The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA), of which Raindance is the proud founder, was established in 1998. Each year we are so honoured and delighted to see independent cinema rewarded and celebrated as it should be. BIFA champions diversity in the arts, which, in independent cinema, in particular, provides an avenue for freedom of expression.
We are particularly excited to share with you the Raindance Discovery Award nominees that we believe represent the heart of independent cinema. All the films that have been selected under this category are films that have a budget of less than £500k. This category aims to reward the filmmakers’ unique vision, the independent spirit of the works and the originality of the narrative.
Five films were nominated for the Raindance Discovery Award this year. The titles are ELECTRIC MALADY, FADIA’S TREE, OFF THE RAILS, REBELLION and WINNERS.
Electric Malady
ELECTRIC MALADY is a documentary directed by Swedish director Marie Lidén. This film provides an interesting dramatic insight into isolation and what it means to suffer from a condition that no one recognises. While Lidén has dabbled in the world of documentaries, this is her first feature film. BIFA will be screening the UK premiere of this film which explores an unusual allergy to everything electronic. A disturbing insight into the idea of connectivity, we highly recommend you catch ELECTRIC MALADY, which will be released in cinemas in February 2023.
Fadia’s Tree
FADIA’S TREE, directed by Sarah Beddington, is a documentary about a Palestinian refugee in Lebanon. The film has already begun its journey through various film festivals, having won and been nominated for several awards (Best Documentary at both the Barnes Film Festival and the Karama Human Rights Film Festival). Beddington takes audiences on a journey of a Palestinian woman as she searches for her origins, trying to reconnect with her roots in a time of fear and uncertainty. FADIA’S TREE is Beddington’s debut feature film.
Off the Rails
Peter Day directs a documentary about a couple of friends, aspiring YouTubers and parkour enthusiasts, who are trying to overcome the tragic loss of their best friend. OFF THE RAILS is currently premiering at several festivals: the Documentary Edge Festival, the Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival (where Day won the Best New Zealand Feature award) and the Warsaw International Film Festival. Peter Day has directed several TV series episodes, but this is his first feature in the cinema world.
Rebellion
REBELLION is a documentary directed by Maria Kenworthy and Elena Sánchez Bellot. It is the first feature doc to analyse the Extinction Rebellion movement. The film has already received several nominations and awards at various festivals. The narrative within this documentary takes a unique approach as it does not just tell the story of this specific social movement fighting against climate change, but takes a step further to unravel the difficulties faced by the people who are a part of it.
Winners
WINNERS, by Hassan Nazer, is the only narrative film to be part of the nominations in this category. The film follows the story of a child and a retired Iranian film star who find a prestigious film award and set out to return it to its rightful owner. It is a very special film for us because it made its UK debut at our 30th Raindance Film Festival and won Best UK Feature. WINNERS has been selected as the UK entry for the 2023 Oscars and we are very proud to have had it in as part of our festival and within the BIFAs.
Raindance is eternally proud of BIFA, our nominees, and this award in particular. We hope that our love for independent cinema and the celebration of unique storytelling, that we have been proudly building for the past 30 years, will be passed on to our audiences for years to come. Indie cinema will never die, help us make it live on in the theatres and in all of us.
Raindance promotes and supports independent filmmaking and filmmakers.
From new and emerging to industry pros, Raindance connects, trains, supports, and promotes visual storytellers through every step of their career.
The Raindance Film Festival runs each Summer in London’s Leicester Square.
Raindance has been delivering film training since 1992. A wide range of Open Classes to a 2 year HND Level 5 BTEC in Moving Images to a Postgraduate Film Degree are delivered to students on five continents, both in person and online.
