French black-and-white silent movie ‘The Artist’ scooped three big prizes at the London Film Critics’ Circle Awards-best film, best director and best actor. Also taking home three prizes was Iranian drama ‘A Separation’, winning best foreign language film, best screenwriter for Asghar Farhadi and best supporting actress for Sareh Bayat.’The examination of the class divide in contemporary Iran was an instant hit with critics and audiences when it was first launched at the Berlin film festival a year ago. Meryl Streep continued her march towards Oscars glory with another award for her portrayal of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in ‘The Iron Lady’.
Olivia Colman was named British actress of the year for her performances in ‘The Iron Lady’ and ‘Tyrannosaur’, while Kenneth Branagh won best supporting actor for his turn as Laurence Olivier in ‘My Week With Marilyn’. Michael Fassbender collected the British actor of the year award for his performances in ‘A Dangerous Method’ and ‘Shame’. Director Lynne Ramsay was at the ceremony to receive The Attenborough Award: British Film of the Year for ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’.
