Sergei Loznitsa’s ‘Imperium’ Wins Best Film at 70th BFI London Film Festival

The jury praised Imperium’s rich archival footage of the early 1970s Soviet Union, while other awards went to Concrete Land, 9 Temples to Heaven and Aman.

By Felo News Desk · Published Sun, 18 Oct 2026 18:26:33 GMT

The 70th BFI London Film Festival concluded on Sunday with Sergei Loznitsa’s ‘Imperium’ receiving the Best Film award, the jury said.

What happened

The awards ceremony took place on Sunday evening as the festival wrapped up. ‘Imperium’, built from Italian‑shot footage of the USSR in the early 1970s, was named Best Film in the official competition. Asmahan Bkerat’s documentary ‘Concrete Land’ won the Grierson Award, Thailand’s ‘9 Temples to Heaven’ earned the Sutherland Award for best first feature, and Rahul Roye’s short ‘Aman’ received the Short Film Award.

What the reports add

Variety noted that the competition jury was led by filmmaker Sam Pollard, with members Mariano Llinás and Julie La Bassiere, and that the Sutherland Award jury was chaired by actor Amir El‑Masry, joined by producer Alemberg Ang and strategist Rosa Bosch. The Standard added that separate juries chaired by Sam Pollard, Amir El‑Masry, director Sandhya Suri and writer‑producer Helen Simmons selected the four winning films. The Hollywood Reporter highlighted the festival’s U.K. premiere of Jesse Eisenberg’s ‘The Debut’ on the final night, but did not list the full jury composition.

What was said

The jury described ‘Imperium’ as “richly evocative and emotionally engaging” and praised its “visually arresting perspective of life before the Soviet Union was broken apart,” as quoted by Variety and echoed by the Standard. The Standard also reported the jury’s statement that they were “immensely proud to honour such a powerful and singular piece of work.”

How it came about

Sam Pollard’s appointment as president of the competition jury was announced in a September 30 Felo News article (Sam Pollard appointed president of BFI London Film Festival competition jury). The festival opened on October 7 with Andrew Scott’s tribute film ‘Elsinore’, as covered by Felo (Andrew Scott opens BFI London Film Festival with ‘Elsinore’ tribute to Ian Charleson). The awards therefore conclude a month‑long programme that began with that opening night.

Key facts

Sergei Loznitsa’s ‘Imperium’ won the Best Film award at the 70th BFI London Film Festival. (variety.com)
‘Concrete Land’ by Asmahan Bkerat received the Grierson Award for documentary. (hollywoodreporter.com)
‘9 Temples to Heaven’ won the Sutherland Award for best first feature. (standard.co.uk)
Sam Pollard chaired the official competition jury. (variety.com)
The jury described ‘Imperium’ as “richly evocative and emotionally engaging.” (standard.co.uk)