First Feature Competition

The Sutherland Award recognises the most original and imaginative directorial debut.

Introduced in 1958 and named in honour of BFI Patron George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, recent winners include Mati Diop’s Atlantics, Lukas Dhont’s Girl, John Trengove’s The Wound and Julia Ducournau’s Raw.The Sutherland Award recognises the most original and imaginative directorial debut. Introduced in 1958 and named in honour of BFI Patron George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, recent winners include Mati Diop’s Atlantics, Lukas Dhont’s Girl, John Trengove’s The Wound and Julia Ducournau’s Raw.

 

The Alleys

Bassel Ghandour’s gripping debut is as tightly woven as the interlocking alleys it depicts – a neighbourhood where gossip circles mercilessly and reputation is everything.

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Azor

This compelling conspiracy thriller sees a Swiss banker navigating his way around an Argentinian dictatorship where disappearances have becoming a worrying fact of life.

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Costa Brava Lebanon

The simmering tension of unresolved disputes contrasts with the electricity of first love in Mounia Akl’s dazzling debut, heralding a striking new cinematic voice.

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The Feast

You are cordially invited to the dinner party from hell, courtesy of Lee Haven Jones’ Welsh-language horror opus.

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Playground

The harsh world of playground politics is seen through the eyes of a seven-year-old girl in a gripping debut from Belgian writer-director Laura Wandel.

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Prayers for the Stolen

Tatiana Huezo’s incisive feature debut places a coming-of-age story at the centre of a rural community in Mexico blighted by drug cartels.

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Small Body

This strikingly original and enthralling feature debut from Laura Samani details the odyssey of a young mother as she tries to save her baby’s soul.

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White Building

Remarkably nuanced and emotionally engaging, Kavich Neang’s film delves into the impact of gentrification in Phnom Penh and pays homage to the enduring memory of the iconic White Building.

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