Film festival to host awards show

Red carpet arrivals will be streamed live on the internet during the festival

The London Film Festival will host its own annual awards ceremony after receiving £1.8m in Lottery funding.

The two-week film festival will end its practice of giving out awards on its closing night, as organisers decided it played down their significance.

Festival director Sandra Hebron said: "If we're giving awards to really great films, we should shout about them."

The money from the UK film council will also be used to stage screenings in boroughs around the capital.

'Important celebration'

Previous winners at the festival include Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, the director of the award-winning film The Lives of Others.

Organisers hope the funding will raise the profile of the event and attract more high-profile international premieres.

Culture minister Barbara Follett welcomed the funding and said the festival was an "important celebration" for the film industry.

She said: "This Lottery funding will help to secure London's position as a global centre for filmmaking and production talent."

Red carpet arrivals and film master classes from experts will also be streamed live on the internet during the event, which will run from 14-29 October .

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