World Cinema Awards 2009

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the anuual BBC FOUR World Cinema Awards. Held at London's British Film Institute, and presented by none other than Jonathan Ross, it was a fantastic event celebrating the achievements of foreign language film over the past year.

The cermenoy is a great example of how an awards show should be organized - simply two awards (one for 'best film and one for 'achievement in film') clocking in at just over an hour long, leaving you satisfied but not bored stiff. Even Jonathan Ross limited himself to only a couple gags about his well-publicised recent misdemeanors.

The overall winner was a film called 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days; a tense drama set in 1980s Communist Romania. While German director Werner Herzog was recognised for his achievement in international film-making.

Overall it was a brilliant night, topped off with the bonus of free drinks at the end!

Check out the awards website for details of when to catch all of the nominated films at the BFI.