22/11/2013 - UK director Steve McQueen’s historical drama received the Stockholm International Film Festival’s Silver Audience Award, as well as a Special Mention for Best Film and the prize for Best Musical Score

UK director Steve McQueen’s historical drama 12 Years a Slave [+see also:
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film profile], about a free black man who is kidnapped from his family in New York and sold into slavery in 1850’s Louisiana, was awarded the Silver Audience Award at the 24^th Stockholm International Film Festival, which ended on November 17. The film also won a Special Mention for Best Film and the prize for Best Musical Score (Hans Zimmer). When McQueen’s Hunger [+see also:
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interview: Steve McQueen
film profile] (2008) competed at the showcase, it was honoured for Best Directorial Debut.

Instigated in 2009 in collaboration with the TV film channel Silver, the award comes with €28,500 and commercial time on the Silver and Star! Channels. Audiences have voted in cinemas and on the festival’s website and app. 12 Years a Slave was represented in Stockholm by the film’s American scriptwriter John Ridley, who also screened his own Jimi Hendrix movie, Jimi: All Is By My Side, which had its European premiere in the programme.

The winner of this year’s Hollywood Breakthrough Award, 12 Years a Slave, which will be released in Sweden on December 20 by Swedish major, Svensk Filmindustri, was also the best visited film during the festival, followed by UK director Stephen Frears’ Philomena [+see also:
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interview: Stephen Frears
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film profile].

Screening more than 180 features from over 50 countries, the 24^th edition of the Stockholm fest received more than 80 international filmmakers, still missing two jury members: Chinese artist Ai Weiwei and Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, who had been banned from travel. Weiwei contributed to the festival theme of freedom with The Chair of Nonattendance project, an empty chair in the Scandia cinema lobby.