Ralph Fiennes, Kenneth Branagh Honored at Moet British Independent Film Awards

Recipients of both The Richard Harris Award and The Variety Award were announced today by Johanna von Fischer and Tessa Collinson, joint Directors, The Moët British Independent Film Awards.

Ralph Fiennes will receive the coveted Richard Harris Award and Kenneth Branagh The Variety Award at the awards ceremony on Sunday 4th December at Old Billingsgate.

The Richard Harris Award was introduced in 2003 in honour of Richard Harris and recognises outstanding contribution to British film by an actor. Previous winners have included John Hurt, David Thewlis, Bob Hoskins, Jim Broadbent, Daniel Day-Lewis and most recently Helena Bonham Carter in 2010.

Ralph Fiennes has recently made his film directing debut with an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus in which he also stars with Vanessa Redgrave, Gerard Butler and Brian Cox. His multi award-winning film career as an actor includes The Constant Gardner, Sunshine and Schindler’s List, as well as The English Patient, The Duchess, End Of The Affair and The Reader. He has made his mark as the evil Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series of films and was nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his performance in HBO’s biopic Bernard And Doris. He has also starred in In Bruges, Clash Of The Titans, Cemetery Junction and Nanny McPhee And The Big Bang. Fiennes is currently filming roles in the new James Bond film, Skyfall, directed by Sam Mendes, and in Mike Newell’s Great Expectations.

Kenneth Branagh will pick-up the Variety Award which recognises an actor, director, writer or producer who has helped to focus the international spotlight on the UK. The Variety Award was received last year by Liam Neeson and has previously been awarded to Sir Michael Caine, JK Rowling, Dame Helen Mirren, Richard Curtis, Michael Sheen and Keira Knightley to name a few.

Kenneth Branagh is one of the world’s most consistently critically acclaimed actors whose work is trademarked by quality, truth and passion. He returns to our cinema screens this year playing Sir Laurence Olivier in Simon Curtis’ My Week With Marilyn. In 2010, he created a massive worldwide hit with Thor which he directed before returning to stage, screen and radio. He has just completed a sell-out run in Belfast of a new comedy The Painkiller in which he co-starred with Rob Brydon; he starred in Radio 4’s epic adaptation of Vasily Grossman’s Life And Fate and he is currently filming the third series of the BBC’s hugely popular and BAFTA award-winning Wallander in which he plays Henning Mankell’s best-selling Swedish detective and which will be on our screens in 2012. Branagh’s cinema work as an actor includes roles in films he also directed such as Henry V, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, Frankenstein, Dead Again and Peter’s Friends as well as Woody Allen’s Celebrity, Philip Noyce’s Rabbit Proof Fence, Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, The Boat That Rocked and Valkyrie.

Both Ralph Fiennes and Kenneth Branagh will be present at Old Billingsgate on the 4th December to receive their awards.

Now in its 14th year, the Awards were created by Raindance in 1998 and set out to celebrate merit and achievement in independently funded British filmmaking, to honour new talent, and to promote British films and filmmaking to a wider public.

Previous winners of the prestigious Best British Independent Film award include The King’s Speech, Moon, Control, Slumdog Millionaire, The Constant Gardener and This Is England.

Recognised for its quality and prestige, Moët & Chandon is the champagne of choice for celebration at international film festivals. The venerable house has captured the attention of Hollywood’s brightest stars since the birth of the film industry. Generations of legendary actors, actresses, producers and directors have celebrated their achievements with Moët & Chandon at the most significant and exclusive cinema events, including the Oscars® & Golden Globes® celebrations.

Proud supporters and patrons of The Moët British Independent Film Awards include Mike Figgis, Tom Hollander, Adrian Lester, Ken Loach, Ewan McGregor, Helen Mirren, Samantha Morton, James Nesbitt, Michael Sheen, Trudie Styler, Tilda Swinton, Meera Syal, David Thewlis, Ray Winstone and Michael Winterbottom.

The Moët British Independent Film Awards would like to thank all its supporters, especially: Moët & Chandon, The British Film Institute, 3 Mills Studios, BBC Films, Company 3, The Creative Partnership, Exile Media, M.A.C, Raindance, Soho House, Studiocanal, Swarovski, Variety, Working Title and Zander Creative.