FAQs

Which cinema can I vote for?

You can vote for any cinema included in the drop down list on the form.
Please note, this list is based on cinemas who have submitted themselves for consideration. There is no option to add additional cinemas.

Who can vote?

Residents in Great Britain and Northern Ireland are eligible to vote for their favourite local cinema (based on the list of submitted venues from cinema entrants). Any entries outside of the UK and Northern Ireland will be discounted.

How can I vote for them?

Voting is online but the website is very simple to use and doesn’t require a complicated login process. Voters will be asked for their name and email address to register their vote.

If you are unable to vote online, please contact the cinema in question directly to find out how they can record your vote.

How many times can I vote for them?

You are allowed to vote for one cinema only, and only once per email address. If you exceed the limit when voting via the website your votes will not be counted.

My favourite cinema only has one screen and is in a village! How will they compete for an audience-voted award against a big cinema in a city?

We’re not only counting audience votes – we will also weight those votes, taking into account the size of a cinema and of the local population. The jury who decide the nominations will also read what cinemas have told us about what makes their cinema special and that will be part of the jury’s decision making.

TERMS & CONDITIONS

A. General Guidelines

You can vote using the form above. If you are unable to vote online, your cinema may register a vote for you via the official voting form.

There are two stages of public voting, the first stage starts on 22 August 2025 and ends on 22 September 2025 (Round 1). Cinemagoers can vote for their local cinema from the available cinema longlist. (Please note the cinemas included on the list will have entered at an earlier stage and there is not an option to vote for a cinema not already included on this list.)

The second stage will feature five cinemas who have been nominated, following the collation of public voting from the first stage and a jury deliberation.

Voting for the nominees will start 3 November 2025 and end on 25 November 2025 (Round 2).

Votes from the second stage will create the results that will be revealed at the British Independent Film Awards ceremony on 30 November 2025.

B. Voting Times

Round 1 opens at 10.01 BST on Friday 22 August 2025 and closes at 23:00 BST on Monday 22 September 2025.

Round 2 opens at 10.01 GMT on Monday 3 November 2025 and closes at 23:00 on Tuesday 25 November 2025.

Votes made or received outside of these specified times will not be counted.

C. Voting Restrictions

For the first stage, you are allowed to vote for one cinema only, and only once per email address. If you exceed the limit when voting via the Website your votes will not be counted.

Please note, there is no charge for voting but website votes received from IP addresses outside of the UK, Eire, the Channel Isles and the Isle of Man will not be counted.

The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is committed to operating viewer voting fairly, and to preventing abuse of its systems. We reserve the right to disqualify votes if we have reasonable grounds to suspect, having regard to all circumstances and information available to them at the relevant time, that fraudulent voting has occurred, such that it is designed to excessively manipulate the outcome of the vote or otherwise.

D. Voting Details

Voting will occur via the website: www.bifa.film/coty-vote and voters must follow the instructions given. You may only vote for once and you must provide your name and your email address and pass through a reCAPTCHA security device in order to validate your vote and ensure the integrity of the voting process and the Awards.

E. Voting Results

The result of the Round 1 vote will be based on the total of all valid votes received by the closing date and time (weighted according to cinema size and local population). These results will be considered by a jury, alongside additional information provided by cinemas. Based on all of this information, the jury will select five nominees. The jury’s decision is final and binding and no correspondence will be entered into about it.

F. General

In the event of circumstances or technical issues beyond BIFA’s reasonable control that affects the vote, or any other decision which the vote would have determined, we will refer to votes cast up to that point. If no votes have been cast, the jury will determine nominees and winners.

Votes that are: incomplete, duplicate, illegible, submitted by macros or other automated means, suspected to be repeat votes from one user, or which otherwise do not satisfy the requirements of these Terms & Conditions will be not be counted.

BIFA accepts no responsibility for any technical failure, interruption or malfunction or any other problem with any network, system, server, provider, hardware, software or otherwise which may result in votes not being properly received, registered or recorded, or for any votes incorrectly addressed, or lost in transit or for any irregularities, industrial action, or other disruption and will not be held liable in any such event.

If you attempt to compromise the integrity or the legitimate operation of this vote by hacking or by cheating or committing fraud in any way, BIFA may seek damages from you to the fullest extent permitted by law. Further, we may ban you from participating in any future award voting, so please play fairly.

Any and all personal data supplied will be used solely for the purpose of voting by BIFA and will not be disclosed to a third party for any other purpose unless your positive consent has been obtained. Your personal data will be handled in accordance with our privacy policy, available here.

Nothing in these guidelines restricts your statutory rights as a consumer. For more details on your statutory rights you should contact your local Trading Standards Office or Citizen’s Advice Bureau.

If any provisions of these Terms & Conditions are judged to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, this will not affect or impact the continuation in full force and affect the remainder of the provisions.

These terms and conditions are governed by English Law and their interpretation and application shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

If you have a query about your vote you may register your query by email at coty@bifa.film

You will need to provide the following information:

• Your full name
• The time(s) you experienced problems
• What problems you experienced when voting
• A contact telephone number

Promoter of the Cinema of the Year Award:

British Independent Film Awards C.I.C., 22 Golden Square, London, W1F 9AD
United Kingdom, Company number, registered in England 9497840