Critical Week: Phone home

Awards season is properly cranking up, with lots of screenings (and online links) for movies that are coming out in December and January - so we can see them ahead of voting deadlines, which are quickly approaching. It's great to see these films on a big screen when possible. Certainly, two unusually striking films I saw this week deserve that - both are very long movies based on true stories. Josh Safdie's Marty Supreme stars Timothee Chalamet (above) as an aspiring ping pong champ, and it's a singular visual odyssey, high energy and utterly riveting. It's also a little exhausting. And then there's Mona Fastvold's The Testament of Ann Lee, starring Amanda Seyfried as the founder of the Shakers in 18th century England and New England. It's a swirling, mesmerising journey that leaves us thinking. 

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Rental Family • Cactus Pears
Wicked: For Good
The Thing With Feathers
Zodiac Killer Project
PERHAPS AVOID:
The Ice Tower
ALL REVIEWS >

A bit more mainstream, Emma Mackey stars in filmmaking maestro James L Brooks' Ella McCay, a sparky and enjoyable comedy-drama about a family and political ambition. Bill Skarsgard leads the cast of Gus Van Sant's Dead Man's Wire, based on the true story of an unusual 1977 kidnapping. It's a gripping, strikingly well-made film. June Squibb stars in Scarlett Johansson's directing debut Eleanor the Great, a lively and likeable comedy-drama about memories and perception. Nicolas Cage leads The Carpenter's Son, an offbeat horror film based on an apocryphal gospel about the childhood of Jesus Christ (played by Noah Jupe). It's ambitious and creepy, and a little overwrought.

And then there was Park Chan-wook's overlong but sharply observant comedy No Other Choice starring Lee Byun-Hun as a guy who takes desperate measures to find a job. Sope Dirisu stars in the gorgeous British-Nigerian drama My Father's Shadow, as a man who takes his two cheeky sons on a day out in 1993 Lagos. The wonderful Iraqi drama The President's Cake centres on a young girl navigating her way through a restrictive system simply to bake a cake. The moving French drama Nino features yet another astonishingly transparent performance from Theodore Pellerin. And the Taiwanese drama Left-Handed Girl takes a snappy, fresh approach to connections between generations of women. I also attended the British premiere screening of Landman season 2 with Billy Bob Thornton, Demi Moore and Ali Larter in attendance.

It's another big week coming up, and I'll be watching Jodie Foster in A Private Life, Josh O'Connor in The Mastermind, Lav Diaz's epic biopic Magellan, the Spanish adventure Sirat and the animated films Scarlet and Little Amelie, plus festive live performances of Growled at the RVT and The Magic of Christmas at Brick Lane Music Hall.

Venezia79: Happy families

The 79th Venice Film Festival continues to lay out starry red carpets, as I spotted Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, Zen McGrath (pictured above), plus Vanessa Kirby and writer-director Florian Zeller out there today. I also took advantage of a long gap between two films to head off to the beach for awhile. It was nice to just stroll in the sand and lounge in the shade for a couple of hours. There's just one big premiere left, Ana de Armas in Blonde tomorrow, as the global festival attention shifts to Toronto. But there are still plenty of movies showing on the Lido here. Here are some more highlights...

The Son
dir Florian Zeller; with Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern 22/UK ***
After The Father, writer-director Florian Zeller adapts another of his complex family-centred plays for the big screen, this time a story about a troubled teen and the hoops his parents and stepmother jump through trying to help him. It's a dark story, with only very rare moments of lightness as the characters struggle with ideas they can't quite comprehend, largely because no one can. Clinical depression is an important topic to dramatise, although it means that the plot needs to retain a nagging level of uncertainty.

Dreamin' Wild
dir-scr Bill Pohlad; with Casey Affleck, Noah Jupe 22/US ****
Remaining in musical mode after 2014's Love & Mercy, filmmaker Bill Pohlad tells the true story of how Don and Joe Emerson's eponymous album became a hit some 30 years after it was recorded. It's an involving movie with strong characters, sharply shot and edited to the rhythms of these brothers' soulful-teen tunes. And while the film has a tendency to lean into the sentimental nostalgia, it also offers some knowing insight into family relationships. And it's likely to give birth to a whole new generation of fans.

