Martin I. Petrov

The Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film was awarded to Andrew Haigh’s 45 YEARS which received its UK Premiere at the Festival. His beautiful portrait of a fractured relationship wins one of the longest-running film awards in the UK, honouring imagination and creativity in British filmmaking. The Award was presented by actor Jane Seymour.

The winner was chosen by the Michael Powell Jury, chaired by LA Times film critic Kenneth Turan with actor/director Karen Gillan and actor Ian Hart. Special Mentions were given to Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT and J. Davis’ MANSON FAMILY VACATION.

Director 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 Award for Best Performance in a British Feature Film was shared between James Cosmo for his performance in THE PYRAMID TEXTS and Charlotte Rampling for her performance in 45 YEARS.  The performance awards were also selected by the Michael Powell Jury. The Award was presented to James Cosmo by Ewen Bremner, while Charlotte Rampling was unable to attend in person.

The Award for Best International Feature Film was awarded to Marielle Heller’s THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL(USA), which received its UK Premiere at EIFF. The award is given to filmmakers from outside of the UK in recognition of their imagination and innovation. Director Amy Berg chaired the International Feature Film Competition Jury, with actors Archie Panjabi and Natascha McElhone. The Award was presented by EIFF Honorary Patron, Seamus McGarvey.

The Award for Best Documentary Feature Film was awarded to Crystal Moselle’s THE WOLFPACK (USA). The award underlines the Festival’s long-standing support of documentaries. The winner was selected by the Best Documentary Feature Film Jury, chaired by AFI Festival Director Jacqueline Lyanga, with actors Denis Lawson and Jo Hartley. The Award was presented by Mark Adams, Artistic Director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

SCRAPBOOK directed by Mike Hoolboom won The Award for Best Short Film. The award was bestowed by the Short Films Jury which was chaired by director Kyle Patrick Alvarez with actors Dolly Wells and Jaime Winstone. Special Mentions went to Juliana Bao’s performance in Maruani Landa’s CIPRIANA and Ahmet Simsek’s performance in Jannis Lenz’s SHADOWBOXER. The Award was presented by Diane Henderson, Deputy Artistic Director of EIFF.

Voted for by the audience, The McLaren Award for Best New British Animation, supported by the British Council,went to STEMS by director Ainslie Henderson. Named after Scottish-born filmmaker Norman McLaren, the McLaren Award is the longest running award celebrating creativity amongst UK animation talent. The Award was presented by animator Barry Purves.

The Student Critics Jury Award, supported by James and Morag Anderson, was awarded by Jury members Catriona Morton and Sunrise Ishimwe to BLACK MOUNTAIN POETS directed by Jamie Adams. The award was determined by a jury of young film critics who were under the guidance of film critics Siobhan Synnot and Dave Calhoun.

*From official press release.