Andrea Arnold and “American Honey” won big at the British Independent Film Awards over the weekend. It took home four awards total, including Best British Independent Film.
“American Honey” stars newcomer Sasha Lane as a young runaway who teams up with a group of rowdy traveling magazine sales-kids who scour the American heartland all day to make a buck just to party all night. A number of critics have compared “American Honey” to Larry Clark’s “Kids,” noting their shared examination of troubled youth and adolescent issues.
Arnold won Best Director, Lane took Best Actress, and cinematographer Robbie Ryan’s work was rewarded with the Outstanding Achievement in Craft Award.
Women were celebrated throughout the night, with Rachel Tunnard taking home the Best Debut Screenwriter Award for “Adult Life Skills.” The film, Tunnard told Women and Hollywood, centers on “a woman experiencing an early mid-life crisis that has seen her move back home, live in her mum’s shed and strike up a friendship with a little boy who dresses up as a cowboy. It’s a story about being lost and finding yourself, making peace with who you are and regaining self-confidence and dignity.”
Two up and coming actresses were honored at the event. The Farsi horror film “Under the Shadow” took the Best Supporting Actress prize for it’s nine-year-old star, Avin Manshadi, and “I, Daniel Blake’s” Hayley Squires nabbed Most Promising Newcomer.
Women also received some of the night’s other awards. As Variety writes, “Naomie Harris was presented The Variety Award by Danny Boyle in recognition of the global impact she has made in 2016, helping to focus the international film spotlight on the U.K. The Richard Harris Award was presented to Alison Steadman by Richard Harris’ granddaughter Ella Harris and Steadman’s co-star from ‘Life Is Sweet,’ Claire Skinner. The award recognizes outstanding contribution to British film by an actor.”
A special jury prize was presented to Clare Binns, director of programming and acquisitions at Picturehouse Cinemas and Picturehouse Entertainment. The jury praised her “unstinting efforts in bringing independent film to new audiences.”
The award ceremony was hosted by “Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie” star and screenwriter Jennifer Saunders. The list of women winners as well as winners of female-centric films are listed below, courtesy of Variety.
BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM
“American Honey,” Andrea Arnold, Lars Knudsen, Jay Van Hoy, Pouya Shahbazian, Alice Weinberg, Thomas Benski, Lucas Ochoa
INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM
“Moonlight,” co-producer Dede Gardner
DIRECTOR
Andrea Arnold, “American Honey”
SCREENPLAY
Babak Anvari, “Under the Shadow”
ACTRESS
Sasha Lane, “American Honey”
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Avin Manshadi, “Under the Shadow”
CRAFT
Robbie Ryan, cinematography “American Honey”
DEBUT SCREENWRITER
Rachel Tunnard, “Adult Life Skills”
BREAKTHROUGH PRODUCER
Camille Gatin, “The Girl With All the Gifts”
MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER
Hayley Squires, “I, Daniel Blake”
BRITISH SHORT
“Jacked,” Rene Pannevis, Ashish Ghadiali, Jennifer Eriksson