Saint Omer
dir Alice Diop; with Kayije Kagame, Guslagie Malanga 22/Fr **
There's a terrific story at the centre of this French drama, and it's woven in with some powerful themes and clever juxtapositions. But filmmaker Alice Diop never manages to get out of her head as she puts this onto the screen, so the chilly, inexpressive scenes remain stubbornly out of reach. But it's sharply well shot, and the courtroom drama that the story revolves around is genuinely riveting, stealing focus from the loosely undeveloped plot thread that is clearly meant to be the film's main thrust.

The Damned Don't Cry [Les Damnés Ne Pleurent Pas]
dir-scr Fyzal Boulifa; with Aicha Tebbae, Abdellah El Hajjouji 22/Mor ****
Grounded and earthy, this Moroccan drama finds resonance in a complex relationship between a woman and her teen son. It's the kind of film in which the audience has to work to discover the deeper truths about the events depicted on-screen, with secrets carefully revealed by writer-director Fyzal Boulifa. The story feels bracingly realistic and impossible to predict as it cycles through events that are hopeful and darkly troubling. And this authenticity in the story and characters bravely takes on the system.

Lord of the Ants [Il Signore Delle Formiche]
dir Gianni Amelio; with Luigi Lo Cascio, Elio Germano 22/It ***
Big and melodramatic, this Italian period drama is so locked into its 1960s style that it neglects to provide much insight on its hugely important central topic. This means the film says essentially the same things that were said at the time, even if they weren't shouted loudly enough. It's the true story of a court case in which a gay university professor was tried for plagio, manipulating a student. The injustice is horrific on several levels, and filmmaker Gianni Amelio sharply depicts this. But the dialog waffles through far too much poetry and metaphor.

Full reviews will be linked at Shadows VENICE FILM FESTIVAL page, eventually!

40th London Critics' Circle Film Awards: The inside scoop

Being the 40th anniversary of our film awards, we decided to make our event a bit bigger this year, and indeed it felt extraordinary. Not only did we hand out three special awards to deserving winners who rarely get a spotlight, but the evening was punctuated with powerful moments that echoed the kinds of big themes movies should be tackling. As the chair of this event, I'm involved in each element of the night, so it often feels overwhelming in the weeks beforehand. Then I love sitting back and seeing how it all unfolds. And it was a gorgeous evening.

In the photo above, Elle Fanning watches as Sally Potter signs Sandy Powell's jacket. These were the first signatures on the garment, which Powell plans to wear to Bafta and Oscar before auctioning it to benefit the charity that is working to save Prospect Cottage,  the late filmmaker Derek Jarman's home in Dungeness: CLICK HERE FOR INFO. All photos are by Dave Benett, and you can see them larger by clicking on them.

Our host for the evening was actor-writer Sally Phillips, who kicked things off with a riotously irreverent opening monologue and never let the pace flag. Her inventive, hilarious running commentary kept the mood light, intimate and celebratory.

Our first special award of the evening was The London Critics' 40th Anniversary Award, which went to the animation powerhouse Aardman. Founders Peter Lord and David Sproxton were on hand, with a couple of pals, to accept the prize.

In the middle of the ceremony we gave our our second special honour, The Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film, which Elle Fanning came along to present to writer-director Sally Potter. Fanning's first film role was in Potter's Ginger & Rosa, and she also stars in her next project The Roads Not Taken, which had an exclusive clip in her introductory reel in advance of the film's world premiere next month in Berlin.

The third special prize came right at the end of the ceremony, as the gifted costume designer Sandy Powell also won The Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film. Producers Stephen Woolley and Elizabeth Karlsen presented the award to her on-stage.

In between those, we handed out awards in our usual categories. The Souvenir (left) won two prizes: Joanna Hogg collected the award for British/Irish Film of the Year, while its star Honor Swinton Byrne won Young British/Irish Performer. And Mark Jenkin was on hand to win Breakthrough British/Irish Filmmaker for his fable Bait.

Jessie Buckley (nominated as British/Irish Actress) was on hand to collect Actress of the Year on behalf of her Judy costar Renee Zellweger (left). And producers Ramin Sabi and Anthony Toma accepted British/Irish Short Film of the Year for The Devil's Harmony, while the director was off winning a prize for the film at Sundance. Others who couldn't make it included Florence Pugh, who has attended multiple times before as a nominee and this year won British/Irish Actress; Celine Sciamma, whose Portrait of a Lady on Fire was named Foreign-Language Film of the Year; and Barbara Ling, who won Technical Achievement for her production design work on Once Upon a Time ... in America. And producer Emma Tillinger Koskoff was on hand to accept two awards on behalf of her films: Actor of the Year for Joaquin Phoenix in Joker and Supporting Actor of the Year for Joe Pesci in The Irishman. Others sent video messages...

