Dominic Cooper, Jodie Whittaker, Tahar Rahim: London 2009

Screenwriter Jack Thorne, voted best British newcomer for The Scouting Book for Boys, poses with his award. Actors Dominic Cooper and Jodie Whittaker are standing next to him at the Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival Awards Ceremony at Inner Temple on October 28. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Documentary filmmaker Yoav Shamir poses with his Grierson Award for Best Documentary Defamation, an European Film Award nominee and a potential Oscar 2010 contender, at the Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival Awards Ceremony. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Tahar Rahim, the star of Jacques Audiard’s A Prophet, poses with the Best Film award given to Audiard’s gritty prison drama. Academy Award winner and London Film [...]

Anjelica Huston, Charlotte Rampling, Jack Thorne: London 2009

Academy Award winner and London Film Festival jury chair Anjelica Huston presents the Best Film award during the Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival Awards Ceremony. (Photo by Samir Hussein/Getty Images)

Screenwriter Jack Thorne poses with his Best British Newcomer award for the film The Scouting Book for Boys during the Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival Awards Ceremony at Inner Temple on October 28. (Photo by Samir Hussein/Getty Images)

Veteran actress and award presenter Charlotte Rampling speaks at the Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival Awards Ceremony. (Photo by Samir Hussein/Getty Images)

London Film Festival Awards 2009

Star of London for Best Film: Jacques Audiard’s A PROPHET
On behalf of the London Film Festival jury, Anjelica Huston stated: “A masterpiece: Un prohète has the ambition, purity of vision and clarity of purpose to make it an instant classic. With seamless and imaginative story-telling, superb performances and universal themes, Jacques Audiard has made a perfect film.” In A Prophet, Tahar Rahim stars as a prison newcomer who learns how to become that realm’s top dog.

Special mention: John Hillcoat’s THE ROAD

Best British Newcomer: Jack Thorne, screenwriter of the film THE SCOUTING BOOK FOR BOYS

Sutherland Award for most original and imaginative first feature: Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani for AJAMI

Grierson Award for Best Documentary: Yoav Shamir for [...]