Metro Manila honored at BIFAs

Oscar (Jake Macapagal), Mai (Althea Vega) and Angel (Erin Panlilio) in Metro Manila - ' I wanted us to have empathy with them and understand the plight of their journey'.

Metro Manila - a thriller about a family trying to survive on the breadline in the Phillippines - was the big winner at this year's British Independent Film Awards, picking up the trophies for Best Film, Best Director for Sean Ellis and Best Achievement in Production (you can read what Ellis told us earlier this year about the film here). For Those In Peril helmer Paul Wright was named Best Debut Director.

Lindsay Duncan was named Best Actress for her role as one half of a troubled married couple in Le Weekend, while James McAvoy was named Best Actor for his role as a damaged policeman in the big screen adapation of Filth.

Imogen Poots was named Best Supporting Actress for her role in the Paul Raymond biopic The Look Of Love, while Aussie actor Ben Mendelsohn took home the Best Supporting Actor gong for David Mackenzie's prison drama Starred Up.

The directors of the awards Johanna von Fischer and Tessa Collinson said: "This year our independent jury had an extremely tough job, they were asked to choose from an impressive pool of talent and creativity in a year where the diversity of storytelling is more extreme than ever. Thanks to an independent film industry which encompasses so many different cultures, personalities, visions and voices, Britain is producing a new generation of fearless artists both behind and in front of the camera who represent that richness of our diverse British society. With so many of the films exploring themes about being less judgmental and more forgiving, this perhaps reflects a movement within British independent filmmaking that brings much hope for the future.”

The full list of nominees, and winners, is below

Best British Independent Film

• Winner: Metro Manila
• Philomena
• The Selfish Giant
• Starred Up
• Le Week-end

Best Director

• Winner: Sean Ellis – Metro Manila
• Jon S Baird – Filth
• Clio Barnard – The Selfish Giant
• Jonathan Glazer – Under The Skin
• David Mackenzie – Starred Up

The Douglas Hickox Award [Best Debut Director]

• Winner: Paul Wright – For Those in Peril
• Charlie Cattrall – Titus
• Tina Gharavi – I Am Nasrine
• Jeremy Lovering – In Fear
• Omid Nooshin – Last Passenger

Best Screenplay

• Winner: Steven Knight – Locke
• Jonathan Asser – Starred Up
• Clio Barnard – The Selfish Giant
• Hanif Kureishi – Le Week-end
• Jeff Pope, Steve Coogan – Philomena

Best Actress

• Winner: Lindsay Duncan – Le Week-end
• Judi Dench – Philomena
• Scarlett Johansson – Under The Skin
• Felicity Jones – The Invisible Woman
• Saoirse Ronan – How I Live Now

Best Actor

• Winner: James McAvoy – Filth
• Jim Broadbent – Le Week-end
• Steve Coogan – Philomena
• Tom Hardy – Locke
• Jack O'Connell – Starred Up

Best Supporting Actress

• Winner: Imogen Poots – The Look Of Love
• Siobhan Finneran – The Selfish Giant
• Shirley Henderson – Filth
• Kristin Scott Thomas – The Invisible Woman
• Mia Wasikowska – The Double

Best Supporting Actor

• Winner: Ben Mendelsohn – Starred Up
• John Arcilla – Metro Manila
• Rupert Friend – Starred Up
• Jeff Goldblum – Le Week-end
• Eddie Marsan – Filth

Most Promising Newcomer

• Winner: Chloe Pirrie – Shell
• Harley Bird – How I Live Now
• Conner Chapman/Shaun Thomas – The Selfish Giant
• Caity Lotz – The Machine
• Jake Macapagal – Metro Manila

Best Achievement In Production

• Winner: Metro Manila
• A Field In England
• Filth
• The Selfish Giant
• Starred Up

Best Technical Achievement

• Winner: Amy Hubbard – Casting – The Selfish Giant
• Shaheen Baig – Casting – Starred Up
• Johnnie Burn – Sound Design – Under The Skin
• Mica Levi – Music – Under The Skin
• Justine Wright – Editing – Locke

Best Documentary

• Winner: Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer
• The Great Hip Hop Hoax
• The Moo Man
• The Spirit of '45
• The Stone Roses: Made of Stone

Best British Short

• Winner: Z1
• L'Assenza
• Dr Easy
• Dylan's Room
• Jonah

Best International Independent Film

• Winner: Blue is the Warmest Colour
• Blue Jasmine
• Frances Ha
• The Great Beauty
• Wadjda

The Raindance Award

Winner: The Machine Everyone’s Going to Die The Patrol Sleeping Dogs Titus