Sight & Sound, the BFI’s international film magazine, named Joanna Hogg’s THE SOUVENIR (2019) as the Best Film of the Year. In second place is PARASITE, Bong Joon-ho’s darkly comic thriller, followed by THE IRISHMAN, the latest film from Martin Scorsese.
An autobiographically inspired drama, THE SOUVENIR is a deeply personal examination of Hogg’s own youthful experiences and the result is a beautifully crafted portrait of self-discovery. The film, which is executive produced by Martin Scorsese, won the World Cinema Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival where it received its World Premiere, and is nominated for eight awards at the British Independent Film Awards including Best British Independent Film and Best Director.
Director of THE SOUVENIR Joanna Hogg says: “It’s an honor and pleasure for the film to be recognized by the critics, programmers and academics who have contributed to this year’s poll. The success of The Souvenir has been in no small part due to the passionate support of its many champions within the industry and for that I and my collaborators are immensely grateful.”
Sight & Sound’s Best Films of the Year sees 100 international critics, programmers and academics who contribute to the magazine, voted for their top ten films from the year. THE SOUVENIR is the first British film to rank at number one in over a decade, after Steve McQueen’s HUNGER in 2008. The top 10 films are as follows:
1 THE SOUVENIR Joanna Hogg
2 PARASITE Bong Joon-ho
3 THE IRISHMAN Martin Scorsese
4 ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD Quentin Tarantino
5 PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE Céline Sciamma
6 PAIN AND GLORY Pedro Almodóvar
7 ATLANTICS Mati Diop
8 BAIT Mark Jenkin
9 US Jordan Peele
10 VITALINA VARELA Pedro Costa