Sergei Loznitsa’s Imperium Wins Best Film At BFI London Film Festival
Today the BFI London Film Festival ends it’s 2026 programme and the BFI today announce Sergei Loznitsa‘s Imperium has picked up best film award, pat of the festival’s Competition strand.
Considered a master of archival film reconstruction, Sergei Loznitsa, reframes Soviet history once again via the revealing gaze of Italian cameramen who captured life there in the early 1970s.
The Official Competition jury commented on their film choice “Imperium is an extraordinary film that explores the Soviet Union in the early 1970’s from a rich archive with a wide-ranging perspective that looks at life in a country with an extraordinary social and cultural landscape that has rarely been seen. 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. Our jury is immensely proud to honour such a powerful and singular piece of work.”
The other winners announced tonight where Thai filmmaker Sompot Chidgasornpongse‘s 9 Temples To Heaven which won First Feature Competition (Sutherland Award).Infused with gentle humour and profound humanity, Chidgasornpongse‘s fiction debut presents a serene passage through family, faith and the cycles of life.
The First Feature jury led by led by Amir El-Masry (Limbo, Giant)called the film “an accomplished first feature paving his own path in the well-established tradition of filmmaking in the Southeast Asian region. The film is visually outstanding, spiritual, and meditative where a story about life and death transcends borders and generations.”
Bertil Nilsson’s distinctive debut Masc picked up a special mention. It follows Robin as he moves through temporary jobs and tentative relationships in search of a place to belong. The jury said: “A strikingly original new voice in British cinema, using innovative storytelling, notable performances, and artistically crafted scenes. We were impressed by Bertil’s highly unique concept coupled with capable new talent and humorous script.”
The Documentary Competition award went Asmahan Bkerat and Concrete Island. Bkerat’s feature directorial debut is an intimate, multi-generational portrait of a mixed-raced family fighting displacement and hostility in Jordan.
The jury said: “This was a beautifully observed portrait filmed with mastery and confidence. In image creation, sound design, scene building and most importantly the deep and trusting relationship with the films’ characters the filmmaker proved themselves a worthy recipient of the Grierson award. It takes a tremendous cinematic skill and maturity to bring the audience to feel so close to each and every character of this remarkable family, across generations and in a very different part of the world yet the warmth we feel for each is profound. 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. This is filmmaking which never gets in the way of itself and will surely take its place in the annals of observational greats.”
A special Mention also goes to film Queer Edward II directed by Theo Rollason. This all-archival tour de force takes us behind the scenes of Derek Jarman’s Edward II, set against the backdrop of the anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation of 1980s Britain.
The Documentary Competition Jury said: “This was a spirited and tightly constructed portrait of Jarman as both an artist and an activist. Along with the luscious making-of footage, the integration of wider political archive was skilfully and heart-fully done, making it a fitting and timely tribute to Jarman in its defiant call for tolerance and against prejudice.”
Rahul Roye‘s Aman picks up the Short Film Competition (Short Film Award). The accomplished short follows a trans man whose journey takes an unexpected turn on the eve of his gender-affirming surgery, when he discovers he is pregnant, forcing a profound reckoning with identity, masculinity, and fatherhood.
The Short Film Competition jury said: “We were deeply impressed by Aman’s accomplished filmmaking, tackling knotty themes through authentic and nuanced characters we felt compelled to follow. We were struck by the film’s painterly cinematography, and expansive and assured storytelling, which guided us through the world with care. Aman’s finely drawn narrative is made all the more engrossing by the film’s refusal to provide easy answers to the complexities it presents us with.”
Elizabeth Hobbs‘ Daughters of the Late Colonel picks up the special mention in this category. Focused on the aftermath of the death of their ill-tempered and controlling father, two middle-aged sisters find themselves at a loss.
The jury for or this one commented: “We would like to give a special mention to “Daughters of the Late Colonel” for its singular and inventive visual style, and its deft balance of humour, pathos and provocation.”
Do remember to check out our coverage of this year’s BFI London Film Festival.
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