And the winner of our Film Award is, of course, Andrew Haigh. Director of Weekend, Haigh gets the nod, for his critically acclaimed, universally adored tale of a gay encounter in Nottingham. Only Haigh’s second feature film, Weekend initially struggled for funding, and was debuted in Austin, Texas, of all places. Despite unlikely beginnings, Weekend won over all the critics. This was a flick with universal appeal, hailed by many as the most important work of gay cinema in many years.

But however gratifying festival recognition and critical acclaim might be, it’s the fact that Weekend has been taken to viewers’ hearts that Haigh cherishes. “That’s probably the best thing for me. Lots of people put all kinds of stuff online, especially on Tumblr: stills or quotes or video collages of scenes from the film; one guy drew sketches [based on the film] that were beautiful. And you hear about how it’s affected people’s lives. I get emails from people saying they’re trying to make films now or to write. A guy in America saw the film and came out to his parents the next day. There are people in their sixties who tell me they met their partner 40 years ago in similar circumstances [to how Glen and Russell meet] and that it really resonated with them.”

You can read a full interview with Andrew Haigh in our Awards Issue, in shops and on ipad now.