Frears, ‘Leviathan’ honoured at London Film Festival

Director Stephen Frears (pictured) was honoured with a fellowship of the British Film Institute (BFI) on Saturday at a ceremony at the London Film Festival, where Russian movie “Leviathan” won the event’s official award. The 73-year-old filmmaker behind movies such as “Philomena”, “The Queen” and “Dangerous Liaisons” joked that the fellowship award made him feel “geriatric”. “It’s not over yet,” he told the award ceremony at Banqueting House in London, adding that had “almost finished” his latest work, a biopic about cyclist Lance Armstrong.

I can’t think of anyone who’s made a richer, more diverse or more consistently intelligent contribution to British film in my lifetime.

Playwright David Hare, speaking about Stephen Frears

Movies about corruption, gang violence, honour killing and war also took prizes Saturday as the London Film Festival recognised cinema that confronts the harsh realities of our world. Andrey Zvyagintsev’s “Leviathan,” a tragic satire of small-town Russian corruption, was named best picture. The film, which took the screenplay prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, was praised for its “grandeur and themes” by a jury that included actor James McAvoy and producer Jeremy Thomas.

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