British Film Institute announces Sutherland trophy shortlist

The shortlist for the British Film Institute (bfi) Sutherland Trophy, a prize awarded to the director of the most original and imaginative first feature film screened at The Times bfi London Film Festival, has been announced.
‘For the Living and the Dead’ draws an intense portrait of a family’s grief over the loss of their son.
‘Portrait of a Lady Far Away’ follows an architect’s dramatic journey to save a suicidal woman.
‘The Wind Blows Round’ chronicles an outsider’s arrival to a small village in the Occitaine Alps.
The bfi Sutherland Trophy is judged each year by an invited jury of people with a knowledge of and passion for cinema. This year’s jury comprises comedian Ed Byrne; producer ‘Petra Fried’ (Clerkenwell Films); distributor Jane Giles (Tartan Films); musician Robin Guthrie; Burhan Wazir (The Times); actor & playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah; producer Christopher Collins; journalist Jessica Winter and from The Times bfi London Film Festival artistic director Sandra Hebron and programmer Michael Hayden.
An international showcase of new talent, the Sutherland Trophy was first presented in 1958 on behalf of the bfi by the Duke of Sutherland and has been awarded to world-class directors such as Antonioni, Fassbinder, Godard and Chen Kaige and Souleymane Cissé. Last year the award was presented to Jonathan Caouette for Tarnation.
The Trophy will be presented at the Festival’s closing night gala on 3 November.
(CD/SP)