Mountaineering drama is a winner at London awardsThe 31st Evening Standard awards, held on Sunday night at the Savoy Hotel in London, also honoured British actors Paul Bettany, Bill Nighy and Emma Thompson. Touching the Void, by Oscar-winning director Kevin Macdonald, is a reconstruction of a dramatic attempt by two young British climbers to scale a savage ice face in the Andes in 1985. Joe Simpson and Simon Yates lost their way and Yates was forced to cut Simpson loose when his friend broke his leg and fell over a ridge. Both climbers miraculously survived their ordeal. The film, in which the climbers recount the eventsl, is also tipped to win a Bafta award on February 15th. The drama was described by Evening Standard Film critic Neil Norman as "inventive and exciting filmmaking that deploys dramatisation and reminiscence to brilliant effect". Touching the Void beat off stiff competition from Richard Curtis' romantic comedy Love Actually to win the top award. Paul Bettany was awarded the best actor prize for his roles in seafaring epic Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and The Heart of Me. Emma Thompson was named Best Actress for Love Actually and her co-star Bill Nighy won the Peter Sellers Award for comedy. Eton schoolboy Max Pirkis was named ITV London's Most Promising Newcomer for his part in Master and Commander. Director Michael Winterbottom received the first Alexander Walker Special Award, named after the Evening Standard newspaper's veteran film critic, who died last year. Winterbottom's most recent film was In This World, which told the story of two Afghani boys travelling to seek asylum in England. Last year Dirty Pretty Things was named best film and Catherine Zeta Jones was awarded best actress for the musical Chicago. The awards, presented by comic Jack Dee and hosted by Evening Standard editor Veronica Wadley, will be screened on ITV this Thursday. Titles related to this articleRelated/similar articles
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