Award winners at 2024 BFI London Film Festival
Official Competition (Best Film Award)
Memoir of a Snail – Adam Elliot
Oscar-winning director Adam Elliot’s tale of separated twins in 1970s Australia is a funny and moving stop-motion triumph.
Special Mention: On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, Rungano Nyoni
An intricately crafted story brimming with imagination that dares to say the unsayable about a sexual predator in a close-knit Zambian community.
First Feature Competition (Sutherland Award)
On Falling – Laura Carreira
The importance of human connection lies at the heart of this nuanced portrait of a young Portuguese warehouse employee in Scotland.
Special Mention: Olivia & the Clouds – Tomás Pichardo Espaillat
A kaleidoscopic feast for the eyes and ears that playfully blurs the line between memory and reality while masterfully exploring a range of animation styles.
Documentary Competition (Grierson Award)
Mother Vera – Cécile Embleton, Alys Tomlinson
A visually striking documentary about a young Orthodox nun who must confront her past as she faces her desires and an uncertain future.
Special Mention: The Shadow Scholars, Eloise King
Focusing on the groundbreaking work of Oxford professor Patricia Kingori, The Shadow Scholars shines a powerful light on the multi-billion-dollar global underworld of academic essay-writing, where overqualified yet underemployed young Kenyans write essays for students across the globe.
Short Film Competition (Short Film Award)
Vibrations from Gaza – Rehab Nazzal
A documentary offering a glimpse into the resilience of Palestinian Deaf children in Gaza, who are living with Israel’s military attacks.
Special Mention: Dragfox, Lisa Ott
A child struggling with their identity and a charismatic fox learn to embrace their differences in this heartwarming stop-motion animation.
LFF AUDIENCE AWARDS (announced 4 November)
FOUR MOTHERS – BEST NARRATIVEFEATURE FILM
HOLLOWAY – BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
TWO MINUTES – BEST SHORT FILM
12 days of screenings in London and UK-wide with features, series, shorts, immersive art and extended reality works via LFF Expanded,LFF for Free events, and the LFF Industry Forum reached audiences of230,342,up from 2023’s 194,960, an increase of 18%.
Occupancy across both free and paid-for in person screenings and events at London venues increased to92%, with 49% of these tickets being booked by first-time LFF attendees
More than 815 international and UK filmmakers, XR artists and series creatives presented their work in person at the Festival
The industry forum welcomed over 3,000 delegates
Over 800 media were accredited to the LFF andattended P&I screenings of 159 films. Filmmakers and talent engaged in 46 red carpetspacked with photographers and crews,the festival’s signature Filmmaker Afternoon Teas gavea range of media access to over 50 filmmakers and talent, plus 7 emerging writers from underrepresented backgroundstook part in the LFF’s 7thCritics Mentorship Programme.
