Hurricane Katrina my next movie, says Peter Mullan

The disaster that struck New Orleans in 2005 devastated the city and left more than 1,000 people dead.

Mullan, who made his name in Ken Loach's My Name Is Joe, picked up best film honours at Monday night's Evening Standard awards for his most recent film Neds.

He said: "Next up, I'm going to be writing a film about Hurricane Katrina. It's a story I came across four or five years ago just after it happened. Two nurses from San Francisco were in New Orleans when it struck.

"I'm going to be doing that and hopefully getting some acting work, because writing doesn't pay well."

Mullan, who won the best actor award at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival for My Name Is Joe, said the Katrina story would "raise issues of individualism and collectivism".

Oscar favourite Colin Firth was left empty-handed at the awards after Andrew Garfield beat him to the best actor award.

There was more disappointment for The King's Speech, which stars Firth as the stammering monarch George VI, when it did not even make the shortlist for best film.

Film critic Derek Malcolm said: "Despite our admiration for The King's Speech, which has deservedly become one of the most successful British films for some time and has already won many awards, the jury felt that Peter Mullan's Neds deserved our prize this year.

"An original drama of great skill, power and human sympathy, the film reflects directly on the present as well as the past in which it is set."

Kristin Scott Thomas picked up the best actress award for her performance in Leaving.