The Golden Unicorn Awards

The Golden Unicorn Awards are a set of awards for artistic excellence in film which recognises achievements of Russian cinematography and international film-makers creating Russian-themed films.^[1] The awards were established by Filip Perkon in 2016^[2] in London, United Kingdom. The ceremony takes places annually, following Russian Film Week.^[3][4]

The mission of The Golden Unicorn Awards is to bring contemporary Russian cinematography and modern Russian culture to the attention of a wider international audience. The awards also aim to improve European-Russian cultural exchange, encouraging distribution of Russian films abroad and motivating international filmmakers to produce films about Russia by introducing them to the Russian audience.^[5][6]

Golden Unicorn statuette, made of Bohemian glass and handcrafted in the Czech Republic

Filip Perkon, founder of the Golden Unicorn Awards and Russian Film Week

Eligibility

Feature-length, animation, short and documentary films should be produced in Russia and released 18 months prior to the start of Russian Film Week. International films do not have to be produced in Russia but have to be Russian-themed. The film producers have to submit the films electronically or in DCP format with English subtitles through the Russian Film Week or the Golden Unicorn Awards FilmFreeway portal no later than November 1 of the relevant year.^[6]

Nomination committee

The nomination committee review the submissions and select the films for consideration of the jury. The nomination committee is independent from the jury.^[1]

The nomination committee in 2018:^[7]

• Valeri Jerlitsyn
• Olga Miloshunas
• Anna Shalashina

Jury

The independent jury consists of film industry professionals, such as filmmakers, critics, actors, professors, and producers.

The jury in 2018:^[8]

• Brian Cox – Actor, known for his appearance in BraveheartBraveheart, Doctor Who, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Troy, Golden Globe nominated, Scottish BAFTA nominated, winner of Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor
• Olga Kurylenko – Actress, known for her appearance in Paris, le t'aims, Hitman, Quantum of Solace
• Andrew Jack – Moscow correspondent from 1990 and bureau chief at the Financial Times 1998–2004, chairman of Pushkin house 2010–2016
• Stuart Brown – BFI's Head of Programme & Acquisitions
• Nancy Condee – Professor of film at University of Pittsburgh, served as a juror at the Kinotavr Film Festival
• David P. Kelly – Executive film producer, BAFTA voting member, member of the European Film Academy
• Adam Freudenheim – Publisher and Managing Director at Pushkin Press
• Debbie McWilliams – International Casting Director, has cast 13 James Bond films, Angels and Demons, Centurion, the Silent Storm and others. She is a member of the Casting Directors Guild, the Academy of Motion Pictures and a chairperson of the International Casting Directors Network
• Carola Ash – Creative producer, Director of Europe at Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

The jury in 2017:^[9]

• Brian Cox – Actor, known for his appearance in BraveheartBraveheart, Doctor Who, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Troy, Golden Globe nominated, Scottish BAFTA nominated, winner of Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor
• Andrew Jack – Moscow correspondent from 1990 and bureau chief at the Financial Times 1998–2004, chairman of Pushkin house 2010–2016
• Stuart Brown – BFI's Head of Programme & Acquisitions
• Nancy Condee – Professor of Film at University of Pittsburgh, served as a juror at the Kinotavr Film Festival
• David P. Kelly – Executive film producer, BAFTA voting member, member of the European Film Academy
• Michael Bird – the British Council's Director Russia
• Peter Bradshaw – Writer and chief film critic for The Guardian, contributor to BBC One, Esquire, Radio 4 and the London Review of Books
• Elliot Grove – Film producer, founder of the Raindance Film Festival and the British Independent Film Awards
• Anna MacDonald – Co-founder and principal of the London Film Academy

Ceremony

The ceremony ^[10] takes place every year in a form of a charitable gala following the Russian Film Week. The Golden Unicorn Awards collaborated with the Naked Heart Foundation^[11] to fundraise GBP 160,000 ^[12] during the Russian Film Week and the main ceremony in 2018.^[13] The awards also raised GBP 85,000 ^[14] for the Gift of Life Charity ^[15][3] in 2016.