Bong Joon Ho sent two witty videos to accept both Director of the Year and Film of the Year for Parasite. "Awards are important," he said, "but even more so, to every single person who's watched the film, I hope they remember it in their hearts forever, like a parasite that never leaves your brain."

Noah Baumbach recorded a wry thank you as he won Screenwriter of the Year for Marriage Story. "This is an especially important award for me because both of my parents were film critics," he said. "And when I get a bad review it feels like my parents are criticising me."

In accepting her Supporting Actress of the Year award for Marriage Story by video, Laura Dern said, "As a girl who on her 16th birthday turned to her actor parents and said, 'I want to be a real actor: for my birthday present, I want to go to Rada,'" and did, and learned so, so much in that beautiful city of yours, I'm very grateful."

And after an astonishing year of expertly immersive scene-stealing work in The Lighthouse, The King and High Life, Robert Pattinson won British/Irish Actor, noting, "I'm happy that I'm allowed to play crazy people in movies so that I don't have to be crazy in real life." Of course, his very active fan base immediately went nuts on Twitter. And one other award had a multiple acceptance...

For Documentary of the Year, For Sama directors Edward Watts and Waad Al-Kateab sent a video explaining their absence: "We're in Washington trying to meet Congresspeople, spreading our message to stop bombing hospitals, trying to get people to care about Syria even though it's impeachment time!" Meanwhile, Waad's husband Hamza Al-Kateab, who is featured in the film, and their colleague Afraa Hashem took to the stage to deliver a powerful plea on behalf of the people of Syria.

Part of my job was of course to thank the sponsors, because the entire event could never happen without them. New partners this year included our headline sponsor Pearl Pictures Productions, Fitz English sparkling wine, Whitney Neill Gin, Vestal Vodka and Double Dutch mixers, which joined our returning venue sponsor The May Fair, Remy Martin and our official car Audi.

And here are some more photos of our guests this year...

Nominees Jessie Buckley (for Wild Rose and Judy) and Raffey Cassidy (Vox Lux)

Nominees Noah Jupe (Honey Boy and Ford v Ferrari) and Dexter Fletcher (Rocketman)

Actor Mike Beckingham and producers Elizabeth Karlsen and Stephen Woolley

Producer Emma Tillinger Koskoff (Joker and The Irishman) and nominated composer Daniel Pemberton (Motherless Brooklyn)

Special guests included filmmakers Hannah and Jake Graf and actor-musician Ruby Turner

Obviously, the photo of the night.

The Best of 2019: 39th Shadows Awards

As always, hacking down the list of some 500 movies I've seen this year to just 10 is tricky business. But it feels like a discipline that specifically goes with this job. I keep a running set of lists each year, and it gets seriously out of control - usually there are around 100 on each list! Note that each film listed here played in a UK or US cinema to a public audience in 2019, although some are yet to go on general release, if ever.

There are longer lists (top 50 films, for example) and a lot more on the website at 39TH SHADOWS AWARDS. My number one movie this year is one of the most bracingly original films I've seen in years - gripping, genre-defying and pointedly timely. Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho has made some great movies in his career, and this one is masterful, breathtaking cinema. It definitely deserves the attention it's getting in mainstream awards categories this year....

BEST FILM:

1. Parasite (Bong Joon Ho)
2. Pain and Glory (Pedro Almodovar)
3. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Celine Sciamma)
4. Wild Rose (Tom Harper)
5. Honeyland (Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir Stefanov)
6. The Irishman (Martin Scorsese)
7. 1917 (Sam Mendes)
8. Queen & Slim (Melina Matsoukas)
9. Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino)
10. I Lost My Body (Jeremy Clapin)

BEST FILM OF THE 2010s:

1. Leviathan (Zvyagintsev, 2014)
2. A Separation (Farhadi, 2011)
3. Boyhood (Linklater, 2014)
4. The Act of Killing (Oppenheimer, 2012)
5. Parasite (Bong, 2019)
6. We Need to Talk About Kevin (Ramsay, 2011)
7. Inception (Nolan, 2010)
8. Fire at Sea (Rosi, 2016)
9. Moonlight (Jenkins, 2016)
10. A Fantastic Woman (Lelio, 2017)

