The London Evening Standard’s list included :

ABI MORGAN – Screenwriter
If last year’s hot writer was Jane Goldman (aka Mrs Jonathan Ross), Abi Morgan has displaced her with the success of The Hour and two of the most notable new British movies – Shame and Thatcher biopic The First Lady. Up next: she’s written a BBC series of Birdsong and a reimagining of The Little Mermaid for Joe Wright.

JEREMY THOMAS – Producer
Distinguished London-based Oscar-winner Thomas has his hand in movies all over the world, and this year had his name on Pina Bausch documentary Pina, Japanese samurai drama Hara-Kiri and David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method with Keira Knightley and Michael Fassbender. Also has sister sales and financing company HanWay Films, which is one of the best in the world.

MICHAEL FASSBENDER – Actor
His knockout performance in Steve McQueen’s sensational Shame as a sex-addicted New Yorker will take him to superstardom. He won the best actor prize at Venice for it and should snag Oscar and Bafta nods. He was a superb Mr Rochester in Jane Eyre, a solid young Magneto in X-Men: First Class and a charismatic Carl Jung in David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method.

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY – Actor
Only 26 and with several careers already behind her, superstar actress Knightley wrapped another stage run in The Children’s Hour before hitting the film festival red carpets for David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method, starring with Steve Carrell in apocalyptic comedy A Friend At The End Of The World and stepping into the shoes of Garbo and Vivien Leigh as Anna Karenina for Joe Wright.

CAREY MULLIGAN – Actor
The 26-year-old who made a splash in An Education has stepped up into the Hollywood super-leagues this year, starring with Ryan Gosling in Drive and beating Keira, Scarlett and Natalie to the coveted part of Daisy Buchanan opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby. Plus she gave a revealing performance in critics’ favourite Shame and got engaged to Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons. Quite a year.

HELENA BONHAM CARTER – Actor
In danger of becoming a national treasure, especially since her witty turn as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in The King’s Speech earned her a Bafta and Oscar nomination. That’s in addition to her nasty performance as Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter series and a role as Miss Havisham in Mike Newell’s Great Expectations. Tim Burton’s other half is madcap and unashamed of it.

STEVE MCQUEEN – Director
Flits between Amsterdam and London where the Turner Prize winner is becoming an influential figure in cinema. Second film Shame has confirmed the promise of his debut Hunger, delivering a devastating study of a man ravaged by sex addiction, starring Michael Fassbender. As a celebrated artist, McQueen has strong ideas about what he wants to do – so don’t expect him to sell out to Hollywood.

ANDREA ARNOLD – Filmmaker
An old-school auteur well-known for her fastidious ways and impatience with the business side of film-making, Arnold finally delivered her third film this year. And while critics at the Venice and Toronto film festivals generally approved of her Wuthering Heights, her bleak take on Emily Brontë might disappoint the purists looking for lush romance.

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