Today, Directors Notes is thrilled to exclusively unveil the 12 filmmakers longlisted for the 2025 Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director), sponsored by BBC Film, at the 28th British Independent Film Awards (BIFA). This longlist is a powerful showcase of the next wave of cinematic innovators. It’s your introduction to the 12 directors who represent the vibrant future of independent film. In our continuing BIFA interview series, we’ll be digging into their unique production journeys—tracing the path of their debut features from initial ideation all the way to this awards recognition.
Mark your calendars: the shortlist will be revealed on Monday, 3rd November, with the culminating awards ceremony taking place on Sunday, 30th November at Camden’s Roundhouse.
Stroma Cairns
The Son and the Sea
When Jonah and his best mate Lee take a trip to the Northeast coast of Scotland, they meet Charlie and learn that connection goes beyond words, and joy can be found despite loss.
Aurora is a Portuguese worker in a Scottish warehouse, who deals with loneliness and alienation in an algorithm-driven gig economy as she looks for meaning and connection within workplace confines.
Ronan Corrigan
LifeHack
Four teenage slackers attempt a multi-million-dollar Bitcoin heist from their bedrooms, only to spiral into the darkest corners of the internet—and a danger beyond their computer screens.
Two young brothers explore Lagos with their estranged father during the 1993 Nigerian election crisis, witnessing both the city’s magnitude and their father’s daily struggles as political unrest threatens their journey home.
Harris Dickinson
Urchin
A young addict living on the streets of London is given a shot at redemption, but his road to recovery soon curdles into a strange odyssey from which he may never escape.
Patrick Dickinson
Cottontail
A widower from Japan travels with his estranged son to England in order to fulfill his late wife’s dying wish.
Nadia Fall
Brides
Two teenage girls in search of freedom, friendship, and belonging run away from their lives in the UK with a dangerous plan of travelling to Syria.
Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor
Dreamers
As her freedom is threatened, Isio, a Nigerian migrant freshly placed at a UK asylum removal centre, searches for the will to battle the system and finds a kindred spirit who might help her through. Freedom is elusive, but love is eternal.
A young woman released from prison tries to regain custody of her children and bumps into her childhood friend Amina. The two women soon realise the potential of joining forces and take destiny into their own hands.
Harry Lighton
Pillion
Colin, a timid man, meets Ray, a confident biker gang leader, who initiates him into a submissive relationship, challenging Colin’s mundane existence and prompting personal growth through their unconventional dynamic.
Parolee Taylor’s hopes for a fresh start are jeopardized by cellmate Dee’s arrival. As Dee takes Taylor under his wing, a vicious attack tests their bond, forcing Taylor to choose between protecting Dee and his own chances at freedom.
Two best friends face the end of childhood when racial profiling and a traumatic police stop-and-search tear them apart, teaching Ish about letting go in a society where brown boys are constantly watched.
