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Samantha Morton with Kathleen McDermott in Morvern Callar
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Nottingham-born star Samantha Morton has been named as the recipient of this year's BIFA Richard Harris Award in ackownledgement of her contribution to cinema.
Morton began to make a name for herself in TV series including Cracker and Band Of Gold before moving into film. She began to attract international attention with the likes of Lynne Ramsay's Morvern Callar and found blockbuster fame alongside Tom Cruise in Minority Report.
She has been previously nominated for eight BIFAs, including for her roles in Carine Adler's Under The Skin, Julien Temple’s Coleridge biopic Pandaemonium, In America, winning the award for her role in Morvern Callar.
She has twice been Oscar-nominated, for her supporting role in Sweet And Lowdown and for her leading turn in In America. She has received four BAFTA nominations down the years, winning for Best Single Drama, The Unloved in 2019, her autobiographical directorial debut.
Samantha can currently be seen in Lionsgate+ hit series The Serpent Queen, and recent film work includes Sarah Sugarman’s Save The Cinema, Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale and Maria Schrader’s She Said. She is also currently filming a lead role in new television drama The Burning Girls.
Samantha Morton said: “I am moved beyond words that the BIFAs have chosen me to receive this year’s Richard Harris award. This means the world to me. Independent cinema is my true home, the reason for my art, and Richard Harris was my first teacher. It is a great privilege to join such an esteemed group of former honourees, each of them champions of the British screen, and to be able to continue shining a light on the immense wealth and diversity of talented filmmakers and artists we have on these islands.”
Damian, Jared and Jamie Harris, in whose father’s memory the award is presented, commented: “Samantha Morton seemed to arrive like a meteor, her performances in Under The Skin, Sweet and Lowdown, Jesus’ Son and Morvern Callar impacted not only British cinema. After having worked with Samantha on This Is The Sea, Richard was as impressed with her work as I had ever seen him. He told me, ‘If you ever get the opportunity to work with her, grab it. She is the real effing deal’.”
The 25th British Independent Film Awards take place on Sunday 4 December at Old Billingsgate.
