Oct 21, 2006, 11:47 GMT
Rome - Izobrajaya Zhertvy (Playing the Victim), a dark comedy by Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov, won the Best Film Award at Rome's first International Film Festival on Saturday.
The film, a modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet, was picked from 16 vying for the award by a popular jury of 50 ordinary movie-goers led by Italian director Ettore Scola.
The Best Actress Award was given to Ariane Ascaride for her starring role in Le Voyage en Armnie (Armenia) by French director Robert Gudiguian while Italy's Giorgio Colangeli (L'Aria Salata) was given the Best Actor Award.
Shane Meadows's This is England won the Special Jury Award.
The awards ceremony took place in Rome's Auditorium on the last day of the festival, which was to close later on Saturday with a preview screening of Robert De Niro's latest film, The Good Shepherd.
After the screening, De Niro was expected to answer questions from the audience.
The city's first ever international film festival is the brainchild of Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni, a well-known cinema buff.
International stars who have attended include Nicole Kidman, Sean Connery, Harrison Ford and Leonardo Di Caprio.
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