Ukrainian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa’s latest feature Imperium has won the Best Film Award in the Official Competition at this year’s London Film Festival.
The winners were announced this afternoon, the last day of the LFF.
The LFF Official Competition jury was led by documentary filmmaker Sam Pollard. Discussing why they chose Imperium, the jury described the picture as an “extraordinary film that explores the Soviet Union in the early 1970’s from a rich archive with a wide-ranging perspective that looks at life in a country with an extraordinary social and cultural landscape that has rarely been seen.”
The jury added: “The film is richly evocative and emotionally engaging on all levels, giving us a visually arresting perspective of life before the Soviet Union was broken apart. Our jury is immensely proud to honour such a powerful and singular piece of work.”
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Thai filmmaker Sompot Chidgasornpongse won the coveted Sutherland Award in the First Feature Competition with 9 Temples To Heaven. The film, which debuted at Cannes, follows Sakol, who, after hearing a prophecy that his elderly mother may die soon, sets out on a one-day pilgrimage to nine temples as a remedy.
Kissada Kamyoung and Palme d’Or winner Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives) produced the film alongside co-producers Thomas Hakim and Julien Graff of petit chaos, the company behind Payal Kapadia’s award-winning All We Imagine as Light.
Discussing their decision, the first feature jury, led by Amir El-Masry, said the film was an “accomplished first feature paving his own path in the well-established tradition of filmmaking in the Southeast Asian region. The film is visually outstanding, spiritual, and meditative, where a story about life and death transcends borders and generations.”
Elsewhere, Concrete Land, directed by Asmahan Bkerat, won the Grierson Award in the Documentary Competition, and Rahul Roye’s Aman won the Short Film Award.
The LFF ends this evening with a screening of The Debut, directed by Jesse Eisenberg.