DIRECTOR:

1. Pedro Almodovar (Pain and Glory)
2. Alma Har'el (Honey Boy)
3. Bong Joon Ho (Parasite)
4. Celine Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire)
5. Sam Mendes (1917)
6. Melina Matsoukas (Queen & Slim)
7. Jennifer Kent (The Nightingale)
8. Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood)
9. Ladj Ly (Les Miserables)
10. Alice Rohrwacher (Happy as Lazzaro)

SCREENWRITER:

1. Celine Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire)
2. Lena Waithe (Queen & Slim)
3. Pedro Almodovar (Pain and Glory)
4. Bong Joon Ho, Han Jin Won (Parasite)
5. Agnes Varda (Varda by Agnes)
6. Susanna Fogel, Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Katie Silberman (Booksmart)
7. Anthony McCarten (The Two Popes)
8. Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski (Dolemite Is My Name)
9. Charles Randolph (Bombshell)
10. Joe Talbot, Rob Richert (The Last Black Man in San Francisco)

ACTRESS:

1. Jessie Buckley (Wild Rose, Judy)
2. Florence Pugh (Midsommar, Little Women, Fighting With My Family)
3. Renee Zellweger (Judy)
4. Liv Hill (Jellyfish)
5. Sarah Bolger (A Good Woman Is Hard to Find)
6. Baran Kosari (Permission)
7. Lupita Nyong'o (Us, Little Monsters)
8. Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story, Jojo Rabbit, Avengers: Endgame)
9. Awkwafina (The Farewell, Jumanji: The Next Level)
10. Charlize Theron (Bombshell, Long Shot)

ACTOR:

1. Adam Driver (Marriage Story, The Report, The Rise of Skywalker, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote)
2. Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory, The Laundromat)
3. George MacKay (1917, Ophelia)
4. Tom Burke (The Souvenir)
5. Choi Woo Shik (Parasite)
6. Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote)
7. Daniel Kaluuya (Queen & Slim)
8. Robert Pattinson (The Lighthouse, High Life, The King)
9. Lucas Hedges (Honey Boy, Waves, Ben Is Back, Mid90s)
10. Eddie Murphy (Dolemite Is My Name)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

1. Laura Dern (Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy, Marriage Story, Little Women)
2. Julie Walters (Wild Rose)
3. Taylor Russell (Waves)
4. Karen Gillan (Avengers: Endgame, All Creatures Here Below, Jumanji: The Next Level, Stuber)
5. Da'Vine Joy Randolph (Dolemite Is My Name)
6. Allison Janney (Bad Education, Bombshell, Ma)
7. Tilda Swinton (The Souvenir, Avengers: Endgame, The Dead Don't Die, The Personal History of David Copperfield)
8. Thomasin McKenzie (Jojo Rabbit, The King)
9. Riley Keough (Earthquake Bird, The Lodge)
10. Idina Menzel (Uncut Gems)

SUPPORTING ACTOR:

1. Noah Jupe (Honey Boy, Ford v Ferrari)
2. Bruce Dern (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Mustang)
3. Swann Arlaud (By the Grace of God)
4. Jamie Bell (Rocketman, Skin)
5. Wesley Snipes (Dolemite Is My Name)
6. Al Pacino (The Irishman, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)
7. Baykali Ganambarr (The Nightingale)
8. Jonathan Majors (The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Out of Blue)
9. Richard Madden (1917, Rocketman)
10. Joe Pesci (The Irishman)

WORST FILM:

1. Rambo: Last Blood (Adrian Grunberg)
2. Black and Blue (Deon Taylor)
3. 6 Underground (Michael Bay)
4. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (Joachim Ronning)
5. Godzilla: King of the Monsters (Michael Dougherty)
6. Escape Plan: The Extractors (John Herzfeld)
7. Killers Anonymous (Martin Owen)
8. Ecco (Ben Medina)
9. Triple Frontier (JC Chandor)
10. Cats (Tom Hooper)

---

N O N - F I L M   D I V I S I O N

TV SERIES: 

