MUMBAI: Director Samuel Maoz‘s Lebanon set inside a tank stranded inside enemy territory on the first day of the Lebanon War in June 1982 has won the Venice the Golden Lion for Best Film award at the Venice Film Festival.
The director, who based the film on his own experiences, dedicated the award to "people all over the word who come back form the war safe and sound, they work, get married, have children but inside remain stuck in their souls."
While the Coppa Volpi for best actor went to Colin Firth for his performance in fashion designer Tom Ford‘s directorial debut The Single Man, Russian born actress Ksenia Rappoport got the same for her role in Giuseppe Capotondi‘s The Double Hour.
The Silver Lion for best director was awarded to Iranian born, New York-based director Shirin Neshat for Women Without Men, a film dealing with the condition of women in Iran and the 1953 coup which toppled the democratically elected Mossadegh government.
Todd Solondz was awarded the Osella For Best Screenplay Life During War Time." This is so much fun - to win a prize it makes you like an eleven year old again nothing‘s - I confess nothing‘s better," he said from the stage.
Osella won an award for best technical contribution for Jaco Van Dormael‘s Mr. Nobody.
The $100,000 Luigi De Laurentiis Lion of the future award went to the Orizzonti title Clash (Engkwentro) by Filipino director Pepe Diokno while Jasmine Trinca was honoured with the Marcello Mastroianni Award for best young actor or actress for her role in Michele Placido‘s Il Grande Sogno.
