“Imposter” leads BIFA doc nominees

November 5, 2012 by Adam Benzine

Bart Layton’s documentary The Imposter (pictured) leads the doc field with six nominations at the 15th annual British Independent Film Awards (BIFA), with nods for Best British Independent Film, Best Director and Best Documentary.

The film, which looks at the 1997 case of a French confidence man who impersonated a missing 13-year-old Texan boy, faces off against Dreams of a Life, London: The Modern Babylon, Marley and Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir in the Best Documentary category.

Meanwhile, it is nominated in the main Best British Independent Film category against four fiction titles: Berberian Sound Studio, Broken, Sightseers and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

The film also got a nod for Best Achievement In Production, and Andrew Hulme is nominated in the Best Technical Achievement category for his editing work on the doc. Director Layton is nominated for both Best Director and The Douglas Hickox Award [Best Debut Director].

Elsewhere, Zawe Ashton is nominated in the Most Promising Newcomer category for her portrayal of Joyce Vincent in the documentary/drama hybrid Dreams of a Life; while Sundance hit Searching For Sugar Man is nominated for Best International Independent Film, against fiction offerings Amour, The Hunt, Beasts of the Southern Wild and Rust & Bone.

The nominees for The Raindance Award, meanwhile, include Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet, which faces off against Frank, Strings, Love Tomorrow and City Slacker.

BFI CEO Amanda Nevill said: “At 15 years old, the BIFAs are now firmly established as a key date in the UK film industry calendar and we’re delighted to be supporting this year’s awards.

“The BIFAs are the UK’s only awards focusing entirely on independent British films, [and] as such they really help to shine a spotlight on the vast range and breadth of excellence in independent UK filmmaking – helping to promote independent British films to new audiences, and setting a focus on the best of British just as the international awards season begins.”

The winners will be announced on December 9 at the Old Billingsgate in London.

Tags: THe Imposter