Armadillo – a touchstone film

AWARDS. "We believe that Armadillo is a touchstone film that will be watched for years to come", concluded Kevin MacDonald in his motivation for awarding Armadillo the British Grierson Award for Best Documentary. Moscow 2in1 International Film Festival and the European Film Academy have also added to Armadillo's string of honours this week.

"Filmed with a combination of extraordinary intimacy and stylistic sophistication, Janus Metz' 'Armadillo' follows a group of Danish soldiers on their first posting to Afghanistan. With total access and great honesty, the film shows us why these men want to go to war and what the experience of action does to them".

These were the words of Kevin Macdonald – chair of the jury at London Film Festival where the Grierson Best Documentary Award was presented to Janus Metz last evening 27 October.

Concluding, Macdonald said, "Humane but clear eyed in its attitude to the conflict, we believe that Armadillo is a touchstone film that will be watched for years to come".

Honours to Armadillo

There are also echoes from the Russian capital and from the European Film Academy:

Moscow 2in1 International Film Festival presented two awards:
Best Sound
Best Cinematography

European Film Academy (EFA): nominated 'Armadillo' in the category: European Film Documentary 2010—Prix Arte

BFI London Film Festival: Grierson Award for Best Documentary
co-presented with the Grierson Trust, whose annual awards ceremony takes place 2 November 2010.

Earlier this year, 'Armadillo' swept up the Grand Prix from Semaine de la Critique's short film section in Cannes, and top documentary awards at Calgary and Zurich festivals. The film has received an a warm welcome with festival audiences worldwide, including Toronto and Karlovy Vary.