The Golden Unicorn Awards were annual awards recognising excellence in Russian cinema and international films with Russian themes. Founded in 2016 by Filip Perkon, the awards ceremony was held in London, England, following Russian Film Week. Both Russian Film Week and the Golden Unicorn Awards have been paused until further notice since 2022 because of the Russia - Ukraine War.
History
Golden Unicorn Awards as part of the Russian Film Week were founded by Filip Perkon in 2016 in London, run by Perkon Productions Ltd with the support of the British Council. In 2017,the British Film Institute the Russian Ministry of Culture, along with Synergy University (a private university in Moscow, Russia's largest private education provider), as well as other companies began supporting the event.
In December 2025, journalist Brian Krebs published an investigation revealing connections between Russian Film Week,its founder Filip Perkon, influence operations by the Russian Government, and drone production for Russia's war against Ukraine. He found that Perkon held director positions in several UK subsidiaries of Synergy University. Synergy's president, Vadim Lobov, co-produced Russian Film Week with Perkon, and the university was an official co-organiser of Russian Film Week from 2019. The university operates a division that develops combat drones for Russian forces in Ukraine. Around 2015, Perkon developed a social media propaganda tool called the Russian Diplomatic Online Club. During the Brexit referendum, the Russian Embassy in London used the tool to amplify the Russian ambassador's posts from supporters' accounts.
Both Russian Film Week and the Golden Unicorn Awards have been paused until further notice since 2022, because of the Russia-Ukraine War.
Description The Golden Unicorn awards are annual awards recognising excellence in Russian cinema as well as international films with Russian themes. The ceremony is held in London, England, following Russian Film Week.
Eligibility Feature-length, animation, short and documentary films should be produced in Russia and released 18 months prior to the start of Russian Film Week. International films do not have to be produced in Russia but have to be Russian-themed. The film producers have to submit the films electronically or in DCP format with English subtitles through the Russian Film Week or the Golden Unicorn Awards FilmFreeway portal no later than deadline of the relevant year.
The nomination committee review the submissions and select the films for consideration of the jury. The nomination committee is independent from the jury.
Jury The 2017 jury included Scottish actor Brian Cox, English film critic Peter Bradshaw, Canadian-born British producer Elliot Grove (founder of the Raindance Film Festival and the British Independent Film Awards), along with Stuart Brown, BFI's head of programme & acquisitions, and various academics, publishers, and film industry professionals from around the world:
The jury in 2018 included Brian Cox and actress Olga Kurylenko, along with Stuart Brown, and some of the same and other various academics, publishers, and film industry professionals from around the world.
Ceremony The ceremony takes place every year in a form of a charitable gala following the Russian Film Week. The Golden Unicorn Awards collaborated with many charities over the years and organised fundraising activities as part of the dinner following the ceremony. The charity partners included Gift of Life, WWF and Naked Heart Foundation. fundraise in 2018 during the awards ceremony. The awards also raised GBP85,000 for the Gift of Life Charity in 2016.
Golden unicorn symbol The symbol of the golden unicorn was chosen as a common notion for the Russian and British nations. The golden unicorn was depicted on the Russian Coat of Arms along with St. George in 16th-century Russia. The golden unicorn is also one of the symbols of Great Britain.
The Golden Unicorn statuette was designed for the awards in 2016 and was made of Bohemian glass and 24-carat gold and handcrafted in the Czech Republic. Categories The Golden Unicorn is awarded for the following categories:
Best Feature Film Best Screenplay Best Actor Best Actress Best Short Film Best Documentary Best Animated Film Best Foreign Film with a Russian connection
Special awards: Best Contribution to Promoting Russian Culture Abroad Best Emerging Talent General Producer's Award
Nomination 2021 2019 2018 2017 2016 Best Feature Film Captain Volkonogov Escaped Van Goghs How Viktor "the Garlic" Took Alexey "the Stud" Тo The Nursing Home Loveless (film) The Student Best Screenplay Captain Volkonogov Escaped The Humorist How Viktor "the Garlic" Took Alexey "the Stud" Тo The Nursing Home Loveless (film) About Love Best Actor Yuri Borisov / Captain Volkonogov Escaped Daniel Olbrychski / Van Goghs Evgeny Tkachuk / How Viktor "the Garlic" Took Alexey "the Stud" to the Nursing Home Aleksandr Yatsenko / Arrythmia Petr Skvortsov / The Student Best Actress Svetlana Khodchenkova / Another Name Anna Mikhalkova / Another Woman Irina Starshenbaum / Summer Maryana Spivak / Loveless (film) Renata Litvinova / About Love Best Short Film Promises White mark The Sign The Law of excluded third 8 dir. Anna Melikyan Best Foreign Documentary Film Bless You Buratino A Sniper’s War Oleg and the Rare Arts Stephen Coates and Paul Heartfield / Roentgenizdat Best Documentary Film Far Eastern Golgotha The Case of Sobchak INTO_Nation of the Great Odessa Lake Vostok Best Animated Film Secret Magic Control Agency The Snow Queen: Mirrorlands N/A Listening to Beеthoven Sheep and Wolves dir. Maxim Volkov, Andrei Galat Best Foreign Film with a Russian connection Bloodsuckers Give Me Liberty Sergio & Sergei Lady Macbeth War and Peace, BBC series dir. Tom Harper Best Emerging Talent Polina Gukhman, actress / Masha Alena Mikhailova, actress / Love Them All Timothy Zhalnin, Director / Coupled Daria Zhovner / Closeness Semen Treskunov / Good Boy Best Debut Next Station: Russia The Humorist Best Russian Film on Ecology Father Baikal Best Russian Actor in an International Project (Casting Bridge Award) Aleksandr Kuznetsov
References