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Memoir Of A Snail, the latest stop motion pic from Oscar-winning filmmaker Adam Elliot, and Edinburgh-based filmmaker Laura Carreira’s haunting debut feature On Falling are among the top prize winners at this year’s London Film Festival.
The competition winners were announced this afternoon by the London Film Festival’s various juries. The jury heads were Alexandre O. Philippe, (Official Competition), Dionne Edwards (First Feature Competition), June Givanni, (Documentary Competition), and Chloe Abrahams (Short Film Competition).
Memoir Of A Snail took Best Film while Carreira’s On Falling, produced by Jack Thomas-O’Brien of Sixteen Films, won the Sutherland Award in the First Feature Competition. On Falling is the first British feature to win the Sutherland Award since 2010. Clio Barnard won it that year with The Arbor. Previous winners include Andrea Arnold, Lynne Ramsay, Robert Eggers, Julia Ducournau, and Mati Diop.
Memoir Of A Snail tells the tale of separated twins in 1970s Australia. The film’s voice cast includes Sarah Snook, Eric Bana, and Jacki Weaver. The competition jury said they were “incredibly moved” by the film, which they described as a “singular achievement in filmmaking.”
“Emotionally resonant and constantly surprising, Memoir tackles pertinent issues such as bullying, loneliness, and grief head-on, creating a crucial and universal dialogue in a way that only animation can,” the jury said in their official statement. “The jury is delighted to recognize an animated film alongside its live-action peers.”
On Falling, which landed in London following buzzy screenings at TIFF and San Sebastian, follows Aurora, a young Portuguese woman who struggles to make ends meet across one week in her adopted home of Glasgow, Scotland. Long days spent grabbing packages off shelves for an anonymous e-commerce giant barely cover the bills and leave her exhausted and desperate for something more. Per the synopsis: Aurora seeks to resist the loneliness, alienation, and ensuing small talk that begin to threaten her sense of self. Set against a landscape dominated by an algorithm-driven gig economy, designed to keep us apart.
The film, alongside Athina Rachel Tsangari’s latest Harvest, is one of the first features from the post-Ken Loach era at Sixteen Films. Thomas-O’Brien produced the pic alongside the Portuguese-based BRO Cinema. Backers include BBC Film, BFI, and Screen Scotland. Conic will release the pic in UK cinemas in early 2025.
The Sutherland award jury described the film as a “richly-layered portrait of a world governed by corporate profit motive” seen through the “story of an immigrant woman whose alienation we feel deeply, told with masterful cinematic precision and understated, lived in performances.”
“A powerful, mesmerising and bold first feature. Congratulations to Carreira, we look forward to seeing where her cinematic journey goes next,” the jury said.
Accepting the award, Carreira said: “I’m so honored to receive the Sutherland award for “On Falling” and for our film to join the long list of winners which includes some of my favourite films and most important cinema reference points. I want to extend my thanks to the jury and everyone involved in this amazing festival. This award is shared with our incredible cast, and crew who brought this film to life. We hope the film speaks to the relentless and dehumanising growth of neoliberalism while reminding us that human nature will keep resisting. We offer our film in solidarity.”
The London Film Festival ends this evening with a screening of the Pharrell Williams biopic Piece by Piece.
Check out the full list of LFF winners below.
· Winner of the Best Film Award in Official Competition – MEMOIR OF A SNAIL (Dir. Adam Elliot)
· Winner of the Sutherland Award in the First Feature Competition – ON FALLING (Dir. Laura Carreira)
· Winner of the Grierson Award in the Documentary Competition – MOTHER VERA (Dirs. Cécile Embleton, Alys Tomlinson)
· Winner of the Short Film Award in the Short Film Competition – VIBRATIONS FROM GAZA (Dir. Rehab Nazzal)
