The Favourite Sweeps British Independent Film Awards with 10 Wins

The British Independent Film Awards took place over the weekend, and Yorgos Lanthimos’s pitch black comedy/drama The Favourite absolutely dominated the ceremony. It wasn’t even close, as The Favourite took home a record 10 awards in total including Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actress for Olivia Colman, and Supporting Actress for Rachel Weisz The other major winner of the night was the unique heist flick American Animals, for which Bart Layton won Debut Screenwriter and the film itself won Best Editing.

But yeah, The Favourite was, well, they heavy favorite from the organization, which celebrates British independent filmmaking. And this is unlikely to be the end of the road as far as the awards go for Lanthimos’ film, as it’s already a heavy Oscar contender in Best Picture, Actress, and Supporting Actress, and I could certainly see Lanthimos getting a Best Director nomination in addition to Oscar nods for Original Screenplay, Costume Design, Cinematography, Makeup & Hairstyling, and Production Design.

The big question with regards to The Favourite this Oscar season is concerning its two “supporting” performances from Weisz and Emma Stone. In truth, the film is a three-hander, but Fox Searchlight decided to push Colman in Best Actress while Weisz and Stone are competing in Supporting Actress. Colman is a genuine contender to win the lead trophy, and while both Weisz and Stone give tremendous performances, I may give Weisz the edge at this point—as evidenced by her BIFA win.