Marie Kreutzer’s Corsage led the winners at the 2022 BFI London Film Festival (October 5-16), taking the best film prize in the Official Competition.
The Official Competition jury, led by Tanya Seghatchian, praised the ”masterfully realised film for its mesmerising and original interpretation of the life of the Austrian Empress Elisabeth”, and said it was ”completed seduced by Vicky Krieps’ sublime performance of a woman out of time trapped in her own iconography and her rebellious yearning for liberation.”
Scroll down for the full list of winners
Corsage debuted in Un Certain Regard at Cannes in May, going on to play festivals including Jerusalem, Sarajevo, Toronto and San Sebastian.
Sold by mk2 films, it is Austria’s entry to the best international feature Oscar. IFC Films has scheduled the film for a December 23 release in the US; with Picturehouse Entertainment releasing the film in the UK and Ireland on December 30.
Hlynur Palmason’s Godland received a commendation from the Official Competition jury, for its “pure cinematic language and formal mastery.”
The Sutherland Award for best film in the First Feature Competition went to 1976, by Chilean director Manuela Martelli.
Known as Chile ’76 in the US, the film follows a young woman who is asked to take care of a young man being sheltered by her family priest, under the shadow of the brutal presidential approach of Augusto Pinochet.
The jury described “a captivating work… that is chillingly relevant to our time,” adding that ”Martelli’s taut and refined style expertly wields menace through meticulous framing and skilful use of lighting.”
Saim Sadiq’s Joyland received a commendation in the First Feature section for its “breathtaking technical flair”, ”sumptuous visual language” and “deft and tender performances.”
Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes received the Grierson Award for best film in the Documentary Competition.
The film, which is on limited release in the UK and Ireland this weekend through Dogwoof, follows two brothers who devote their lives to protecting a bird known as the Black Kite, against the backdrop of Delhi’s apocalyptic air and escalating violence.
The jury noted a “masterful work” that ”is thrilling evidence of the present and future of non-fiction filmmaking”. It also awarded a special commendation to Trinh Minh-ha’s What About China.
This year’s Audience Award went to Alex Fry, Rebecca Hirsch Lloyd-Evans and Lisa Selby’s documentary Blue Bag Life, a journey through artist Selby’s personal connection to addiction, which played in the festival’s Love strand.
Charlie Shackleton’s As Mine Exactly won the Immersive Art and XR Award, with Yue Lie’s I Have No Legs, And I Must Run taking the Short Film Award.
The festival will close this evening with the European premiere of Rian Johnson’s Netflix whodunnit sequel Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. The festival is the final edition for Tricia Tuttle as director, BFI Festivals after five years in the role.
BFI London Film Festival 2022 winners
Best Film in Official Competition – Corsage, dir. Marie Kreutzer
Commendation – Godland, dir. Hlynur Palmason
Sutherland Award in First Feature Competition – 1976, dir. Manuela Martelli
Commendation – Joyland, dir. Saim Sadiq
Grierson Award in Documentary Competition – All That Breathes, dir. Shaunak Sen
Commendation – What About China, dir. Trinh Minh-ha
Audience award – Blue Bag Life, dirs. Lisa Selby, Rebecca Hirsch Lloyd-Evans, Alex Fry
Immersive Art and XR award – As Mine Exactly, lead artist: Charlie Shackleton
Commendations – In Pursuit Of Repetitive Beats, lead artist: Darren Emerson; On The Morning You Wake (To The End Of The World), lead artists: Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio, Mike Brett, Steve Jamison, Arnaud Colinart, Pierre Zandrowicz
Short Film Award – I Have No Legs, And I Must Run, dir. Yue Li
Commendation – A Sod State, dir. Eoghan Ryan
Short Film Audience Award – Drop Out, dir. Ade Femzo
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