The BFI London Film Festival has revealed the winners of its audience awards.
Academy Award winner Chloé Zhao’s period drama Hamnet, based on author Maggie O’Farrell’s acclaimed novel, was chosen as the Audience Award for Best Feature Film.
The Mayor of London’s Gala of Hamnet took place on 11 October at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, with Mayor Sadiq Khan introducing the film with Zhao and cast and crew members including Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal.
Justine Simons OBE, deputy mayor for culture and the creative industries, said: “I am delighted that Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Hamnet, which was screened as the Mayor’s Gala, has won the Audience Award for Best Feature Film.
“The mayor and I are proud to support our capital’s film industry – a global success story – as we build a better London for everyone.”
The winner of the Audience Award for Best British Discovery is Yemi Bamiro’s inspiring documentary Black Is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story, a touching tribute to the forgotten photographer, freedom fighter and activist who helped popularise the transformative ‘Black Is Beautiful’ movement.
Bringing his story to light, this film sees family and friends honour his artistry and features insights from Gabrielle Union, Alicia Keys and Jesse Williams.
The world premiere of the film took place on 9 October at BFI Southbank, with Bamiro, producer Joanna Boateng and the film team in attendance, as well as Kwame Brathwaite Jr.
BFI London Film Festival director Kristy Matheson said: “Our biggest thanks go to the artists who generously shared their unique views of the world with us this year.
“Across screenings, talks, exhibitions and immersive experiences, it was a delight to see industry and audiences engage with each other and this programme – proving once again the joy and comfort we all find in screen culture.”
The festival featured 252 titles in total (comprising features, shorts, series and immersive works) hailing from 79 countries, and featured 39 languages with 41% of works from female and non-binary filmmakers.
All features and series screened to UK audiences for the first time, including 28 world premieres, 11 international premieres and 20 European premieres.
Across the programme, including events for industry delegates and the popular LFF for Free programme, the festival had 235,853 attendances.
Around half of this year’s bookers for London screenings and events (47%) were new to the LFF and occupancy across the festival’s London screenings and events has increased to 94%, up from 92% in 2024.
