The winners of the sixth annual Richard Attenborough UK Regional Film Awards (RAFAs) were announced today, adding further accolades to both The Artist and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. RAFAs also go to Michael Fassbender, Tom Hiddleston and Aardman Animations as British film's golden year of 2011 is reflected fulsomely in the list of winners.

There are 13 categories - six voted for exclusively by regionally-based film critics throughout the UK, and seven decided by public votes. All the voting took place online in December 2011 and January 2012.

Established in 2006, the UK Regional Film Awards are dedicated to Richard (Lord) Attenborough CBE, actor, filmmaker and champion of British cinema. In recognition of their achievements, each winner receives a RAFA award engraved with Richard Attenborough's signature.

Hosted by broadcasters, James King and Hilary Oliver, the RAFAs were announced at a lunchtime presentation in London's West End. The full set of 13 winners is as follows:

UK regional film critics' awards
Film of the year: The Artist
Filmmaker: Michel Hazanavicius - director, The Artist
Screenwriter: Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Actor: Michael Fassbender - Shame
Actress: Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady
Rising star: Tom Hiddleston - War Horse, Thor, The Deep Blue Sea, Midnight in Paris

UK public votes
British film of the year: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Animated film: Arthur Christmas
Family film: The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
British film star: Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Film star: Robert Pattinson - The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1
Film Blog: CineVue - www.cine-vue.com
Most anticipated film of 2012: The Dark Knight Rises

Upon receiving the critics' awards for both Film and Filmmaker of the year, Michel Hazanavicius said: "Thank you so much, it's a thrill and a privilege to accept these two awards. It's such an amazing honour to be recognised by the regional film critics in the UK. On behalf of all the people who made The Artist, I thank you from the bottom of our hearts. And on a personal note, I'd like to say that I'm so very proud because I absolutely love British cinema!"

Meryl Streep, the regional critics' Actress of the year, said: "I am honoured to receive this award, which comes from the heart of the UK and its regional press, an entity that remembers Margaret Thatcher well, and that I am sure aimed a keen lens at this portrayal. I am humbled by the distinction, and very grateful to each individual who voted for me. The support, open-hearted and freely shared, that I received from every member of the over 200 British actors and from the perfectly splendid crew, enabled me to feel confident enough to approach this difficult role. I owe everything to my director, Phyllida Lloyd, a courageous visionary, and Abi Morgan, who wrote a screenplay that imagined that an old woman's thoughts and feelings were as important as her important, younger self. This was an unconventional and controversial approach to a famous life, but one that will stand through the many cycles of historical revisionism, and hold its value as the story of a human being and her reckoning with time. Thank you again."

Tom Hiddleston, the UK regional critics' Rising Star, said: "I am incredibly honoured and beyond proud to receive the Rising Star of the Year at the Richard Attenborough UK Regional Film Awards. I am nominated in the finest company and incredibly grateful to the UK's regional film critics for this great compliment and huge encouragement. I hope I can continue to work at the same level and entertain audiences for years to come. Lord Attenborough has long been a hero of mine, so this is a double honour. I am absolutely thrilled. Sincerely, thank you!"

Peter Straughan, who collected the UK regional critics' award for Screenwriter of the year for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, co-scripted with his late wife, Bridget O'Connor, said: "I'm thrilled that Bridget and I have won this award - especially as it is associated with such a great filmmaker and voted for by so many critics and writers from all around the country. It means a great deal to me and is a wonderful tribute to my late wife's work. Thank you so much."

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