The 56th BFI London Film Festival, sponsored by American Express, announced its award winners this weekend. The top award, for Best Film, went to Rust and Bone, directed by Jacques Audiard.

Unveiling the award, Sir David Hare, President of the Official Competition jury, said: “Jacques Audiard has a unique handwriting, made up of music, montage, writing, photography, sound, visual design and acting. He is one of a small handful of film-makers in the world who has mastered, and can integrate, every element of the process to one purpose: making, in Rust and Bone, a film full of heart, violence and love. The jury also admired, and commended, After Lucia – in particular for its terrifying portrayal of school bullying; and the highly original No, a study of how controversial advertising techniques contributed to General Pinochet”s end.”

Best British Newcomer went to Sally El Hosaini – director/screenwriter of My Brother the Devil. Jury president David Heyman said: “Sally El Hosaini”s writing and direction displayed a remarkable maturity. The film transcended its genre with lyricism and tenderness and possessed a wonderful emotional truth.”

In other Awards, Benh Zeitlin picked up the Sutherland Award for Beasts of the Southern Wild, while The Grierson Award for Best Documentary went to Alex Gibney for his film Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, a damning indictment of the Catholic Church and attempts by the Vatican to cover up one of the most appalling scandals of our times. Roger Graef, President of the jury said: “Mea Maxima Culpa was the unanimous choice of the judges. It was a life-changing film that was made with real integrity. The use of deaf men for interviews finally telling their story was distinctive and respectful. The journalism showed an extraordinary paper trail of events leading right to the Vatican in a compelling manner. It deeply affected the judges who said it sat in the gut.”