LONDON – U.K. based Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski's Ida won this year's top prize at the BFI London Film Festival's official competition, walking off Saturday evening with the best film nod.
The prizes were dished out at a high profile awards ceremony held at the Banqueting House, Whitehall in central London, a place normally associated with the British capital's mayor and political dinners.
Aiming to celebrate the "most original, intelligent and distinctive filmmaking," the best film award was announced by Philip French, recently awarded a BFI Fellowship and president of the official competition jury.
French said his jury had "greatly admired" Pawlikowski's first film made in his native Poland by a director who came to prominence while living in Britain.
"We were deeply moved by a courageous film that handles, with subtlety and insight, a painfully controversial historical situation – the German occupation and the Holocaust – which continues to resonate," French said. "Special praise went to his use of immersive visual language to create a lasting emotional impact."
Best British newcomer went to screenwriter Jonathan Asser for his uncompromising U.K. prison drama Starred Up, directed by David Mackenzie.
The best British newcomer award honors new and emerging film talent, recognizing the achievements of a new writer, producer, director, actor or actress.
Presented by Saoirse Ronan, the movie's title refers to the practice of placing violent young offenders prematurely in adult prison. Fox Searchlight picked up U.S. rights to the Channel Four backed movie after it screened at Telluride and Toronto earlier this year.
Jury president, movie producer Amanda Posey noted Asser's original story "told with an individual and authentic voice, at once moving, provocative and always gripping."
Said Posey: "The material, even from a new screenwriter, was intelligent and distinctive enough to attract very high quality filmmaking talent and actors, and to help illicit extraordinary work from all involved. The whole jury felt Jonathan Asser brought a fresh, resonant and surprising perspective to a classic conflict."
The jury also highly commended the performances of nominees Conner Chapman and Shaun Thomas for their roles in The Selfish Giant.
The Sutherland award to honor the best first feature went to Anthony Chen, director of Ilo Ilo, a film billed as a devastating study of a modern affluent family and its vulnerabilities in Singapore.
The long-standing Sutherland Award is presented to the director of the most original and imaginative feature debut across the Festival.
Jury president Elizabeth Karlsen said: "The startlingly assured direction and screenwriting of the winning film surprised us all. Anthony Chen's Ilo Ilo also chose a domestic canvas, but the imaginative and innovative voice of this filmmaker elevated the film technically and narratively, and made us wonder at the fragile nature of family life in this modern Singapore tale."
The Grierson award for best documentary went to My Fathers, My Mother and Me, a portrait of Friedrichshof, the largest commune in Europe, founded by the Viennese actionist Otto Muhl in the 1970s and the devastating emotional effects on its residents.
Jury president Kate Ogborn said she and the jury wanted to recognize the bravery of filmmaker Paul-Julien Robert "taking us on such a personal journey with the documentary.
"It is a thought- provoking and disturbing film, intimate whilst also raising larger questions of power, parental responsibility and abuse," Ogborn said. "The incredible archive footage combined with the personal journey of a mother and son left us disturbed, angry and feeling that this is a film that deserves to be seen by a wider audience."
Screen legend Sir Christopher Lee was on hand to pick up his BFI Fellowship, awarded to individuals in recognition of their outstanding contribution to film or television, and is the highest accolade that the BFI bestows.
STORY: 'Ida' Wins Top Prize at Gdynia Film Festival
BFI chief executive Amanda Nevill said: "The BFI Fellowship is awarded to those at the pinnacle of their profession. It is a truly illustrious moment to be honouring Sir Christopher Lee for his enormous and unique contribution to film during a Festival that is committed to excellence."
Guests attending included Miranda Richardson, Rodrigo Prieto, Stephen Dillane, Saoirse Ronan, Susanna White, Jim Broadbent, Colin Salmon, Lone Scherfig, Deborah Moggach and Downton Abbey star Joanne Froggatt at the ceremony which has been held as a standalone celebration the evening before the BFI LFF's closing night shindig for the third year.
Among the other attendees of the awards event were American Film Institute board of trustees chair and former Sony Corp. boss Howard Stringer, BFI chairman Greg Dyke and IMDb CEO Col Needham.
The Star of London award was commissioned especially for the festival and designed by sculptor Almuth Tebbenhoff.
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