Elsinore Leads Bifas With 12 Nominations — SkimNews
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- Elsinore, in which Andrew Scott plays Ian Charleson taking on Shakespeare’s Hamlet in the months before Charleson died of Aids in 1990, received 12 nominations, including best British independent film, best director for Simon Stone and best lead performance for Scott.
- Andrew Scott is already tipped as favourite for the best actor Oscar, with a win making him the first out gay actor to receive it.
- Elsinore drew rave reviews after its September Telluride premiere; the Guardian’s Benjamin Lee called it “a devastating movie” and said it implored viewers to remember Charleson and men like him.
- I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning earned eight nominations, including best British independent film, best director for Clio Barnard and best ensemble performance; Animol received seven, including lead performance for Tut Nyuot and debut director for Ashley Walters, while Mike Leigh’s Tender Loving Care received four.
- Bifas places Scott and Tut Nyuot in one non-gendered lead-performance category alongside Juliette Binoche and Leisa Gwenllian, making the awards distinctive on acting categories.
- Ultimate Picture Palace is one of five cinema-of-the-year contenders, while its landlord, Oriel College, Oxford University, has threatened the Oxford venue with closure; the inaugural 2025 winner was the Magic Lantern Cinema in Tywyn, Wales.
- Roundhouse in London will host the Bifas ceremony on 6 December, when the winners will be announced.
Why it matters: With 12 nominations, Elsinore enters the 6 December ceremony four ahead of I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning and five ahead of Animol, placing Scott and director Simon Stone at the center of the awards race. The same ballot also formally recognizes non-gendered performance categories and five cinemas, including the closure-threatened Ultimate Picture Palace.
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