Director Tim Burton has received a BFI fellowship at this year’s London Film Festival awards, along with his actress partner Helena Bonham Carter.
“It’s good because there’s no jealousy at home,” Bonham Carter told reporters. “It’s very thoughtful for them to give us both one at the same time.”
Burton received his honour from actor Sir Christopher Lee, while his partner was presented hers by Sir Trevor Nunn.
French drama Rust and Bone was named best film at Saturday’s ceremony.
The film, about the intense relationship between a whale trainer and a bare-knuckle boxer, was praised by jury president Sir David Hare for its “heart, violence and love”.
Lead actor Matthias Schoenaerts collected the prize on behalf of Rust and Bone’s director, Jacques Audiard.
It marks the second time the Frenchman has received the festival’s best film award, having previously been honoured in 2009 for his prison drama A Prophet.
Three other prizes were held at the British Film Institute event, held at Banqueting House in central London.
Sally El Hosaini, director and screenwriter of My Brother the Devil, was named best British newcomer in recognition of her London-set family drama.
Benh Zeitlin was presented the Sutherland Award – awarded to the most “original and imaginative feature debut” screened at the festival – for the critically acclaimed Beasts of the Southern Wild.
Alex Gibney, meanwhile, received the best documentary award for Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, a hard-hitting exploration of sexual abuse within the Catholic church.
British actors Tom Hiddleston, Helen McCrory and Olivia Colman were among the attendees at the awards event, held on the penultimate evening of this year’s festival.
Festivities come to an end on Sunday with a gala screening of Great Expectations, a new version of the classic Dickens novel in which Bonham Carter appears.
The festival launched last week with a screening of Burton’s 3D animated feature Frankenweenie, now on general release in the UK and Ireland.
Also on Saturday, the festival’s “surprise film” was revealed to be Silver Linings Playbook, the latest feature from The Fighter director David O Russell.
Russell took questions from the audience after the sold-out Leicester Square screening, along with his leading man Bradley Cooper.
BBC
