31 Oct 2011 08:56:57
The film is Ramsay's first in nearly 10 years and only her third since her breakthrough, Ratcatcher. At a ceremony in London her new film, which came out on general release last Friday, was named best film from a strong shortlist including Steve McQueen's Shame and Terence Davies's The Deep Blue Sea.
The director John Madden, who chaired the category's jury, said they had been struck by the "sheer panache" of a shortlist with "great storytellers".
He added: "In the end, we were simply bowled over by one film – a sublime, uncompromising tale of the torment that can stand in the place of love. We Need to Talk About Kevin is made with the singular vision that links great directors across all the traditions of cinema."
The film, which stars Tilda Swinton as the mother of a boy in jail for a Columbine-style high school massacre, has been much praised by critics.
After its first screening in Cannes the Guardian's Peter Bradshaw gave it five stars and called it "a brilliantly nihilist, feminist parable".
Other awards given out last night included best documentary to Werner Herzog. He was given the prize, named in honour of John Grierson, for Into the Abyss: A Tale of Death, A Tale of Life, which examines the death penalty through murders committed in Conroe, Texas.
The best British newcomer award was given to the young actor Candese Reid for her role in Junkhearts – directed by the also-shortlisted Tinge Krishnan – in which she stars as a rough-sleeping teenager who meets and bonds with a lonely ex-soldier played by Eddie Marsan.
The category jury's chair, producer Andy Harries, said of her: "Candese is a fresh, brilliant and exciting new talent. Every moment she was on screen was compelling."
The Sutherland award for the director of the most original and imaginative feature debut screened at the festival went to Argentinian Pablo Giorgelli for his road movie Las Acacias. The judges said the debate over a shortlist that included 12 films had been lively and thoughtful.
"Las Acacias emerged as a worthy winner, largely because of the originality of its conception. Finely judged performances and a palpable sympathy for his characters makes this a hugely impressive debut for director Pablo Giorgelli."
Two BFI Fellowships were presented. One went to actor Ralph Fiennes, who was at the festival with Coriolanus, in which he directed and starred; and the other to director David Cronenberg, whose psychoanalysis film A Dangerous Method got its UK premiere earlier this week.
