After another brilliant year of British film, the ponderously-named (but brilliant) London Evening Standard British Film Awards are once more giving the Oscars a run for their money by focusing in on the important stuff – films that we make. The shortlist for this year’s awards, which are to be judged by a panel of critics including Kate Muir (The Times), Anthony Quinn (The Independent), Tim Robey (The Daily Telegraph) and Evening Standard arts editor Fiona Hughes, has just been announced, and we couldn’t be more excited about the upcoming ceremony (supported by Moët & Chandon) on the fourth of February.

Heavy hitters include Berberian Sound Studio (Film of the Year and Best Actor for Toby Jones), Sightseers (Film of the Year, Best Actress for Alice Lowe and the Peter Sellers Award for Comedy for director Ben Wheatley) and My Brother the Devil (Best Newcomer for writer/director Sally El Hosaini, Best Newcomer for star James Floyd and Best Cinematography for David Raedeker). It’s also a pleasure to see Skyfall in the running for Film of the Year after its unconscionable dismissal by the Academy.

The full nominations follow.

Film of the Year

Berberian Sound Studio (dir. Peter Strickland)
Sightseers (dir. Ben Wheatley)
Skyfall (dir. Sam Mendes)

Best Actor

Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln
Toby Jones – Berberian Sound Studio
Eddie Redmayne – Les Misérables

Best Actress

Alice Lowe – Sightseers
Charlotte Rampling – I, Anna
Andrea Riseborough – Shadow Dancer

Best Screenplay

Tom Bradby – Shadow Dancer
Malcolm Campbell – What Richard Did
Paul Laverty – The Angels’ Share

London Film Museum Award for Technical Achievement

Jacqueline Durran (Costume Design), Sarah Greenwood (Production Design), Seamus McGarvey (Cinematography) – Anna Karenina (jointly)
David Raedeker (Cinematography) – My Brother the Devil
Ben Richardson (Cinematography) – Beasts of the Southern Wild

Peter Sellers Award for Comedy

Chris O’Dowd (actor) – The Sapphires
Martin McDonagh (writer/director) – Seven Psychopaths
Ben Wheatley (director) – Sightseers

Most Promising Newcomer

Paul Brannigan (actor) – The Angels’ Share
Sally El Hosaini (writer/director) – My Brother the Devil
James Floyd (actor) – My Brother the Devil

Best Documentary

The Imposter (dir. Bart Layton)
London: The Modern Babylon (dir. Julien Temple)
Marley (dir. Kevin Macdonald)

What do you think of the nominations? Let us know below!