Russian film maker Alexei Popgrebsky won the Best Film at the 54th BFI London Film Festival for his 2010 motion picture How I Ended This Summer. The BFI London Film Festival international jury praised Popgrebsky for combining "stunning cinematography with painterly attention."

In behalf of the international jury, its chair actress Patricia Clarkson said: "With elemental themes of isolation, alienation and the power of misunderstanding, How I Ended This Summer is a visceral psychological drama set in the immersive landscape of the windswept Arctic."

Popgrebsky's film focuses on two men working at an isolated meteorological station on an Arctic island, chronicling their life as the two gradually begin to lose touch with reality.

"Director Alexei Popogrebsky has combined stunning cinematography with painterly attention to production detail and drawn intense and subtle performances from actors Grigory Dobrygin and Sergei Puskepalis," continued Clarkson.

"The film turns the hunter-versus-hunted narrative on its head to provoke powerful questions about life and death, resilience and human compassion. Tense, moving and universal in its scope, this is a cinematic tour de force."

The 54th BFI London Film Festival announced its winners at the awards ceremony held at London's LSO St Luke's today. The event was hosted by journalist and broadcaster, Sue Perkins. The Best Film jury was composed of Clarkson, Gabriel Byrne, Sandy Powell, Shekhar Kapur and John Hillcoat.

Watch the trailer for How I Ended This Summer below: