The Awards ceremony took place on Saturday 30th November in the stunning art deco ballroom of the Sheraton Grand Park Lane Hotel on Piccadilly in London’s Mayfair.
The Golden Unicorn Awards is an annual event reflecting the cross-cultural mission of the Russian Film Week Festival; building a bridge between the English-speaking world and the Russian people. The unique unicorn statuettes made of Bohemian crystal glass, containing 24 carat gold leaf, were given to the winners in nine nominations.
Filip Perkon, Founder and General Producer of the Golden Unicorn Awards, said: ‘The Golden Unicorn Awards are now in their fourth year of existence and have already become an important part of the filmmaking calendar, both in Russian and the UK. The awards have a truly unique approach of evaluating the achievements of creative talents and motion pictures. Unlike many national awards, the Golden Unicorns have two cross-cultural juries, allowing Russian international films to be judged by Russian standards. We thank all our nominees, friends and celebrate creative talents for taking part in the competition’.
Linda Jensen, the President of International Jury of the Golden Unicorn Awards said: 'Having a rich history, great cultural heritage and talented people, Russia is a country with a deep well of stories waiting to be told through film. As the film industry grows in the country and new talent emerge, there is a big potential for Russian content to be successful internationally. I am excited to be the President of the Jury of the Golden Unicorn Awards and discover the best of Russian motion pictures.'
Awards Ceremony brought together leading actors, businesspeople, celebrities and film industry elite, including Danila Kozlovsky, Ravshana Kurkova, Alexander Petrov, Daria Moroz, Marina Zudina, Dmitry Dyuzhev, Alena Mikhailova, Alexey Uchitel, Dmitry Glukhovsky, Yuri Bykov, Mikhail Idov, Alexander Lungin, Grigory Dobrygin, Maria Agranovich, Klim Shipenko, Philipp Colberg, POLINA and many others making it most celebrity attended event in Russian London and other famous guests.
The event started with a gala dinner and a charity auction in aid of Naked Heart France, established by Natalia Vodianova. The evening was hosted by famous Russian journalist and writer Mikhail Zygar and renowned Russian actress Svetlana Khodchenkova, and the auction led by Christie’s excellent Sarah Reynolds and Natalia Voinova. During the evening over £50,000 was raised for programmes helping children with special needs in Russia.
Natalia Vodianova, model, philanthropist, founder of the Naked Heart France said: ‘At Naked Heart we rely on the support and generosity of our friends and partners. Russian Film Week is an especially wonderful friend in allowing us to raise not only funds but also awareness of mental and physical disabilities. Our mission is to build an inclusive society where people of all abilities are able to thrive and I give my heartfelt thanks to the Russian Film Week and Golden Unicorn Awards for giving us the opportunity to showcase our work for children with special needs to their audiences as they come together to share the experience of film, and to raise funds essential to our work.’
Exclusive entertainment was provided by actress Sabina Akhmedova and Contessa show by singer-songwriter Polina. Grammy winning artist Polina is a true friend of The Russian Film Week and The Golden Unicorn Awards. Throughout all four years she has supported them in both London and Moscow. In 2019 Polina starred in Interstate Fifteen - a film of the Russian Film Week short film program.
The winners of the Golden Unicorn Awards 2019:
Best Film
“Van Goghs”, director Sergey Livnev
Best screenplay
“The Humorist”, writer Michael Idov
Best Actor
Daniel Olbrychski, “Van Goghs”
Best actress
Alena Mikhailova, “Love Them All”
Best Emerging Talent
Alena Mikhailova, actress, “Love Them All”
Best Debut
“The Humorist”, Mikhail Idov, director
Best Foreign Film with a Russian connection
“Give Me liberty”, director Kirill Mikhanovsky
Best Foreign Documentary About Russia
“Buratino”, director Sacha Slobodyanik
Best Animation Film
“The Snow Queen: Mirrorlands”, directors Robert Lence and Aleksey Tsitsilin
Best Documentary
“The Case of Sobchak”, director Vera Krichevskaya
Best Short
“White mark”, director Anton Mamykin
Best Russian Film on Ecology
“Father Baikal”, director Marina Maria Mel'nik
General sponsor of The Golden Unicorn Awards 2019 – SIBUR; ceremony sponsor – Blavatnik Family Foundation; caviar Partner – Attilus Caviar; technology partner – Celebro; chartiry auction partner – Christie’s.
