Lebanon
Samuel Maoz's war movie Lebanon scooped The Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival this weekend.
The film follows four inexperienced Israeli soldiers during the early days of the conflict in Lebanon in 1982. The four members of a tank crew find themselves in a violent situation that they cannot contain.
Motivated by fear and the basic instinct of survival, they desperately try not to lose themselves in the chaos of war
Set entirely inside a tank the movie was based on the experiences of the filmmaker as a tank gunner during the war. It took Maoz over twenty five years to write the script because he struggled with the memories that it brought back.
When he picked dup his award the director said: "I dedicate this award to all those thousands of people all over the world who come back from the war, like me, safe and sound."
The Silver Lion, second prize, went to Women Without Men by Iranian feminist Shirin Neshat. Set against the tumultuous backdrop of Iran's 1953 CIA-backed coup d'état, the destinies of four women converge in a beautiful orchard garden, where they find independence, solace and companionship.
Neshat also picked up Best Director for her movie.
Colin Firth also enjoyed some award success as he picked up the Best Actor gong for his performance as a grieving professor in his latest movie A Single Man.
Directed by Tom Ford, who is making his directorial debut with the movie, the film centres on an English professor who, after the sudden death of his partner tries to go about his typical day in Los Angeles.
As well as Firth the movie, which is an adaptation of Christopher Isherwood's landmark 1964 novel, also stars Julianne Moore, Matthew Good and Ginnifer Goodwin .
Kseniya Rappoport won the Best Actress gong for her performance in Giuseppe Capotondi's La Doppia Ora.
And German filmmaker Fatih Akin won the jury prize for his new comedy Soul Kitchen.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in Venice Film Festival