Moonlight, Manchester by the Sea and Love & Friendship win two awards each, as Isabelle Huppert claims two top honours.
The UK's leading critics spread the love among a range of films at the 37th Critics' Circle Film Awards on Sunday night at The May Fair Hotel in London. Hosted by actor-filmmakers Alice Lowe and Steve Oram, the star-studded black-tie ceremony saw Damien Chazelle's musical La La Land crowned Film of the Year, with top prizes going to films from Ireland, France, Hungary, Germany, Italy, Australia and the USA.
In a surprise move, Director of the Year was won by Hungarian filmmaker Laszlo Nemes for his Oscar-winning drama Son of Saul. Screenwriter went to Kenneth Lonergan for Manchester by the Sea, which also won Actor of the Year for Casey Affleck. Moonlight was presented with both supporting acting categories, for Naomie Harris and Mahershala Ali, who tied with Love & Friendship's Tom Bennett. Bennett's costar Kate Beckinsale was on hand to claim the British/Irish Actress prize, while Andrew Garfield won British/Irish Actor for his performances in both Hacksaw Ridge and Silence.
Iconic French actress Isabelle Huppert also took home two awards. She was presented the prestigious Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film before going on to win in the Actress of the Year category for her performance in Mia Hansen-Love's Things to Come.
Maren Ade's acclaimed Toni Erdmann added to its global accolades as it was named Foreign-Language Film of the Year, while Gianfranco Rosi's Fire at Sea took the Documentary honours. And Ken Loach's I, Daniel Blake won The Attenborough Award for British/Irish Film of the Year.
Other winners included A Monster Calls' 14-year-old star Lewis MacDougall, named Young British/Irish Performer of the Year, and writer-director Babak Anvari, who won The Philip French Award for Breakthrough British/Irish Filmmaker for his feature debut Under the Shadow. Cinematographer Sturla Brandth Grovlen claimed the Technical Achievement Award for his bravura work on the one-take German thriller Victoria.
For the fifth year running, The May Fair Hotel hosted the event, with winners Beckinsale, Harris, Loach, Bennett, MacDougall and Anvari among an array of stars on the red carpet. Guests at the ceremony included George MacKay, Emma Greenwell, Morfydd Clark, Mica Levi, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Ruby Barnhill, Sennia Nanua, Ben Cohen, Kristina Rihanoff and filmmakers Andrea Arnold, John Carney, Otto Bell and Mia Hansen-Love.
The Critics' Circle Film Awards are sponsored by The May Fair Hotel and Suqqu, along with Millbank Casting & Management, Cooper Searle Personal Management, Audi, Remy Martin, Sacred, Voss, 31 Dover and Cameo Productions.
The full list of winners for the 37th London Critics' Circle Film Awards:
FILM OF THE YEAR
La La Land
FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
Toni Erdmann
DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR
Fire at Sea
BRITISH/IRISH FILM OF THE YEAR
I, Daniel Blake
ACTOR OF THE YEAR presented by Millbank and Cooper Searle
Casey Affleck - Manchester by the Sea
ACTRESS OF THE YEAR presented by Suqqu
Isabelle Huppert - Things to Come
SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR (tie)
Mahershala Ali - Moonlight
Tom Bennett - Love & Friendship
SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR presented by Cameo
Naomie Harris - Moonlight
DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
László Nemes - Son of Saul
SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR
Kenneth Lonergan - Manchester by the Sea
BRITISH/IRISH ACTOR
Andrew Garfield - Hacksaw Ridge, Silence
BRITISH/IRISH ACTRESS
Kate Beckinsale - Love & Friendship
YOUNG BRITISH/IRISH PERFORMER presented by The May Fair Hotel
Lewis MacDougall - A Monster Calls
BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH/IRISH FILMMAKER
Babak Anvari - Under the Shadow
BRITISH/IRISH SHORT FILM
Sweet Maddie Stone - Brady Hood
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
Victoria - Sturla Brandth Grovlen, cinematography
DILYS POWELL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FILM
Isabelle Huppert
About The Critics' Circle:
Established in 1913, The Critics' Circle is the oldest organisation of its kind in the world, with more than 400 members who work in the UK media as critics of drama, art and architecture, music, film and dance. Chaired by Anna Smith, the Film Section membership is made up of more than 145 UK film critics, broadcasters and writers, including Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw, the BBC’s Mark Kermode and Sight & Sound Editor Nick James, and has presented its awards annually since 1980. www.criticscircle.org.uk
About The May Fair Hotel, London:
The luxury May Fair Hotel is located in the heart of London's most stylish district. The hotel, which was opened by King George V in 1927, boasts more than 400 luxury bedrooms, including 40 suites; the relaxing May Fair Spa; the chic Mediterranean tapas restaurant May Fair Kitchen; The May Fair Bar offering an array of cocktails; a 201-seat private screening room, The May Fair Theatre; and the exclusive Palm Beach Casino. The May Fair Hotel has established partnerships as the official hotel partner for both London Fashion Week and the BFI London Film Festival. The May Fair Hotel is owned and managed by independent hospitality group Edwardian Hotels London, one of the UK's largest privately owned companies, which has been developing luxury hotel and hospitality brands since 1977. www.themayfairhotel.co.uk
About Suqqu:
Born to enhance the natural journey of a woman's complexion. Since 2003, Suqqu has been highly coveted amongst the makeup artist elite, combining ancient Japanese rituals with ground-breaking innovation. Each striking product is formulated to enhance the skin's natural beauty, whether through colour, skincare or the globally renowned Gankin Massage. Now in 2017, Suqqu is supporting the Critics' Circle for a second year, and the brand is proud to be associated with such a prestigious acknowledgement of cinema. www.suqqu.com
