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Award Winning
With garlands and glamour, cinema’s spirit of self-congratulation has long fascinated, allowing great works to gain recognition and reach wide audiences.
The famous example is Kurosawa’s Rashomon, which astounded Venice and thrust Japanese cinema on the world stage. But awards still have the power to elevate films and help secure their place in the pantheon. Our collection highlights the films that have won the praise of peers over the years, from Palme d’Or recipients to prize-winners from the BFI London Film Festival.

All We Imagine as LightAll We Imagine as Light
Romance2024118 minsDirector: Payal Kapadia
Payal Kapadia’s Cannes Grand Prix-winning portrait of three women is a transcendent tale of love and sisterhood.

Memoir of a SnailMemoir of a Snail
Animation & Artists Moving Image202495 minsDirector: Adam Elliot
Nick Cave and Sarah Snook voice an Oscar-nominated stop-motion classic of divided twins, told with adult candour and uncanny warmth.

The Teachers' LoungeThe Teachers' Lounge
Drama202399 minsDirector: Ilker Çatak
A teacher’s life unravels when one of her students is accused of stealing in this arresting, Oscar-nominated thriller.

SantoshSantosh
Drama2023128 minsDirector: Sandhya Suri
A housewife-turned-cop is sucked into a high-profile case that has polarised the local community in this taut, north India-set thriller.

A Night of Knowing NothingA Night of Knowing Nothing
Drama-documentary202199 minsDirector: Payal Kapadia
All We Imagine as Light director Payal Kapadia’s bold and distinctive feature debut explores the political climate of contemporary India.

An Elephant Sitting StillAn Elephant Sitting Still
Drama2018234 minsDirector: Hu Bo
The troubled lives of four desperate people unfold over the course of a single day, in this melancholy masterpiece about the human condition.

On FallingOn Falling
Drama2025101 minsDirector: Laura Carreira
The importance of human connection lies at the heart of this powerful, nuanced portrait of a young Portuguese warehouse employee in Scotland.

VermiglioVermiglio
Drama2024120 minsDirector: Maura Delpero
Unfolding against the stunning backdrop of a remote Italian mountain village, Maura Delpero’s film is a hauntingly beautiful period tale of family life gradually torn apart.

MonsterMonster
Drama2023127 minsDirector: Hirokazu Koreeda
Not all is as it seems in Hirokazu Koreeda’s powerful drama told from shifting perspectives.

Evil Does Not ExistEvil Does Not Exist
Drama2023106 minsDirector: Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s follow-up to Drive My Car is a hauntingly enigmatic eco-thriller. Winner of Best Film at the BFI London Film Festival.

The EchoThe Echo
Documentary2023102 minsDirector: Tatiana Huezo
Tatiana Huezo’s poetic documentary captures a holistic view of the rhythms of life in a remote Mexican village.

SamsaraSamsara
Drama2023114 minsDirector: Lois Patiño
Berlin Film Festival award winner Lois Patiño’s assured third feature transports us to magical places in Laos and Zanzibar, where the visible and the invisible merge.

ScrapperScrapper
Comedy202390 minsDirector: Charlotte Regan
A gorgeous and colourful heart-warming gem from Charlotte Regan, one of the best new voices in British film.

ApostasyApostasy
Drama201895 minsDirector: Dan Kokotajlo
A deeply religious family must decide whether to stick by their relation or abandon her, in this striking debut from Daniel Kokotajlo.

The Secret in Their EyesThe Secret in Their Eyes
Thriller2009129 minsDirector: Juan José Campanella
A retired legal investigator revisits an unresolved case that still haunts him, in Juan José Campanella’s taut, Academy Award winning, thriller.

EOEO
Drama202286 minsDirector: Jerzy Skolimowski
The joint winner of the Cannes Jury Prize, EO is a strangely wonderful tale where the dark and light of humanity is laid bare.

BaitBait
Drama201989 minsDirector: Mark Jenkin
Simmering tensions between locals and newcomers in a modern-day Cornish fishing village reach boiling point in this hugely acclaimed British independent film.

LovelessLoveless
Drama2017127 minsDirector: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Andrey Zvyagintsev delivers a caustic look at contemporary Russian society, a failed marriage and a child's disappearance.