1. Fleabag (BBC)
2. Schitt's Creek (CBN)
3. The Mandalorian (Disney)
4. Years and Years (BBC)
5. Special (Netflix)
6. Call My Agent (Netflix)
7. Chernobyl (HBO)
8. Killing Eve (BBC)
9. Jane the Virgin (ABC)
10. The Good Place (Netflix)

SINGLE: 

1. Juice (Lizzo)
2. Circles (Post Malone)
3. Slide Away (Miley Cyrus)
4. Play God (Sam Fender)
5. Bad Guy (Billie Eilish)
6. Giant (Calvin Harris, Rag'n'Bone Man)
7. Own It (Stormzy, Ed Sheeran, Burna Boy)
8. Watermelon Sugar (Harry Styles)
9. Orphans (Coldplay)
10. Harmony Hall (Vampire Weekend)

Critical Week: A pie in the face

I caught up with a bunch of films opening this week in the US and UK, including some high-profile ones. Written by Shia LaBeouf, Honey Boy is an autobiographical drama about the actor's relationship with his father (whom he plays on-screen). It's seriously gorgeous filmmaking. Last Christmas is a holiday comedy-romance from Paul Feig and Emma Thompson, starring (cool casting alert!) Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding. It's charming, funny and ultimately thoughtful. The Good Liar is a guilty pleasure about two old folks (Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren) caught up in a con. The wobbly plot is fun, riding on the actors' charisma. Roland Emmerich directs Midway, an entertaining special-effects action adventure about the pivotal WWII battle, with a strong cast manfully grappling with wooden dialog. And the animated feature Klaus looks a little too digital, but its derivative Christmas origin story is told with spiky humour and some enjoyable twists.

In the arthouse department, Terrence Malick's latest wonder is A Hidden Life, based on a true story, so it has a more forceful narrative than his films usually do, even with minimal dialog. It's the powerful story of a man who quietly stood by his principles in Austria under Nazi rule. From Senegal, Atlantics is a haunting drama about a young woman in love with the wrong guy. And it has a supernatural wrinkle that deepens its themes. From Ecuador, The Longest Night (La Mala Noche) could have been a cliched tale of a hooker with a heart of gold, but it becomes much more than that with its gritty plot and complex characters. And there's a restored rerelease for the 1985 drama Buddies, a beautifully made story of friendship that was one of the first films to address the Aids epidemic.

This coming week is another collection of contenders and other releases, including Greta Gerwig's new take on Little Women, Cynthia Erivo in Harriet, the Hamlet riff Ophelia, the British black comedy Kill Ben Lyk, the dance-musical Romeo & Juliet: Beyond Words, and the acclaimed doc For Sama. I also have a few stage shows to watch, just for some fresh air!

Flare 4: Walk on the wild side

The British Film Institute's 32nd Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival continues on the Southbank, and my main tasks over the past few days has been to watch films and interview filmmakers and actors. So I missed the special screening of Maurice, which reunited Hugh Grant and James Wilby on-stage. There are still a few parties to go, so I'm looking forward to seeing friends and getting to know some more of the guests who are in town. Here are some highlights...

The Happy Prince
dir-scr Rupert Everett; with Rupert Everett, Colin Firth 18/UK ****
With lush, deep-coloured production design, this film traces the last three troubled years in Oscar Wilde's life. It's a swirlingly artful approach, shifting around in time to paint a vivid, emotionally charged portrait of a shattered man trying to stoke the embers of his once-grand life. And he's beautifully played by Rupert Everett, who also makes a notable debut as a writer-director.

Becks
dir Elizabeth Rohrbaugh, Daniel Powell; with Lena Hall, Christine Lahti 17/US ***.
Skilfully shot and acted, this warm drama is grounded in an earthy sense of authenticity as it follows a young woman trying to rebuild what's left of her dreams. Even though the plot gives in to structural demands, filmmakers Elizabeth Rohrbaugh and Daniel Powell tell the story in an engaging way, quietly bringing out important themes without pushing them...
FULL REVIEW >

Mario
dir Marcel Gisler; with Max Hubacher, Aaron Altaras18/Swi ***.
Gently observant, this Swiss drama uses a gripping, personal story to confront a much bigger issue: the prejudice against homosexuality in football. Thankfully, director-cowriter keeps the approach personal, creating a character-based romance that's genuinely involving even when the politics threaten to take over. So although it feels rather overlong, it's packed with powerful moments.

