71, first-time director's film about the Troubles, wins nine Bifa nominations A historical drama about a soldier in Belfast at the height of the Troubles has picked up the highest number of nominations at this year's British independent film awards. 71, from the first-time director Yann Demange and starring the former Skins actor Jack O'Connell, picked up nine nominations, including best British independent film, debut director, best actor and best screenplay. Pride, which tells the true story of gay and lesbian activists during the 1984 miners" strike, received seven nominations. Mike Leigh's critically acclaimed biopic of the artist Turner, Lenny Abrahamson's comedy drama about Frank Sidebottom, and Catch Me Daddy, about a so-called honour killing on the Yorkshire moors, each received five nominations. 71 tells the story of a young soldier, played by O'Connell, and his experience as Belfast erupts into sectarian violence. Angus Lamont, the film's producer, said the teams were blown away to receive such widespread recognition at the Bifas for a film that many had initially deemed risky. "We saw early on that the film had a really powerful impact on viewers; it was a very visceral experience, which is what we hoped for," he said. It was always a risky project in terms of the scale that was required to deliver it. We knew it was going to be a challenge considering we had a first-time director and a very young lead actor and it was a period film about the Troubles. So for a lot of people that was four black marks right away, so we had to fight against that. But what's been produced is a film that transcends the actual Troubles and is quite universal and timeless. It was a view echoed by Chris Wyatt, the film's editor, who praised the vision of Demange as a debut director. "Yann is such an extraordinary talent and he's always breaking out of every framework you give him," he said. "The first time I read "71, I couldn't believe how visceral it was and how little it had in terms of dialogue and that was categorically the most exciting thing about it. Both Lamont and Wyatt acknowledged that "71 was "unique" for a debut independent film project to receive the financial backing it had, and Lamont said he felt "new directors will be more and more challenged to do pieces that are low budget and films like "71 will become more unusual. There is no doubt about it, it is a fight, it is a struggle to fund films such as this. I do think many British independent films have to really fight to hold their own," he added. Other features nominated for best film include Calvary and The Imitation Game, while Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley received nods for best actor and actress respectively. The awards also saw model turned actor Cara Delevingne among those nominated for most promising newcomer for her role in The Face of an Angel, the dramatisation of the Amanda Knox case. George MacKay, Joe Gilgun and Paddy Considine star in Pride, which looks at gay and lesbian activists" support for striking miners in the 1980s. Photograph: Nicola Dove/Allstar Pride picked up nominations for best supporting actress for Imelda Staunton and best supporting actor for Andrew Scott, known also for his role as Moriarty in the BBC's Sherlock. "The real achievement of Pride is that it is funny and sad and didn't shy away from the political nature of the story," said Scott. The thing I liked about the role is that he is a very sad, melancholy gentle character, which is very different from other parts I've played of late. And it's just good writing - the script was really extraordinary from the very beginning. 20,000 Days on Earth, about the enigmatic musician and Bad Seeds frontman Nick Cave, also received three nominations, including best documentary and best debut director for Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, who co-wrote and directed the film. "It's absolutely remarkable to be nominated, it feels like such an achievement to be standing out in such a healthy year for British film," said Pollard. Discussing the film's nomination in the best documentary category, she said: "It is a music documentary and it is about a real person, but its relationship with truth is loose; fast and loose in every regard. In fact I think some of the most interesting films that have come out of the documentary genre are those that really operate with truth in an unusual way and understand that when you are telling a story, you are telling one version, one manifestation of something and that's part construct. So we just turned that up to 11. Recounting how the film came about, Forsyth said: "This film was sort of a happy accident. We've known Nick for a few years and done a few different things together so when Nick started writing his album he phoned us and said, "why don't you come and bring your cameras down to the studio?," which in all the time we've known him he's never said. So it was just really surprising. And then once we had this material we felt like it would be such a shame if it just disappeared into the kind of promotion machine attached to the album. We felt a great responsibility to Nick and it meant a great deal to us that he was willing to participate. We felt a responsibility to be as broad thinking as he is and be as progressive. The awards will be judged by a panel that includes Tom Hooper, the director of The King's Speech, Filth director Jon S Baird, Thea Sharrock, the director of Southwark theatre, and the Oscar-nominated actor Stanley Tucci. The winners will be announced on 7 December. Best British independent film Calvary Mr Turner Pride The Imitation Game Best director John Michael McDonagh - Calvary Lenny Abrahamson - Frank Matthew Warchus - Pride Mike Leigh - Mr Turner Yann Demange - "71 Best actress Alicia Vikander - Testament of Youth Cheng Pei-Pei - Lilting Gugu Mbatha-Raw - Belle Keira Knightley - The Imitation Game Sameena Jabeen Ahmed - Catch Me Daddy Best actor Asa Butterfield - X+Y Benedict Cumberbatch - The Imitation Game Brendan Gleeson - Calvary Jack O'Connell - "71 Timothy Spall - Mr Turner Best documentary 20,000 Days on Earth Next Goal Wins Night Will Fall The Possibilities Are Endless Virunga