Take ShelterTake Shelter
Drama2011116 minsDirector: Jeff Nichols
Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain bring to life this extraordinary tale of ordinary madness.

I, Daniel BlakeI, Daniel Blake
Drama2016100 minsDirector: Ken Loach
Ken Loach’s powerful, Palme d’Or-winning invective against welfare injustice captured the mood of modern Britain and became his biggest box office success.

BeastBeast
Drama2018106 minsDirector: Michael Pearce
The hunt for a Jersey serial killer sparks a dangerous awakening in a young woman in this astonishing psycho-sexual thriller.

NakedNaked
Drama1993131 minsDirector: Mike Leigh
David Thewlis stuns as the motormouth predator of Mike Leigh's divisive masterpiece.

El SurEl Sur
Drama198394 minsDirector: Víctor Erice
Victor Erice’s second masterpiece, following The Spirit of the Beehive, is a meditation on memory, deception and Spain’s 20th-century history.

Force MajeureForce Majeure
Drama2014120 minsDirector: Ruben Östlund
A gutless moment comes to define a man in this glorious comedy of unease from the creator of Triangle of Sadness.

IdaIda
Drama201482 minsDirector: Pawel Pawlikowski
An exquisitely shot, moving drama about a Polish nun exploring her family past, from UK-based director Pawel Pawlikowski.

DogmanDogman
Drama2018103 minsDirector: Matteo Garrone
Gomorrah director Matteo Garrone presents a masterful tale of twisted friendship, not-so-petty crime and revenge.

The Kindergarten TeacherThe Kindergarten Teacher
Drama201897 minsDirector: Sara Colangelo
Maggie Gyllenhaal gives a career-best performance as a kindergarten teacher who finds herself in an ethical quagmire after discovering the poetic talents of a precocious student.

FitzcarraldoFitzcarraldo
Historical drama1981157 minsDirector: Werner Herzog
Fitzcarraldo tells the story of Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, a fortune hunter who dreams of bringing opera to the Peruvian jungle.

My Brother the DevilMy Brother the Devil
Drama2012107 minsDirector: Sally El Hosaini
Sally El Hosaini's feature debut tells of the love and disenchantment of two British-Egyptian brothers as gangs, drugs and sexuality come between them.

Frozen RiverFrozen River
Crime200893 minsDirector: Courtney Hunt
Nominated for two Oscars (Best Actress – Melissa Leo - and Best Original Screenplay) Frozen River is a riveting thriller that raises questions about the borders we construct, between countries, communities and each other.

Wild TalesWild Tales
Comedy2014122 minsDirector: Damian Szifron
This Oscar-nominated, Almodóvar-produced anthology of six tales of ordinary madness is the most riotously enjoyable portmanteau film since Pulp Fiction.

The Battle of AlgiersThe Battle of Algiers
Drama1966121 minsDirector: Gillo Pontecorvo
Gillo Pontecorvo’s masterpiece about the last years of French colonial rule in Algeria, seen from the perspective of both the revolutionaries and the French authorities.

The WoundThe Wound
Drama201788 minsDirector: John Trengove
A traditional rite of passage ritual forms the backdrop for this tough and complex tale of closeted sexuality in South Africa.

Red RoadRed Road
Thriller2006110 minsDirector: Andrea Arnold
Andrea Arnold’s highly acclaimed film, winner of top prizes at Cannes and the BFI London Film Festival, is a haunting drama about a woman confronting past demons.

The ArborThe Arbor
Biopic201090 minsDirector: Clio Barnard
Clio Barnard's film about Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar mixes reconstruction, interviews (performed by actors) and scenes from the plays.

The HousemaidThe Housemaid
Thriller2010107 minsDirector: Im Sang-soo
An enigmatic housemaid and her wealthy, totalitarian employer begin an affair that will have disastrous consequences for them both.

Fish TankFish Tank
Drama2009118 minsDirector: Andrea Arnold
BAFTA winner and coming-of-age story starring newcomer Katie Jarvis as disaffected teen Mia and Michael Fassbender in one of his earliest film roles.