Pulse
dir Stevie Cruz-Martin; with Daniel Monks, Caroline Brazier 17/Aus ***.
There's an earthy authenticity to this very slightly fantastical Australian drama that catches the attention right from the start. Shot in an urgent, realist style, it never seems like the actors are performing, and some scenes are so raw that audience members feel almost invasive watching them. As it continues, the story becomes formulaic, but the characters remain solidly grounded.

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C R I T I C A L    W E E K

Outside of Flare, I've seen two very nice surprises, genre films that more than live up to expectations, namely the properly hilarious comedy Blockers and the genuinely terrifying A Quiet Place. There was also the somewhat dense financial scandal doc The Outsider, and a fabulous screening of GW Pabst's 1929 silent classic Pandora's Box, starring the incandescent Louise Brooks.

And the only non-festival screening in the diary for next week is the rescheduled one for The Hurricane Heist. But there are a few things I need to catch up with.

38th Critics' Circle Film Awards: words and pics...

As chair of the London Critics' Circle Film Awards, I get to be right on the frontline putting this event together. It's a lot of work, over about six months with especially intense days when voting starts in early December until the big night. Our 38th awards were handed out on Sunday 28th January at The May Fair Hotel, presented by Dover Street Entertainment. And since I have to get up at the start to thank our sponsors, I usually hand out the first award. This year's first honour went to Hugh Grant (above), named Supporting Actor of the Year for Paddington 2. He joked, "Well that's ludicrous. Trump, Brexit, and now me winning this. It's the end of days!"

The ceremony ended on a highlight, as Kate Winslet was presented the Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film by her friend Jude Law. She gave an electric speech referencing the Time's Up movement from her own personal perspective. Kate started with, "It almost feels uncomfortable to receive an award at such a time." And she went on to reference the #MeToo issue: "I realised that I wouldn't be able to stand here this evening and keep to myself some bitter regrets that I have about poor decisions to work with individuals with whom I wish I had not."

These three men from Call Me By Your Name were in the house - Armie Hammer came along with his friends, nominees Luca Guadagnino (up for film and director) and Timothee Chalamet, who won Actor of the Year. Timothee thanked Luca ("Who basically gave me my career at this point") and his "tongue-wrestling partner" Armie.

Here's the team running the show: host Steve Oram, Critics' Circle President Anna Smith, host Alice Lowe and Critics' Circle Awards Chair Rich Cline. This was Steve and Alice's third year hosting the show - they're an awesome double act.

Winners for Breakthrough Filmmaker and Young Performer: Francis Lee for God's Own Country and Harris Dickinson for Beach Rats.

Lesley Manville was named Supporting Actress of the Year for Phantom Thread, while producer Daniel Battsek collected awards on behalf of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri: for best film, screenwriter Martin McDonagh and actress Frances McDormand.

Writer-director Paul King and writer Simon Farnaby, both nominees for their work on Paddington 2, were in the house. Writer-director Dionne Edwards and producer Georgia Goggin won British/Irish Short Film of the Year for We Love Moses.

Supervising Art Director Paul Inglis accepted production designer Dennis Gassner's Technical Achievement Award for Blade Runner 2049. Noah Jupe (Suburbicon) and Dafne Keen (Logan) were nominees for Young Performer.

More nominees in the house: Fionn Whitehead (Dunkirk), Florence Pugh (Lady Macbeth), Josh O'Connor (God's Own Country) and Emily Beecham (Daphne).

Emma Willis was a nominee for her amazing hair and makeup in The Love Witch. Other guests included Alec Secareanu (God's Own Country), Jessica Barden and Jack Johns.

Four of our winners sent thank you videos. Clockwise from top-left: Martin McDonagh won Film and Screenwriter of the Year for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri; Daniel Kaluuya was named British/Irish Actor of the Year for Get Out; Paul Verhoeven won Foreign-Language Film of the Year for Elle; Sean Baker took Director of the Year for The Florida Project.

And finally, our former chair Jason Solomons presented a lovely In Memoriam segment for Barry Norman, one of Britain's best-loved film critics.

The awards were presented this year by Dover Street Entertainment. Our main sponsor was The May Fair Hotel. Award sponsors were Heaven Skincare, Cameo Productions and Millbank and CooperSearle Management. In-kind sponsors were Sacred Gin, Remy Martin, Voss Water and Audi.