yes… now that I know you, it doesn’t surprise me that you said yes”
Producer Emma Norton, when picking up the best British independent film prize, told the audience: “Pillion couldn’t have been made without masses of creative support… We were never censored, we were never told there’s too much cock.”
The Ballad Of Wallis Island took two prizes tonight – co-writers and stars Tom Basden and Tim Key were awarded best screenplay, as well as best lead performance. The comedy drama won a total of three awards, including the previously announced original music prize.
”It’s just so lovely to have our working relationship recognised,” said Basden while accepting best screenplay. ”It’s something that’s been such a big part of our lives. I’ve benefited so much from working with Tim.”
Myrid Carten’s exploration of mental health and addiction within her family, A Want In Her, also got three awards – best feature documentary, The Raindance Maverick Award and best debut director feature documentary. The film’s producer, Kat Mansoor, spoke candidly during the best feature doc acceptance speech: “Can we please make it a bit easier to make independent film?… Can we fight the algorithm with more humanity?… and Mubi, can you please buy this fucking film?”
Best director went to Akinola Davies Jr for his debut feature My Father’s Shadow, a story of two brothers who first come to understand their father at a pivotal moment in both his life and Nigerian history. Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value won the best international independent film prize.
Lead performance went to Robert Aramayo for I Swear, who gave a heartfelt speech to thank production company Tempo, sales agent Bankside and distributor Studiocanal, as well as John Davidson, the man upon whom the Tourette’s biopic is based. “John Davidson is one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met in my life… I absolutely adore that man. I’d like to dedicate this to [him].”
The Magic Lantern Cinema in Tywyn, Wales, received the inaugural cinema of the year award.
Warp Films received the honorary special jury prize, with CEO Mark Herbert using his acceptance speech to thank UK crew, saying: ”What I saw on Adolescence was chemistry beyond belief… we’ve made it in this industry because of them.”
Emily Watson was presented the Richard Harris award by Paul Mescal, who has played her son twice, in God’s Creatures and Hamnet.
”To be Oscar-nominated is always an achievement, but to be Oscar-nominated for your first film is quite an achievement,” Mescal said of 1996’s Breaking The Waves. “[Watson] is one of the greatest actors of all time.”
While accepting the award, Watson praised the independent filmmakers in the room. ”You are actually going to save us… The stories that you tell are our life support,” she said. ”We have to keep holding the algorithms to the fire.”
While not familiar film industry figures, hosts Sanders and Kemsley (best known for appearing on Prime Video’s Last One Laughing) were warmly received in the room. Sanders stayed true to her trademark blue humour, notably when introducing award presenter Stephen Merchant to the stage as a “nice big long one”.
Bifa winners 2025
Best British Independent Film
- The Ballad Of Wallis Island - James Griffiths, Tom Basden, Tim Key, Rupert Majendie
- I Swear - Kirk Jones, Georgia Bayliff, Piers Tempest
- My Father’s Shadow - Akinola Davies Jr, Wale Davies, Rachel Dargavel, Funmbi Ogunbanwo
- Pillion - Harry Lighton, Lee Groombridge, Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Emma Norton
- Urchin - Harris Dickinson, Archie Pearch, Scott O’donnell
Best Director
- Laura Carreira - On Falling
- Akinola Davies Jr - My Father’s Shadow
- Kirk Jones - I Swear
- Harry Lighton - Pillion
- Lynne Ramsay - Die My Love
Best Joint Lead Performance
- Ebada Hassan, Saffiya Ingar - Brides
- Tim Key, Tom Basden - The Ballad Of Wallis Island
- Andrea Riseborough, Brenda Blethyn - Dragonfly
