EM MEDIA-BACKED FILMS SWEEP THE BOARD AT THE BIFAS
The East Midlands’ growing reputation as the home of innovative and distinctive filmmaking was further advanced last night, as films from the region picked up an astonishing SIX gongs at last night’s British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs).
Leading the way was Anton Corbijn’s fêted Control, which picked up a total of five awards including the BIFA’s top prize, the award for Best British Independent Film. This marks two-in-a-row for EM Media: last year’s winner of the Best Film trophy was Shane Meadows’ acclaimed This Is England, which was also co-financed by the agency.
The full list of BIFAs won by EM Media co-financed films is as follows:
Best British Independent Film (Control)
Best Director (Anton Corbijn, Control)
The Douglas Hickox Award for Best Debut Director (Anton Corbijn, Control)
Most Promising Newcomer (Sam Riley, Control)
Best Supporting Actor/Actress (Toby Kebbell, Control)
Best British Short Film (Dog Altogether)
Control shot on location in Nottingham for two months during the summer of 2006. The film tells the story of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis and was inspired by the book Touching From A Distance, written by Ian Curtis’s widow Deborah Curtis. It follows Curtis’s rise to fame, his battles with epilepsy, his relationships with both his wife and girlfriend and his suicide in 1980.
Control is the directorial debut of photographer Anton Corbijn, well known for his iconic stills of Joy Division, and is also a debut for actor Sam Riley who was working full time in a warehouse until Corbijn cast him as Ian Curtis. The film received an investment of £250,000 from EM Media through the European Regional Development Fund and the production brought an inward investment of £2 million to the region.
Acclaimed actor Paddy Considine, who has stared in films including The Bourne Ultimatum and Hot Fuzz, picked up the Best Short Film award for his directorial debut, Dog Altogether. Dog Altogether tells the story of Joseph, a man who is plagued by a violent rage that is driving him to self destruction. Featuring an astonishing central performance from celebrated actor Peter Mullan, Dog Altogether shot on location in Glasgow with post-production in Nottingham. The film received an Individual Production investment of £10,000 from EM Media through the European Regional Development Fund.
EM Media’s Chief Executive, Debbie Williams, was joined at last night’s ceremony by Jeff Moore, Chief Executive of the East Midlands Development Agency, EM Media Board member, Stephen Frears (Director: The Queen, Dangerous Liaisons), Nottingham-based director Shane Meadows (This Is England, Dead Man’s Shoes), and Warp Films producer Mark Herbert. Debbie said of the BIFA wins, “This is the second year in a row that an EM Media co-financed film has scooped BIFA’s top prize. We think it’s fantastic that BIFA has again acknowledged what we at EM Media have always known; namely that the East Midlands’ outstanding talent pool, varied locations and exceptional crew base, coupled with EM Media’s strategic investment in pioneering British cinema, makes ours one of the UK’s most exciting regions for film.”.
2007 marks the 10th anniversary of the British Independent Film Awards. Throughout the past decade the BIFAs have become established as a stamp of quality for British independent film, acknowledging cinematic masterpieces including My Name is Joe, which won Best Film and Best Director for Ken Loach in BIFAs inaugural year 1998, followed by: Wonderland, Billy Elliot, Sexy Beast, Sweet Sixteen, Dirty Pretty Things, Vera Drake, The Constant Gardener and This is England; all past winners of the Best British Independent Film Award.
The awards ceremony, which was hosted by James Nesbitt, took place last night at the Roundhouse in London.
For further information please contact Emma Hewitt, Communications Coordinator, EM Media on 0115 934 9097 or via email at emma.hewitt@em-media.org.uk.