The largest and glitziest British movie festival awards Pawel Pawlikowski’s Ida at the London Film Festival.
Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski walked away from BFI’s London Film Festival a very happy man after his film IDA won this year’s top prize on Saturday evening winning the best film nod.
The award ceremony was hosted by ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS star, Joanna Lumley and the prizes were presented at a high-profile awards ceremony held at the Banqueting House, Whitehall in central London.
Aiming to celebrate the “most original, intelligent and distinctive filmmaking,” the best film award was announced by Philip French, president of the official competition jury, who himself was recently awarded a BFI Fellowship.
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.”
Pawlikowski said that despite concerns and doubts shared by people about shooting the film in black-and-white with a camera that doesn’t move, which could have made it look like “a little bit of professional hara-kiri,” he was pleased he stuck to his plans.Â
The Best British Newcomer award, which celebrates new and emerging film talent, recognising the achievements of a new writer, producer, director, actor or actress went to screenwriter Jonathan Asser for his uncompromising prison drama STARRED UP, directed by David Mackenzie.Â
The title refers to the practice of placing violent young offenders prematurely in adult prison and the jury president, movie producer Amanda Posey, noted that Asser’s original story was “told with an individual and authentic voice, at once moving, provocative and always gripping.”
“It’s wonderful to be a newcomer at 49,” said Asser, a psychotherapist who used to work with violent gang members in the largest U.K. prison, when accepting his award. He also said that he was “very, very concerned” about the British prison system.
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