Director Andrea Arnold has scooped the BFI Sutherland Trophy for "most imaginative and original" debut feature for Red Road.
The film - about a CCTV operator who becomes obssessed with a man from her passed - won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes earlier in the year.
The Sutherland jury said: "The subtle innovation, the sheer courage with storytelling and the kind of attention to detail which makes a story resonate on an astounding range of levels resulted in massive support for this beautiful debut feature."
Chris Shepherd's short Silence Is Golden - named as, arguably, the short of the year by Eye For Film just a few weeks ago - scooped the Turner Classic Movies Short Film Award.
The Alfred Dunhill UK Film Talent Award went to producer Mark Herbert, for his work on Shane Meadows' This Is England.
Tales of obssession abounded on the winners list with, Lola - a tale of a Parisian's fascination with his neighbour - scooping the 9th FIPRESCI International Critics Award for director Javier Rebollo and Lauren Greenfield picking up the Grierson documentary award for her examination of eating disorders, Thin.
Das Leben Der Anderen (The Lives Of Others) - focussing on life in East Germany before the fall of communism - scored the Satyajit Ray Award for director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.
