Olivia Colman has been named actress of the year by the London Critics’ Circle film awards for her lead role in the Elena Ferrante adaptation The Lost Daughter, in sharp contrast to the Bafta film awards’ failure to nominate her for its equivalent prize.
Directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter is about an academic (played by Colman) on holiday in Greece who becomes involved with another family when their young daughter goes missing. Colman has already been nominated for a string of awards for the role, including the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild, and is expected to be nominated for the best actress Oscar when they are announced on Tuesday.
Jane Campion’s western The Power of the Dog, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Kirsten Dunst, is also emerging as an awards-season powerhouse, and came away with four prizes from the London Critics’: film of the year, director of the year for Campion, actor of the year for Cumberbatch, and supporting actor of the year for Kodi Smit-McPhee.
The ceremony, held virtually for the second year in a row, also proved good news for Joanna Hogg’s acclaimed The Souvenir Part II, which had been entirely overlooked by the Bafta voters: it picked up British/Irish film of the year and was cited as part of the British/Irish actress of the year award for Tilda Swinton. Andrew Garfield, who likewise had been passed over by Bafta voters, took British/Irish actor of the year, for roles including Tick, Tick … Boom! and The Eyes of Tammy Faye.
Full list of awards
Film of the year
The Power of the Dog
Foreign language film of the year
Drive My Car
Documentary of the year
Summer of Soul
British/Irish film of the year
The Souvenir Part II
Director of the year
Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog)
Screenwriter of the year
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe (Drive My Car)
Actress of the year
Olivia Colman (The Lost Daughter)
Actor of the year
Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power of the Dog)
Supporting actress of the year
Ruth Negga (Passing)
Supporting actor of the year
Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Power of the Dog)
British/Irish actress of the year
Tilda Swinton (for her body of work in 2021, including Memoria, The Souvenir Part II and The French Dispatch)
British/Irish actor of the year
Andrew Garfield (for his body of work in 2021, including Tick, Tick ... Boom!, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Mainstream)
Breakthrough British/Irish film-maker
Rebecca Hall (Passing)
Young British/Irish performer
Woody Norman (C’mon C’mon)
British/Irish short film
Play It Safe
Technical achievement award
Dune – visual effects (Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor and Gerd Nefzer)
