Jamie Dornan, Michael Fassbender and Naomie Harris were among the A-listers celebrating the best of British cinema on Sunday night at the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA).
London's Old Billingsgate played host to the 19th annual BIFA ceremony that saw American Honey, Andrea Arnold's coming-of-age drama, win four awards. Barry Jenkins, the filmmaker behind Oscar-tipped Moonlight, was also present to pick up another award for his critically lauded drama.
Newsweek caught up with some of the stars of the night before and after the ceremony. Here is what we heard and saw:
Is Jamie Dornan going to play Green Lantern?
The Irish actor was nominated for his work on war drama Anthropoid at the BIFA ceremony. He lost the best supporting actor prize to Adult Life Skills' Brett Goldstein, but don't feel too bad for him—he's still in demand.
Dornan reacted to recent social-media talk that he could be joining Warner Bros.' DC Comics universe as Green Lantern. The actor denied involvement, but was playfully coy in his response: a smirking Dornan alluded to Ryan Reynolds playing the character in a 2011 flop, before appearing to confuse the ring-bearing hero with the Green Hornet played by Seth Rogen. That's a lot of knowledge for someone who hasn't at least been in conversations for the part.
The actor said he is starting work on a new role in January—but it won't be Green Lantern. The character is rumored to cameo alongside Batman, Superman and others in Justice League, to be released in November 2017, before leading a spinoff, Green Lantern Corps, in 2020.
Ken Loach broaches retirement
In 2016, British filmmaker Ken Loach proved why he is one of the nation's most celebrated auteurs. His latest film, austerity drama I, Daniel Blake, won acclaim in the U.K. and internationally, including being awarded the Palme d'Or prize at Cannes film festival in May.
Loach, 80, could retire on a high following the film's success. Whether he wants to is another story.
"It's a real privilege pleasure to do films," he tells Newsweek. "Like they say in football, you take each game as it comes. We'll get through the winter and then see."
I, Daniel Blake leading man Dave Johns says it's unlikely the director would ever retire. "As long as Ken Loach can walk, talk and think, then he will make films. He's still in there with a fight… 80 years of age and he's still got that passion," he said.
Related: Ken Loach on Why He Doesn't Want to Meet British PM Theresa May
Basking in the Moonlight
Simultaneous to winning best international independent film at the BIFAs, American filmmaker Barry Jenkins' moving drama about a black gay man coming to terms with his sexuality picked up another award in the U.S. Sunday, too.
Moonlight added best film at the Los Angeles Film Critics Awards over the weekend, just days after winning the New York critics equivalent.
Jenkins' movie—his first in eight years—continues to pick up acclaim in the lead-up to next February's Academy Awards, where it is hotly tipped for success. Jenkins told Newsweek that he is only just now realizing Moonlight 's potency for awards-voters.
"It would be immodest to not admit that I'm starting to be aware that some of these things are a possibility. It truly would be an honor just to be nominated," Jenkins said.
More than awards glory, Jenkins says he's overwhelmed that his movie has been seen and heard about by an even wider audience because of the awards buzz.
Although Moonlight is a small-budget independent film, it has got some A-list wattage behind the scenes in the form of producer Brad Pitt. (Pitt's Plan B Entertainment produced it along with A24.) But the actor has been hands-off with the film's marketing campaign, allowing the work to speak for itself.
"For him and for everyone at Plan B, It's my voice, it's [screenwriter] Tarell [Alvin McCraney]'s voice, and we should be the face of the piece," Jenkins said.
Related: Directors Barry Jenkins, Ben Wheatley on Diversity Problem in U.K. Film Industry
And the award for struggles with an envelope…
The BIFAs had many highlights but one unplanned moment led to a chorus of chuckles: Sherlock actor Martin Freeman, presenting the award for best British independent film, struggling to open the envelope containing the winner.
"I genuinely can't open it... f*** me," he joked.
Sounds like a case for Mr. Holmes.
A close runner-up for presenting struggles was Line of Duty actor Daniel Mays, who accidentally announced Notes on a Scandal —the 2006 drama starring Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench—as winner of best documentary. The winner was, in fact, Notes on Blindness.
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