Cate Blanchett picks up BFI accolade

Blanchett's films include Blue Jasmine and The Aviator

Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett has been honoured with the BFI Fellowship at the London Film Festival (LFF) Awards.

Fellow actor Sir Ian McKellen handed over the prize to the Australian star at London's Banqueting House on Saturday night.

Two of Blanchett's films have had LFF screenings this year - Truth and Carol.

Chevalier, about six men who embark on a boat trip together, won the best film award. The movie was directed by Greek filmmaker Athina Rachel Tsangari.

Oscar-winning director Pawel Pawlikowski, president of the official competition jury, described Tsangari as a "brave and original filmmaker".

"With great formal rigour and irresistible wit, Athena Rachel Tsangari has managed to make a film that is both a hilarious comedy and a deeply disturbing statement on the condition of western humanity," he said.

Stars attending the ceremony included Chiwetel Ejiofor, Martin Freeman and Kristin Scott Thomas.

US filmmaker Robert Eggers' debut The Witch, about a 17th century New England family torn apart by tension and the suspicion of witchcraft, won the Sutherland award for "the most original and imaginative first feature".

Australian director Jennifer Peedom won the Grierson prize for best documentary with her feature Sherpa.

The jury said: "We are taken into the lives, homes and families of the Sherpas, who have for too long been overlooked and exploited, dependent for their livelihoods on an increasing number of tourists who sometimes regard them as little more than owned slaves.

"We're left with an appreciation of the sacrifices the Sherpa community have made for over six decades. We applaud this impressive film for giving voice to a previously voiceless community, and we hope it reaches the wide, general audience that it deserves."

The LFF closes on Sunday evening with a gala screening of Danny Boyle's new film about Apple pioneer Steve Jobs, with stars including Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet and the director expected on the red carpet in London's Leicester Square.