Best Ensemble Performance (previously announced)
- Warfare - D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Kit Connor, Finn Bennett, Joseph Quinn, Charles Melton
Best Lead Performance
- Robert Aramayo - I Swear
- Frank Dillane - Urchin
- David Jonsson - Wasteman
- Jennifer Lawrence - Die My Love
- Harry Melling - Pillion
- Cillian Murphy - Steve
Best Screenplay
- Tom Basden, Tim Key - The Ballad Of Wallis Island
- Laura Carreira - On Falling
- Wale Davies - My Father’s Shadow
- Kirk Jones - I Swear
- Harry Lighton - Pillion
Best Supporting Performance
- Tom Blyth - Wasteman
- Scott Ellis Watson - I Swear
- Jay Lycurgo - Steve
- Peter Mullan - I Swear
- Maxine Peake - I Swear
- Alexander Skarsgard - Pillion
Best Feature Documentary
- Antidote - James Jones, David Moulton
- Mother Vera - Cecile Embleton, Alys Tomlinson, Laura Shacham
- Motherboard - Victoria Mapplebeck
- The Shepherd And The Bear - Max Keegan, Elizabeth Woodward, Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss
- A Want In Her - Myrid Carten, Tadhg O’Sullivan, Roisin Geraghty, Kat Mansoor
The Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director)
- Laura Carreira - On Falling
- Akinola Davies Jr - My Father’s Shadow
- Harris Dickinson - Urchin
- Harry Lighton - Pillion
- Cal McMau - Wasteman
Best Debut Screenwriter
- Hunter Andrews, Eoin Doran - Wasteman
- Tom Basden, Tim Key - The Ballad Of Wallis Island
- Laura Carreira - On Falling
- Wale Davies - My Father’s Shadow
- Harry Lighton - Pillion
Breakthrough Producer
- Wyn Baptiste - Shoot The People
- Charlotte Knowles - Palestine Comedy Club
- Joann Kushner - LifeHack [also produced by Timur Bekmambetov, Aleksandr Kletzov]
- Dhiraj Mahey - Ish [also produced by Bennett McGhee]
- Archie Pearch - Urchin [also produced by Scott O’Donnell]
Best Debut Director – Feature Documentary
- Myrid Carten - A Want In Her
- Cecile Embleton, Alys Tomlinson - Mother Vera
- Victoria Mapplebeck - Motherboard
Cinema Of The Year
- Depot Cinema
- The Magic Lantern Cinema
- Montrose Playhouse
- Queen’s Film Theatre
- Watershed
Best British Short Film
- Flock - Mac Nixon, Matt Ashwell, Daley Nixon
- Magid / Zafar - Luis Hindman, Sufiyaan Salam, Aidan Robert Brooks
- A Sisyphean Task - Gus Flind-Henry, George Malcher, George Telfer
- Stomach Bug - Matty Crawford, Karima Sammout Kanellopoulou
- Two Black Boys In Paradise - Ben Jackson, Baz Sells, Dean Atta
Breakthrough Performance
- Scott Ellis Watson - I Swear
- Ebada Hassan - Brides
- Safiyya Ingar - Brides
- Posy Sterling - Lollipop
- Connor Tompkins - The Son And The Sea
The Raindance Maverick Award
- Foul Evil Deeds - Richard Hunter
- Holloway - Sophie Compton, Daisy-May Hudson, Stella Heath Keir, Alice Hughes, Polly Creed
- Mother Vera - Cecile Embleton, Alys Tomlinson, Laura Shacham
- Motherboard - Victoria Mapplebeck
- A Want In Her - Myrid Carten
Best International Independent Film
- It Was Just An Accident - Jafar Panahi, Phillippe Martin
- Sentimental Value - Joachim Trier, Eskil Vogt, Maria Ekerhovd, Andrea Berentsen Ottmar
- Sirāt - Oliver Laxe, Santiago Fillol, Domingo Corral, Oriol Maymo, Andrea Queralt, Mani Mortazavi, Xavi Font, Pedro Almodovar, Agustin Almodovar, Esther García
- Sorry, Baby - Eva Victor, Adele Romanski, Mark Ceryak, Barry Jenkins
- Sound Of Falling - Mascha Schilinski, Louise Peter, Maren Schmitt, Lucas Schmidt
Bifa Craft Winners (previously announced)
- Casting – Lauren Evans, I Swear
- Cinematography – Seamus McGarvey, Die My Love
- Costume design – Grace Snell, Pillion
- Editing – Fin Oates, Warfare
- Effects – Simon Stanley-Clamp and Ryan Conder, Warfare
- Music supervision – Raife Burchell and Ian Neil, Die My Love
- Make-up and hair design – Diandra Ferreira, Pillion
- Original music – Tom Basden and Adem Ilhan, Ballad Of Wallis Island
- Production design – Nathan Parker, Harvest
- Sound – Glenn Freemantle, Mitch Low, Howard Bargroff, Ben Barker and Richard Spooner, Warfare
No comments yet