Golden unicorn symbol

The symbol of the golden unicorn was chosen as a common notion for the Russian and British nations. The golden unicorn was depicted on the Russian Coat of Arms along with St. George in 16th-century Russia.^[16] The golden unicorn is also one of the symbols of Great Britain.^[17]

Nominations

The Golden Unicorn is awarded for the following categories:^[18]

• Best Feature Film
• Best Screenplay
• Best Actor
• Best Actress
• Best Short Film
• Best Documentary
• Best Animated Film
• Best Foreign Film with a Russian connection

Special awards:

• Best Contribution to Promoting Russian Culture Abroad
• Best Emerging Talent
• General Producer's Award

Winners

Nomination ^[6]	2019 ^[19]^[20]	2018^[21]	2017^[22]	2016^[23]
Best Feature Film ^[24]	Van Goghs	How Viktor "the Garlic" Took Alexey "the Stud" Тo The Nursing Home^[25]	Loveless (film)	The Student
Best Screenplay	The Humorist	How Viktor "the Garlic" Took Alexey "the Stud" Тo The Nursing Home	Loveless (film)	About Love
Best Actor	Daniel Olbrychski / Van Goghs	Evgeny Tkachuk / How Viktor "the Garlic" Took Alexey "the Stud" to the Nursing Home	Aleksandr Yatsenko / Arrythmia	Petr Skvortsov / The Student
Best Actress	Anna Mikhalkova / Another Woman	Irina Starshenbaum / Summer	Maryana Spivak / Loveless (film)	Renata Litvinova / About Love
Best Short Film	White mark	The Sign	The Law of excluded third	8 dir. Anna Melikyan
Best Foreign Documentary Film	Buratino	A Sniper’s War	Oleg and the Rare Arts	Stephen Coates and Paul Heartfield / Roentgenizdat
Best Documentary Film	The Case of Sobchak	INTO_Nation of the Great Odessa	Lake Vostok
Best Animated Film	The Snow Queen: Mirrorlands ^[26]	N/A	Listening to Beеthoven	Sheep and Wolves dir. Maxim Volkov, Andrei Galat
Best Foreign Film with a Russian connection	Give Me Liberty	Sergio & Sergei	Lady Macbeth	War and Piece, BBC series dir. Tom Harper
Best Emerging Talent	Alena Mikhailova, actress / Love Them All	Timothy Zhalnin, Director / Coupled	Daria Zhovner / Closeness	Semen Treskunov / Good Boy
Best Debut	The Humorist
Best Russian Film on Ecology	Father Baikal ^[27]

References

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16. "Russian Heraldry as It is /". the.heraldry.ru. from the original on 2019-05-26. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
17. "The Lion and the Unicorn". Museum of the Order of St John. 17 May 2016. from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
18. "Неделя Российского Кино в Великобритании огласила номинантов на премию «Золотой Единорог» в 2017 году". 5 November 2017. from the original on 18 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
19. "Неделя российского кино в Лондоне: подведение итогов и раздача единорогов". BBC News Русская Служба. from the original on 2019-12-04. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
20. "В Лондоне вручена кинопремия "Золотой Единорог-2019"". 2 December 2019. from the original on 22 June 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
21. "В Лондоне вручили Золотых единорогов". www.proficinema.ru. from the original on 2019-04-18. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
22. "Golden Unicorn Awards". www.goldenunicornaward.com. from the original on 2019-04-18. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
23. "Golden Unicorn Awards". www.goldenunicornaward.com. from the original on 2019-04-18. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
24. "Итоги Недели российского кино и премии "Золотой Единорог"". 7 December 2018. from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
25. ""Витька-Чеснок и Леха-Штырь" увезли из Лондона главных "Единорогов"". BBC News Русская Служба. 3 December 2018. from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
26. "Воронежский мультфильм получил награду на конкурсе в Лондоне". 2 December 2019. from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
27. "Фильм "Отец Байкал" сегодня покажут в Лондоне". from the original on 2020-06-23. Retrieved 2020-01-23.