Adam Elliot’s funny and emotional stop-motion tale of separated twins in 1970s Australia takes home the top award for features at the UK’s leading celebration of cinematic culture.
The BFI London Film Festival, in partnership with American Express, has announced the winners of this year’s LFF Awards. The winning films, which were chosen by four LFF Juries, explore a fascinating breadth of themes and stories, including an animation stop-motion triumph; a masterful depiction of an immigrant woman’s alienation; an exquisite and powerful documentary on the personal growth and resilience of an Orthodox nun; and an urgent and reflective documentary on the experience of growing up deaf in Gaza. A screening of Memoir of a Snail, winner of the Best Film award, closed the Festival.
Audience Awards for Best Narrative Feature, Best Documentary Feature, and Best Short Film will be announced at the end of October.
The winners of this year’s films screening In Competition are:
- Winner of the Best Film Award in Official Competition – Memoir of a Snail
- Winner of the Sutherland Award in the First Feature Competition – On Falling
- Winner of the Grierson Award in the Documentary Competition – Mother Vera
- Winner of the Short Film Award in the Short Film Competition – Vibrations from Gaza
Memoir Of A Snail – Official Competition (Best Film Award)
Oscar-winning director Adam Elliot’s tale of separated twins in 1970s Australia is a funny and moving stop-motion triumph.
“Our jury was incredibly moved by Adam Elliot’s Memoir of a Snail, which is a singular achievement in filmmaking,” the Official Competition jury said. “Emotionally resonant and constantly surprising, Memoir tackles pertinent issues such as bullying, loneliness and grief head-on, creating a crucial and universal dialogue in a way that only animation can. The jury is delighted to recognize an animated film alongside its live-action peers."
“We could never have imagined when we started making our little blobby film eight years ago, how audiences around the world would connect and engage with our character Grace Puddle,” director Adam Elliot said. “This film was made by so many wonderful artists who toiled very long days, months and years to bring our blobs of clay to life. This award is for them. To win best film amongst such incredible films from around the world shows that stop-motion animation is alive and well and is not a genre but a wonderful medium and vehicle to tell potent and universal stories that can make audiences both laugh and cry. Thank you to the BFI, the jury and the London audiences for supporting our eccentric film.”
On Falling – First Feature Competition (Sutherland Award)
The importance of human connection lies at the heart of this nuanced portrait of a young Portuguese warehouse employee in Scotland.
“We would like to give the Sutherland Prize to Laura Carreira’s On Falling, a richly-layered portrait of a world governed by corporate profit motive, as seen through the story of an immigrant woman whose alienation we feel deeply, told with masterful cinematic precision and understated, lived in performances,” the First Feature Jury said. “A powerful, mesmerizing and bold first feature. Congratulations to Carreira, we look forward to seeing where her cinematic journey goes next.”
“I’m so honored to receive the Sutherland award for On Falling and for our film to join the long list of winners which includes some of my favorite films and most important cinema reference points,” director Laura Carreira said. “I want to extend my thanks to the jury and everyone involved in this amazing festival. This award is shared with our incredible cast, and crew who brought this film to life.
We hope the film speaks to the relentless and dehumanizing growth of neoliberalism while reminding us that human nature will keep resisting. We offer our film in solidarity."
Mother Vera - Documentary Competition (Grierson Award)
A visually striking documentary about a young Orthodox nun who must confront her past as she faces her desires and an uncertain future.
“This exquisite film masterfully captures the inner transformation of its central character using evocative visuals that mirror her emotional journey,” the Documentary Competition Jury said “Each frame is rich with detail, and the directors’ sensitive approach allows the audience to intimately experience Vera’s perspective as her story evolves. The balance of aesthetic beauty and emotional depth makes Mother Vera a powerful meditation on personal growth and resilience, and the delicate treatment of momentous issues such as addiction, lost love and faith is executed with profound potency. The Grierson Award goes to Mother Vera, directed by Cécile Embleton and Alys Tomlinson.”
“We are thrilled and delighted that our film has been recognized by this prestigious award,” directors Cécile Embleton and Alys Tomlinson said. “It was a great privilege that Vera trusted us with her story and was able to be so vulnerable in sharing her inner world with such honesty. We hope that audiences are moved by the film, which invites us to reflect and meditate on our own lives. We have been incredibly lucky to work with a team that brought tremendous amounts of care, innovation and dedication to this piece of work, and who are deeply committed to the art of documentary and cinema. We would like to highlight the outstanding work of our producer, Laura Shacham, editor, Romain Beck, sound designer, Leonardo Cauteruccio, and colorist, Romain Kedochim. We would like to thank our Executive Producers Vikram Gudi and Murugan Thiruchelvam for their support. We would also like to thank the jury for recognizing and celebrating the film, it means a great deal and we are very grateful and honored.”
Vibrations from Gaza – Short Film Competition (Short Film Award)
A documentary offering a glimpse into the resilience of Palestinian Deaf children in Gaza, who are living with Israel’s military attacks.
“We were astonished by the caliber of films in this competition and struggled to only award one film,” the Short Film Competition Jury said. “Our winner is a film that used sound to send reverberations through our bodies and souls. Through its simplicity of storytelling, Vibrations from Gaza demands our presence, urging us not only to bear witness but to deeply reflect on the impact of growing up deaf in Gaza — a reality that many of us could never fully comprehend.”
“I thank the BFI London Film Festival jury for honoring Vibrations from Gaza with the Short Film Award, and for recognizing the experiences of the Deaf children in Gaza— who have known only torment, a suffocating 17-year-long siege, and frequent onslaught by the settler-colonial state of Israel,” said director Rehab Nazzal. “Since the 1948 Nakba, these children, their parents, and grandparents, have endured ongoing Zionist colonization, occupation, apartheid, and now genocide, while some western states continue to arm, finance, and shield Israel from accountability.”
This year’s LFF Awards juries were:
- Official Competition (Best Film Award) – Jury President Alexandre O. Philippe (Director, 78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene), Manori Ravindran and Reinaldo Marcus Green
- First Feature Competition (Sutherland Award) – Jury President Dionne Edwards (Director, Pretty Red Dress), Julia Weigl and Bernardo Rondeau
- Documentary Competition (Grierson Award) – Jury President June Givanni (Curator, programmer and founder of The June Givanni Pan-African Cinema Archive), Ella Glendining and Raul Niño Zambrano
- Short Film Competition (Short Film Award) – Jury President Chloe Abrahams (Director, The Taste of Mango), Simisolaoluwa Akande and George Jaques
Source: BFI
Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologist—L'Wren brings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.
