Sergei Loznitsa's 'Imperium' wins best film as the 70th London Film Festival hands out its awards
Loznitsa's archive-based portrait of the early-1970s Soviet Union took the top prize at the BFI London Film Festival. Thailand's Oscar entry '9 Temples to Heaven' won the first-feature award, and 'Concrete Land' the documentary prize.
Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa's "Imperium" has won the best film award at the 70th BFI London Film Festival, whose prizes were announced on Sunday as the festival came to a close.
The film revisits the Soviet Union of the early 1970s through footage shot at the time by Italian cameramen. The competition jury, led by American filmmaker Sam Pollard, praised it as richly evocative and emotionally engaging, offering a visually striking view of life before the Soviet Union broke apart.
The Sutherland Award for best first feature went to "9 Temples to Heaven", Thailand's submission for the Oscars and the first fiction feature by Sompot Chidgasornpongse, a reflection on faith, family and the passage from life to death. British director Bertil Nilsson's debut "Masc" received a special mention.
The Grierson Award for best documentary was won by "Concrete Land", Asmahan Bkerat's first feature, which follows several generations of a family in Jordan resisting displacement. The jury, chaired by "Santosh" director Sandhya Suri, praised the quiet resilience and dignity of its subjects. "Queer Edward II", a film built from archive material about Derek Jarman's "Edward II", earned a special mention.
Rahul Roye's "Aman", about a trans man who discovers he is pregnant the night before gender-affirming surgery, took the short film award. Audience voting for the festival's best feature and best British discovery prizes stays open until 21 October, with those winners to be announced later.