‘Philomena,’ Scarlett Johansson Get Boost From British Indie Awards

There’s some good news for Judi Dench and the people who like to see her awarded for her acting, as the British Independent Film Awards really seem to like Philomena. There’s something about indie film awards that make them want to get out of the gate first, isn’t there? New York’s Gotham awards announced their nominated indies a couple weeks ago, and the Independent Spirit Awards will announce in a few weeks. Today, we get the slate for the British Independent Film Awards, which offer a mix of transatlantic hits with more under-the-radar far, and which give a decent sized boost to Oscar hopefuls like Philomena and Scarlett Johansson.

Philomena is the latest from director Stephen Frears, from a script by co-star Steve Coogan and starring Judi Dench in a performance that will likely receive a big push for a Best Actress nomination. She plays a woman searching for the child she gave up for adoption as a young girl, with Coogan as the reporter helping her. Both stars got nominations for their acting, and the film itself joins Metro Manila, The Selfish Giant, Starred Up, and Le Week-End as Best British Independent Film nominees.

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Also nominated for Best Actress was Scarlett Johansson, for Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin, in which she plays an alien seeking human contact in Scotland. Talk about your awards-bait! While Under the Skin would certainly be a long-shot for Oscar attention, more nominations for Johansson mean more fuel for her eventual campaign for Spike Jonze’s Her, where she’s seeking to make history in Best Supporting Actress as the first voice-only performance to be nominated. She also nabbed a Gotham Awards nomination for her performance in Don Jon, and that kind of “What a Great Year!” momentum has worked for actors in the past.

In other good news, the British Indies provided the season’s first nomination for Frances Ha, Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig’s critically acclaimed indie that opened in the spring and proceeded to have every subsequent indie darling steal a bit more of its thunder. It’s nominated in the Best International Indie category, along with Blue Is the Warmest Color and Blue Jasmine.

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Full list of British Independent Film Awards nominees:

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM

Metro Manila Philomena The Selfish Giant Starred Up Le Week-End

BEST DIRECTOR Jon S Baird – Filth Clio Barnard – The Selfish Giant Sean Ellis – Metro Manila Jonathan Glazer – Under the Skin David Mackenzie – Starred Up

BEST DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD FOR DEBUT DIRECTOR Charlie Cattrall – Titus Tina Gharavi – I Am Nasrine Jeremy Lovering – In Fear Omid Nooshin – Last Passenger Paul Wright – For Those in Peril

BEST SCREENPLAY Jonathan Asser – Starred Up Clio Barnard – The Selfish Giant Steven Knight – Locke Hanif Kureishi – Le Week-End Jeff Pope, Steve Coogan – Philomena

BEST ACTRESS Judi Dench – Philomena Lindsay Duncan – Le Week-End Scarlett Johansson – Under the Skin Felicity Jones – The Invisible Woman Saoirse Ronan – How I Live Now

BEST ACTOR Jim Broadbent – Le Week-End Steve Coogan – Philomena Tom Hardy – Locke Jack O’Connell – Starred Up James McAvoy – Filth

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BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Siobhan Finneran – The Selfish Giant Shirley Henderson – Filth Imogen Poots – The Look Of Love Kristin Scott Thomas – The Invisible Woman Mia Wasikowska – The Double

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR John Arcilla – Metro Manila Rupert Friend – Starred Up Jeff Goldblum – Le Week-End Eddie Marsan – Filth Ben Mendelsohn – Starred Up

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER Harley Bird – How I Live Now Conner Chapman / Shaun Thomas – The Selfish Giant Caity Lotz – The Machine Jake Macapagal – Metro Manila Chloe Pirrie – Shell

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION A Field in England Filth Metro Manila The Selfish Giant Starred Up

BEST TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT Shaheen Baig – Casting – Starred Up Johnnie Burn – Sound Design – Under the Skin Amy Hubbard – Casting – The Selfish Giant Mica Levi – Music – Under the Skin Justine Wright – Editing – Locke

BEST DOCUMENTARY Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer The Great Hip Hop Hoax The Moo Man The Spirit of ’45 The Stone Roses: Made of Stone

BEST BRITISH SHORT L’Assenza Dr Easy Dylan’s Room Jonah Z1

BEST INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM Blue is the Warmest Colour Blue Jasmine Frances Ha The Great Beauty Wadjda

THE RAINDANCE AWARD Everyone’s Going to Die The Machine The Patrol Sleeping Dogs Titus

This article was originally published at http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2013/11/philomena-scarlett-johansson-get-boost-british-indie-awards/71463/

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