Longlist announced for BIFA’s Raindance Discovery Award 2022

With Raindance, Britain’s biggest independent film festival, celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2022, the festival remains a place to discover the work of passionate and pioneering new filmmakers.

Raindance further champions new filmmakers with the Raindance Discovery Award at the BIFAs (British Independent Film Awards), the awards ceremony founded by Raindance in 1998, and which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. This award highlights innovation, uniqueness of vision, maverick filmmaking and risk-taking, with a budget under £500k and no, or very limited, theatrical distribution deals in place.

This year’s Raindance Discovery Award longlist highlights 12 standout films, comprising six features and six documentaries.

“Raindance’s motto is ‘Discover. Be Discovered’. And this year’s Raindance Discovery Award longlist once again unearths some true gems of independent cinema,” says Elliot Grove, founder of Raindance and BIFA. “We are excited to champion these fresh, relevant, and inventive films. And of course, I’m especially thrilled that three of the longlisted films will screen at this year’s Raindance Film Festival.”

The longlist of documentaries include DONNA, an intimate and candid portrait of the inspiring trans activist, artist and performer Donna Personna. ELECTRIC MALADY is an intimate window into the life of a man who, living with a debilitating condition, is forced to retreat from society and live in isolation, removed from modern technology. A story of a friendship that stays connected across a divided land, FADIA’S TREE, tells of a Palestinian refugee in Lebanon, and her challenge to find an ancient mulberry tree that once grew next to her grandfather’s house. OFF THE RAILS follows two failing working-class teenagers, honing their gravity-defying Urban Extreme and Parkour skills, and dreaming of escape from boring Guildford. With unprecedented access, REBELLION tells the behind-the-scenes story of Extinction Rebellion from its launch in 2018. And set to have its European Premiere at the 30th Raindance Film Festival, WHEN WE SPEAK sees a trio of whistleblowers (British intelligence employee Katharine Gun, Oxfam aid worker Helen Evans, and Hollywood actress Rose McGowan) share their motivations, experiences, and fallout of their own cases.

Longlisted features include A CLEVER WOMAN, the story of sisters and performance artists (Josie Lawrence and Tanya Myers) who return to their family home following the death of their mother and are forced to engage with ghosts of the past. Starring Rory Alexander, Mark Rylance and Kathryn Hunter, INLAND is a modern fairytale exploring the fractured identity of a young man after the mysterious disappearance of his mother. Set to have its World Premiere at this year’s Raindance, SWEDE CAROLINE follows a competitive giant vegetable grower (Jo Hartley) as she readies herself for the big annual National Veg Championship – only to find her prized marrow plants are stolen. A nostalgic 80s comedy with a fast-paced narrative, THE FENCE follows an 18-year-old working-class boy who has his motorcycle stolen the day he buys it. Set during a pandemic, WAYFINDER follows a young girl on an intrepid journey across England, with themes of class, economic exclusion, belonging, displacement, cultural heritage, and the meaning of home. And having its London Premiere at Raindance, WINNERS is the story of a 9-year-old boy and his friend living in a poor provincial Iranian town, who find a precious film awards statue – so they decide to find the owner.

FULL LONGLIST: 

A Clever Woman – Jon Sanders, Anna Mottram  

Donna – Jay Bedwani, Dewi Gregory 

Electric Malady – Marie Lidén, Aimara Reques 

Fadia’s Tree – Sarah Beddington, Susan Simnett  

Inland – Fridtjof Ryder, Henry Richmond, Louis Paine 

Off The Rails – Peter Day, Grant Keir, Rob Alexander  

Rebellion – Maia Kenworthy, Elena Sánchez Bellot, Kat Mansoor  

Swede Caroline – Finn Bruce, Brook Driver, Anthony Toma  

The Fence – William Stone, Adam Pickford, Guy Davies  

Wayfinder – Larry Achiampong 

When We Speak – Tas Brooker, James Wiseman 

Winners – Hassan Nazer, Nadira Murray, Paul Welsh   

Previous recipients include Ben Wheatley, receiving an early accolade for his first feature Down Terrace. BIFA’s Raindance Discovery Award was presented in 2021 to Poly Styrene – I Am A Cliché (Paul Sng, Celeste Bell, Zoë Howe, Rebecca Mark-Lawson, Matthew Silverman, Daria Nitsche), documenting the punk icon and X-Ray Spex front-woman, as seen from her daughter’s perspective. 

The final list of 5 nominations will be announced on Thursday 3rd November (tbc), winner announcement at the awards ceremony on Sunday 4th December.