Cate Blanchett

Greek filmmaker Athina Rachel Tsangari scooped the top prize at the BFI London Film Festival Awards Saturday, while Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett was honored with a fellowship.

Tsangari’s film “Chevalier,” which deals with the male ego and macho rivalry showcased by six men on a boat competing in wacky masculinity contests, won the praise of Oscar-winning director Pawel Pawlikowski, president of the official competition jury, who called Tsangari a “brave and original filmmaker.”

It beat diverse competition from entries including Cary Fukunaga’s “Beasts of No Nation,” a chilling portrait of child soldiers, and “Office,” a “financial world-set musical” from Hong Kong crime director Johnnie To.

“With great formal rigour and irresistible wit, Athina Rachel Tsangari has managed to make a film that is both a hilarious comedy and a deeply disturbing statement on the condition of western humanity,” Pawlikowski said.

Blanchett, meanwhile, received her fellowship award from Lord of the Rings actor Ian McKellen at a ceremony hosted by musician and former Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker.

The 46-year-old Australian actress’s latest film “Truth” — a story about investigative journalism and politics — had its European premiere on Thursday.

“The pedigree and the list of people who come before me is rather daunting but I’m really excited,” Blanchett had said days earlier, after being told she was to receive the accolade.

Previous winners include Al Pacino, Tim Burton and Ralph Fiennes.

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