Mad Max: Fury Road and 45 Years take top honours at the 36th London Critics’ Circle Film Awards

Judi Dench presents Kenneth Branagh with the Dilys Powell Award, as British and Irish talent sweeps the acting prizes.

Large-scale spectacle and fine-tuned intimacy shared the spoils as the UK's leading film critics unveiled the winners of their annual awards at London's May Fair Hotel last night. Toward the end of the star-studded black-tie ceremony, hosted by comedian Robin Ince, it was George Miller's high-octane action extravaganza Mad Max: Fury Road that raced ahead of the competition, taking the awards for Film of the Year and Director of the Year.

Miller's film also shared in a third trophy, as leading man Tom Hardy was named British/Irish Actor of the Year for his body of work in 2015, also including his performances in Legend, The Revenant and London Road.

Equalling Mad Max's tally of three wins was Andrew Haigh's tender marital drama 45 Years, which the critics named British/Irish Film of the Year. It also won the night's top acting prizes, as veteran stars Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay were named Actress and Actor of the Year.

It was a strong night for British talent, as Kate Winslet was named Supporting Actress of the Year for her work in Steve Jobs, while Mark Rylance took the Supporting Actor honour for Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies.

Adding to its growing list of honours in the US, Asif Kapadia's homegrown Amy Winehouse portrait Amy took the award for Documentary of the Year. Among the films it beat was The Look of Silence: Joshua Oppenheimer's follow-up to The Act of Killing was instead named Foreign Language Film of the Year.

Other winners included Brooklyn star Saoirse Ronan, who was named British/Irish Actress of the Year, while 18-year-old Maisie Williams accepted the Young British/Irish Performer award for her challenging lead role in Carol Morley's adolescent study The Falling. Scottish musician-turned-filmmaker John Maclean won the Philip French Award for Breakthrough British/Irish Filmmaker for his striking revisionist western Slow West. The critics rounded out their British-specific awards with a new category: Oscar nominee Benjamin Cleary claimed the inaugural British/Irish Short Film of the Year award for his unconventional love story Stutterer.

American filmmaker Tom McCarthy and his co-writer Josh Singer were named Screenwriters of the Year for their fact-based script for journalistic drama Spotlight; Todd Haynes's period romance Carol took the multi-disciplinary Technical Achievement Award for Ed Lachman's lush 16mm cinematography.

Bringing the ceremony to a rousing close, finally, was a confluence of British acting royalty, as Judi Dench took the stage to present Kenneth Branagh with the Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film. Branagh accepted the award from his recent stage partner in A Winter's Tale, after verbal and visual tributes to his storied career as an actor and filmmaker.

For the fourth year running, the May Fair Hotel hosted the proceedings, with Winslet, Hardy, Courtenay and Williams among the talent in attendance at the red-carpet event. Other key sponsors for the evening included Audi, Cameo Productions, Innerplace, Remy Martin, Sacred, Suqqu, Synchronicity, Voss and Viru.

The full list of winners for the 36th London Critics' Circle Film Awards:

FILM OF THE YEAR: Mad Max: Fury Road

BRITISH/IRISH FILM OF THE YEAR: 45 Years

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR: The Look of Silence

DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR: Amy

ACTOR OF THE YEAR: Tom Courtenay — 45 Years

ACTRESS OF THE YEAR: Charlotte Rampling — 45 Years

SUPPORTING ACTOR OF THE YEAR: Mark Rylance — Bridge of Spies

SUPPORTING ACTRESS OF THE YEAR: Kate Winslet — Steve Jobs

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR: George Miller — Mad Max: Fury Road

SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR: Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy — Spotlight

BRITISH/IRISH ACTOR OF THE YEAR: Tom Hardy — Legend, London Road, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant

BRITISH/IRISH ACTRESS OF THE YEAR: Saoirse Ronan — Brooklyn, Lost River

YOUNG BRITISH/IRISH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR: Maisie Williams — The Falling

PHILIP FRENCH AWARD FOR BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH/IRISH FILMMAKER: John Maclean — Slow West

BRITISH/IRISH SHORT FILM OF THE YEAR: Stutterer — Benjamin Cleary

TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Ed Lachman, cinematography — Carol

DILYS POWELL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FILM: Kenneth Branagh

About The Critics' Circle
Established in 1913, The Critics' Circle is the oldest organisation of its kind in the world, with more than 400 members who work in the UK media as critics of drama, art and architecture, music, film and dance. Chaired by Anna Smith, the Film Section membership is made up of more than 145 UK film critics, broadcasters and writers, including Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw, the BBC’s Mark Kermode and Sight & Sound editor Nick James, and has presented its awards annually since 1980. 

About The May Fair Hotel
The luxury May Fair Hotel, opened by King George V in 1927 and owned and operated by Edwardian Group London, is located in the heart of London and boasts over 400 luxury bedrooms, including 40 of the capital's most memorable signature suites. The residence encapsulates its Mayfair locality throughout, with the meat and seafood restaurant May Fair Kitchen; The May Fair Bar; the iconic Cigar Room and the relaxing May Fair Spa. The May Fair Hotel has an established partnership as the official hotel partner for both London Fashion Week and the BFI London Film Festival.