The Golden Unicorn Awards Explained

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]

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]

Jury

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

The jury in 2018:[8]

The jury in 2017:[9]

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]

Special awards:

Winners

Nomination 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] The Student
Best Screenplay The Humorist How Viktor "the Garlic" Took Alexey "the Stud" Тo The Nursing Home About Love
Best Actor Daniel Olbrychski / Van GoghsEvgeny 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 WomanIrina Starshenbaum / Summer Renata Litvinova / About Love
Best Short Film White markThe 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 SobchakINTO_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 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]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Golden Unicorn Awards. www.goldenunicornaward.com. 2019-04-19. 2019-04-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20190418151715/https://www.goldenunicornaward.com/about. live.
  2. Web site: Russian Film Week & Golden Unicorn Awards. 5 December 2016. 19 April 2019. 18 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190418153423/https://britishcinematographer.co.uk/russian-film-week-golden-unicorn-awards/. live.
  3. Web site: Rossotrudnichestvo. Представительство Россотрудничества в Великобритании. 2019-04-19. 2019-04-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20190418153004/http://gbr.rs.gov.ru/en/news/2730. live.
  4. Web site: Russian Film Week returns to London in 2018!. 24 October 2018. 19 April 2019. 19 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190419145122/https://fabukmagazine.com/russian-film-week-returns-to-london-in-2018/. live.
  5. Web site: Russian Film Week in London. Events. 2019-04-19. 2019-04-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20190418155039/http://madeinshoreditch.co.uk/events/russian-film-week-in-london/. live.
  6. Web site: The Golden Unicorn Awards & Russian Film Week. FilmFreeway. 2019-04-19. 2019-04-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20190418155031/https://filmfreeway.com/Goldenunicorns. live.
  7. Web site: Russian Film Week – Programme. www.russianfilmweek.org. 2019-04-19. 2019-04-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20190419180048/http://www.russianfilmweek.org/index.php?id=21. live.
  8. Web site: Golden Unicorn Awards. www.goldenunicornaward.com. 2019-04-19. 2019-04-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20190418151853/https://www.goldenunicornaward.com/jury?year=2018. live.
  9. Web site: Golden Unicorn Awards. www.goldenunicornaward.com. 2019-04-19. 2019-04-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20190418151926/https://www.goldenunicornaward.com/jury%3Fyear%3D2017. live.
  10. Web site: «Золотой единорог» 2018: формальный отчет и неформальные фотографии. 2 December 2018. 19 April 2019. 18 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190418161252/https://zimamagazine.com/2018/12/60014/. live.
  11. Web site: The Golden Unicorn Awards 2018 and Charity Gala in aid of Naked Heart Foundation was held in London – Naked Heart Foundation. www.nakedheart.org. 2019-04-19. 2019-04-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20190418152627/https://www.nakedheart.org/en/news/golden-unicorn-awards-2018/. live.
  12. Web site: The Golden Unicorn Awards 2018 – Profile Russia. profilerussia.com. 2019-04-19. 2019-04-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20190419145640/http://profilerussia.com/en/britain/3974-the-golden-unicorn-awards-2018. live.
  13. Web site: В Лондоне вручат русский "Оскар" -. 14 November 2018. 19 April 2019. 19 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190419180041/https://russianroulette.eu/russian-film-week-2018/. live.
  14. Web site: Russian Film Week opens in UK. TASS. 2019-04-19. 2019-04-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20190418153853/http://tass.com/society/976351. live.
  15. Web site: EVENT: The Golden Unicorn Awards and Gift of Life UK Charity Gala, 3 December. 25 November 2016. Russian Art + Culture.
  16. Web site: Russian Heraldry as It is /. the.heraldry.ru. 2019-04-19. 2019-05-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20190526202637/http://the.heraldry.ru/text/heraldists_ideas.html. live.
  17. Web site: The Lion and the Unicorn. 17 May 2016. Museum of the Order of St John. 19 April 2019. 19 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190419085047/http://museumstjohn.org.uk/the-lion-and-the-unicorn/. live.
  18. Web site: Неделя Российского Кино в Великобритании огласила номинантов на премию «Золотой Единорог» в 2017 году. 5 November 2017. 19 April 2019. 18 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190418155707/http://moviestart.ru/2017/11/05/nedelya-rossijskogo-kino-v-velikobritanii-oglasila-nominantov-na-premiyu-zolotoj-edinorog-v-2017-godu/. live.
  19. News: Неделя российского кино в Лондоне: подведение итогов и раздача единорогов. BBC News Русская Служба. 2020-01-23. 2019-12-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20191204194757/https://www.bbc.com/russian/features-50603610. live.
  20. Web site: В Лондоне вручена кинопремия "Золотой Единорог-2019". 2 December 2019. 23 January 2020. 22 June 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200622204526/https://www.rutage.com/goldenunicorn2019/. live.
  21. Web site: В Лондоне вручили Золотых единорогов. www.proficinema.ru. 2019-04-19. 2019-04-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20190418155814/http://www.proficinema.ru/mainnews/awards/detail.php?ID=261566. live.
  22. Web site: Golden Unicorn Awards. www.goldenunicornaward.com. 2023-08-09. 2019-04-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20190418155847/https://www.goldenunicornaward.com/nominations%26winners%3Fyear%3D2017. live.
  23. Web site: Golden Unicorn Awards. www.goldenunicornaward.com. 2023-08-09. 2019-04-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20190418155948/https://www.goldenunicornaward.com/nominations%26winners%3Fyear%3D2016. live.
  24. Web site: Итоги Недели российского кино и премии "Золотой Единорог". 7 December 2018. 19 April 2019. 19 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190419154950/https://afisha.london/2018/12/07/itogi-nedeli-rossijskogo-kino-i-premii-zolotoj-edinorog/. live.
  25. News: "Витька-Чеснок и Леха-Штырь" увезли из Лондона главных "Единорогов". BBC News Русская Служба. 3 December 2018. 19 April 2019. 19 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190419170535/https://www.bbc.com/russian/news-46422310. live.
  26. Web site: Воронежский мультфильм получил награду на конкурсе в Лондоне. 2 December 2019. 23 January 2020. 12 December 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191212202227/http://obozvrn.ru/archives/73014. live.
  27. Web site: Фильм "Отец Байкал" сегодня покажут в Лондоне. 2020-01-23. 2020-06-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20200623000041/https://glagol38.ru/text/01-12-2019/v_londone. live.