#FILMFRIDAY! ALL THE WINNERS FROM THE 69TH EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL...

15:04:00

Hey Lovelies, 

After all of that record breaking news, it is now time to share with you all the incredible winners from the 69th Edinburgh International Film Festival that were announced today at a special ceremony hosted by Jackie Bird, bringing the whole event to a close. 

One of the first awards handed out was the Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film, which was given to ’45 Years’ lovelies. The film explores a broken relationship and touched the hearts of panel members, Kenneth Turan, Karen Gillan and Ian Hart, who chose it as their winner. 

Speaking about their choice, the Michael Powell Jury said: “We’re delighted to present the Michael Powell Award for best British feature. This year it goes to a quietly explosive film which represents classic filmmaking at its best. This is a measured yet provocative film, a masterclass in understated acting that was the unanimous choice of the jury.”

And director of the film, Andrew Haigh said: “This is a real honour and made even more special when you consider the list of British films that have won before. All you can hope for when you make a film is that it resonates with people and that is why receiving an award such as this feels so fantastic.”

The next award handed out was the Best Performance in a British Feature Film lovelies, which was won by two incredible actors. James Cosmo won for his performance ‘The Pyramid Texts’ and Charlotte Rampling picked up the award for her role in ’45 Years’. 

Speaking about their winners, jury member Ian Hart said: “There’s an old actor’s joke when someone’s rehearsing a scene and they come across a certain piece of text and they say I don’t need that line, I can do that with a look. But most people can’t so the line goes back in. But certain people can, they can do more with a gesture, they can do more with a look than most people can do with ten words, and this is why this award goes to Charlotte Rampling.”

Also speaking about the winning actors, jury member Karen Gillan said: “I think I speak to all up and coming Scottish actors when I say James Cosmo is a huge inspiration, his acting is a lesson to us all, you show us how it’s done.”

And the winner, Charlotte Rampling said: “It is an extraordinary moment when you are singled out when the craft that you have been perfecting throughout your life is appreciated and rewarded. It is thrilling and humbling and I thank you so much for giving me the chance to feel so proud. I thank Andrew Haigh for seeing what he sees, Tom Courtenay for moving me to tears, and Tristan Golligher for believing that this could be made.”

After the performance awards were handed out, the next winner was announced for the Best International Feature Film award, in which ‘The Diary of a Teenage Girl’ which hosted its UK premiere at the event. 

When announcing the winner, the International Competition Jury said: “The Diary of a Teenage Girl is imaginative both visually and narratively, emotionally gripping and completely unapologetic in tone. We had a tough decision to make as we had some very strong contenders.”

And Marielle Heller said: “Although this is an American film, it was made by a very international group, including our North Star, the British Bel Powley, whose brave performance is the heart of this film.  I am so pleased to have such a prestigious UK premiere for the film at Edinburgh, and I am especially thrilled for Bel's performance to be brought to her home turf for the first time.  And I am so honoured by this award, which was a wonderful shock!”

Up next came the winners of the Documentary Feature Film award, which was given to ‘The Wolfpack’ after being chosen by the documentary jury lovelies, who said: “Out of a very strong field, the Jury has selected THE WOLFPACK as the best documentary in competition at the 2015 Edinburgh International Film Festival. Shot over five years, the director Crystal Moselle turned a chance encounter with six brothers into an intriguing, intimate portrait that shines a light on the warmth, humour and underlying tension of an extraordinary situation.”

The next award was given to the Best Short Film, which was given to ‘Scrapbook’.  Speaking about their decision, the Short Films Jury citation read: “We found Scrapbook to be incredibly unique, singularly captivating, unlike anything we have seen before. Congratulations to Mike Hoolboom on making such a moving film. We would also like to give a special mention to the lead actress in Cipriana, Juliana Boa who gave an incredibly brave performance for such a young actress. We would also like to give a special mention to Ahmet Simsek’s performance in Shadowboxer whose work we found incredibly moving and touching, a really captivating performance.”

And Mike Hoolboom added: “I feel touched this afternoon by a hand that has reached all the way across the Atlantic to find me in my Toronto home: who knew that hands could reach that far, and with such kindness. It reminds me that the cinema is able, sometimes, at least occasionally, to bring far away people so close, close enough that they can feel like part of our lives, and help us with this fundamental task: how can we get along with each other?”

Followed by The McLaren Award for Best New British Animation, which went to ‘Stems’ lovelies.

The final award at the ceremony was the Student Critics Jury Award, which was given to ‘Black Mountain Poets’, after it aired to a number of young film critics, who selected it to win. 
Speaking at the ceremony, The Student Critics Jury citation read: “We’ve seen such a variety of films, and all of us have our favourites, and our guilty pleasures – and what’s more, they’ve all been very different! It was genuinely challenging to pick just one – but in the end, our vote was unanimous.”

Director of the film, Jamie Adams said: “The idea that a dozen or so students have concluded that our movie Black Mountain Poets is the one that has excited their collective imaginations the most out of the brilliant movies they considered is a beautiful thing - it reminds me why we set out to create our modern romance trilogy in the first place.”


Congratulations to all the winners and to another incredible festival! 

Blog Soon, 
Joey X

To keep up to date with all the latest news from the blog, follow it on Twitter @LetsStartNow18 :)

You Might Also Like

0 comments