The British Film Institute (BFI) on Tuesday named Carol the best LGBT film of all time.

According to Reuters, the BFI's list of top 30 films was decided by a panel of 100 film experts.

British director Andrew Haigh's Weekend came in a close second, followed by the Hong Kong romantic drama Happy Together.

Carol's win excites us because it's great to see a film about two women in love enjoy such prominence, particularly given cinema's relative lack of lesbian content,” Tricia Tuttle, deputy head of festivals BFI, is quoted as saying.

Based on Patricia Highsmith's (under the pseudonym Claire Morgan) 1952 novel The Price of Salt, the film – set in 1950s New York – revolves around department-store clerk Therese (played by Rooney Mara) as she falls for Carol, an older, married woman (Cate Blanchett).

(Related: Carol featurette includes Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Sara Paulson interviews.)