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Sergei Loznitsa's 'Imperium' Wins Best Film at London Film Festival

Updated 2:09 PM ET · 12:07 PM ETConfirmed

Entertainment Desk

In Short: The 70th BFI London Film Festival concluded with 'Imperium' taking the Best Film award and '9 Temples To Heaven' receiving the Sutherland Award.

The winners of the 70th BFI London Film Festival were announced today, the last day of the festival, which ran from October 7 to October 18.

Ukrainian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa's 'Imperium' won the Best Film Award in the Official Competition. The film, which revisits the Soviet Union of the early 1970s through footage shot by Italian cameramen, was praised for its use of archive material to offer a rarely seen perspective on Soviet society before the collapse of the USSR.

Thai filmmaker Sompot Chidgasornpongse's '9 Temples To Heaven' won the coveted Sutherland Award in the First Feature Competition. The film, which debuted at Cannes, follows Sakol, who sets out on a one-day pilgrimage to nine temples after hearing a prophecy about his elderly mother.

The Documentary Competition jury awarded the Grierson Award to Asmahan Bkerat’s 'Concrete Land,' a film that explores the story of a Palestinian Bedouin family displaced in Jordan. The jury highlighted the film's painterly cinematography and expansive storytelling.

Rahul Roye’s 'Aman' won the Short Film Award, with the jury noting its finely drawn narrative and refusal to provide easy answers to the complexities it presents.

Actor Amir El-Masry, who led the first feature jury, said, 'The film is visually outstanding, spiritual, and meditative, where a story about life and death transcends borders and generations.'

The festival's audience-voted prizes remain open, with voting for best feature film and best British discovery scheduled to close on October 21.

'Imperium' is streaming free on BFI Player until October 25.

The announcement of the winners marked a major highlight of the festival, celebrating achievements across feature filmmaking, documentaries, and short films.

What this adds

Background

What's confirmed

• Thai filmmaker Sompot Chidgasornpongse won the coveted Sutherland Award in the First Feature Competition with 9 Temples To Heaven.
• “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.” Palestinian-Jordanian director Bkerat’s Concrete Land tells the story of a Palestinian Bedouin family displaced in Jordan.

What's still developing

• 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.
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• The 70th BFI London Film Festival runs from October 7 to October 18 This content is provided by Exco Player and may use cookies or similar technologies.
• The four winning films were selected by separate juries chaired by filmmaker Sam Pollard, actor Amir El-Masry, director Sandhya Suri and writer-producer Helen Simmons.
• “This was a beautifully observed portrait filmed with mastery and confidence,” highlighted the LFF jury.
• “Santosh” director Sandhya Suri headed the documentary jury, alongside Melbourne International Film Festival senior programmer Kate Fitzpatrick and BAFTA and Emmy-winning producer Andee Ryder.
• The film reflects on faith, kinship and the passage from life to death.
• In its assessment, the jury described the production as “richly evocative and emotionally engaging on all levels”, praising its ability to recreate a significant historical period through compelling archival images.
• The jury praised Nilsson as a promising British filmmaking talent, highlighting the film’s unconventional concept and humorous script.
• “This was a spirited and tightly constructed portrait of Jarman as both an artist and an activist,” the jury noted.
• Actor Amir El-Masry (“Giant,” “Limbo”) presided over that jury, joined by “Moonglow” producer Alemberg Ang and sales, distribution and awards strategist Rosa Bosch.
• “In a noisy and often polemical world it was refreshing, humbling and deeply relevant to see the quiet resilience and dignity of this family in the face of the erasure of their culture and traditions,” the jury said.

Sources

• Brand Icon Imagelink
• Deadlinelink
• Standardlink
• The Hollywood Reporterlink
• Varietylink
• WarpBeat — background on Sergei Loznitsa's 'Imperium' Wins Best Film at BFI London Film Festival link
• WarpBeat — background on Sergei Loznitsa's 'Imperium' and Sompot Chidgasornpongse's '9 Temples To Heaven' Among London Film Festival Winners link
• Wikipedia — background on Imperium link
• Lionsgate Movies / YouTube — video link