The winners have been announced as the 2026 festival draws to a close.
The BFI has today announced the winners of this year’s LFF Awards. Showcasing an incredible range of talent from across the world, the Competition sections are a celebration of exciting new cinematic works. The winning films are:
- IMPERIUM, Dir. Sergei Loznitsa wins Best Film Award in Official Competition
- 9 TEMPLES TO HEAVEN, Dir. Sompot Chidgasornpongse wins Sutherland Award in First Feature Competition
- CONCRETE LAND, Dir. Asmahan Bkerat wins Grierson Award in Documentary Competition
- AMAN, Dir. Rahul Roye wins Short Film Award in Short Film Competition
The winning films were selected by four esteemed LFF Juries, with each exploring a range of themes and stories including a revelatory examination of history and empire, a meditative exploration of family, faith and the cycles of life, an intimate portrait of resilience in the face of displacement and cultural erasure, and a nuanced exploration of identity and masculinity.
Meanwhile, voting for the LFF Audience Awards closes on Wednesday 21 October. The winners of Best Feature Film and Best British Discovery categories will be announced in due course. The 2025 winners of LFF Audience Awards included Chloé Zhao’s period drama Hamnet, which won the Audience Award for Best Feature Film, and Yemi Bamiro’s documentary Black Is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story, which won the Audience Award for Best British Discovery.
This year’s Jury Presidents were: Sam Pollard (Official Competition), Amir El-Masry (First Feature Competition), Sandhya Suri (Documentary Competition) and Helen Simmons (Short Film Competition).