Wings of DesireWings of Desire
Fantasy1987128 minsDirector: Wim Wenders
In director Wim Wenders' (Paris, Texas) most metaphysical work, a guardian angel desires nothing more than to be human.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden DragonCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Martial arts2000120 minsDirector: Ang Lee
Ang Lee’s exquisitely choreographed Oscar-winning epic, starring Chow Yun-fat, Michelle Yeoh and Ziyi Zhang on a quest to recover a stolen sword.

Nil by MouthNil by Mouth
Drama1997129 minsDirector: Gary Oldman
Twenty-five years old and newly restored, Gary Oldman’s BAFTA-winning debut as writer-director remains a magnificent achievement.

Distant Voices, Still LivesDistant Voices, Still Lives
Biopic198884 minsDirector: Terence Davies
Terence Davies' debut feature is a remarkable evocation of working-class family life in the 40s and 50s and a visionary exploration of memory.

Stranger by the LakeStranger by the Lake
Drama2013100 minsDirector: Alain Guiraudie
A young man witnesses a violent crime at a gay cruising ground and becomes obsessed with the killer in Alain Guiraudie’s acclaimed mystery-thriller.

PaisàPaisà
War1946126 minsDirector: Roberto Rossellini
Roberto Rossellini’s ambitious and enormously moving follow-up to his breakthrough Rome, Open City.

RashomonRashomon
Crime195088 minsDirector: Akira Kurosawa
Credited with bringing Japanese cinema to worldwide audiences, Akira Kurosawa’s breakthrough tells the story of a murder in the woods from four differing perspectives.

The Wayward CloudThe Wayward Cloud
Comedy2004114 minsDirector: Tsai Ming-liang
Ming-Liang Tsai's outrageous blend of sex, comedy, musical and drama is a daring, controversial and hilarious smorgasbord from one of Taiwan's most acclaimed directors.

UndergroundUnderground
Comedy1995170 minsDirector: Emir Kusturica
Set against the backdrop of 50 years of Yugoslavian history, this moving tragic-farce by Emir Kusturica earned him his second Palme d'Or.

Smiles of a Summer NightSmiles of a Summer Night
Comedy1955109 minsDirector: Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman’s Cannes prize-winning comedy assembles various couples in a country house in 1900.

CaravaggioCaravaggio
Biopic198693 minsDirector: Derek Jarman
Derek Jarman’s unique biopic of the 17th century Italian artist Michelangelo da Caravaggio is a powerful meditation on sexuality, criminality and art.

Yesterday, Today and TomorrowYesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Comedy1963118 minsDirector: Vittorio De Sica
Irrepressible Vittorio De Sica (Bicycle Thieves) directs this Oscar-winning film of three comic tales of love and sex in three cities.
The 400 BlowsThe 400 Blows
Drama1959100 minsDirector: François Truffaut
François Truffaut’s French New Wave landmark is one of the greatest movies about adolescence.

The Last DetailThe Last Detail
Comedy1973104 minsDirector: Hal Ashby
Jack Nicholson is at his very best in this highly-acclaimed dramatic comedy from Hal Ashby about three sailors on the loose.

The Last MetroThe Last Metro
Romance1979132 minsDirector: François Truffaut
Catherine Deneuve shines as the director and lead actor of a Parisian theatre struggling to survive under the Nazi occupation in Truffaut's wartime drama.

Rome, Open CityRome, Open City
Drama1945103 minsDirector: Roberto Rossellini
Roberto Rossellini’s landmark of Italian neorealism often cited as one of the greatest films ever made.

8½8½
Drama1963138 minsDirector: Federico Fellini
Fellini triumphantly conjured himself out of writer's block with this magnum opus about a film director experiencing his own creative crisis.

Tokyo StoryTokyo Story
Drama1953136 minsDirector: Yasujirō Ozu
A constant fixture in critics' polls, Yasujirō Ozu's most enduring masterpiece is a beautifully nuanced exploration of filial duty, expectation and regret

The CrematorThe Cremator
Comedy196896 minsDirector: Juraj Herz
This story of a professional cremator whose increasingly deranged impulses are given free reign during Prague's Nazi occupation, is a brilliantly chilling mix of Dr Strangelove and Repulsion.

The Last Picture ShowThe Last Picture Show
Drama1971128 minsDirector: Peter Bogdanovich
Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd and director Peter Bogdanovich all made their names with this touching coming-of-age tale.