Karlovy Vary - The Mosquito Net, a Spanish film directed by Augusti Vila, won the Crystal Globe award for the best feature film at the 45th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival that was presented in the Thermal Hotel's grand hall today.
The Special Jury Award went to the Czech film Kooky (Kuky se vraci) by Jan Sverak who won in Karlovy Vary with his low-budget road-movie The Ride (Jizda) 15 years ago.
The main festival award carries $30,000 dollars.
The winning film, The The Mosquito Net, tells a story of a well-off family burdened with a constant feeling of guilt. Geraldine Chaplin starring in a silent role said the film's screenplay was one of the best she had ever read.
Russian director, producer and actor Nikita Mikhalkov, 64, received the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema at the beginning of the ceremony tonight. He got standing ovations.
The international jury, chaired by U.S. producer Ron Yerxa, bestowed the Best Director Award on Rajko Grlic for Just Between Us (Neka ostane medju nama) shot in co-production of Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia.
This film, basically a story about a womaniser's problems, presents an ironic view of a modern life in a European city.
Anais Demoustier won the Best Actress Award for the main role of a teenage girl in the French psychological thriller Sweet Evil (L’Enfance du mal) directed by Olivier Coussemacq.
The Best Actor Award went to two Polish actors Mateusz Kosciukiewicz and Filip Garbacz for their roles in the Polish film Mother Teresa of Cats (Matka Teresa od kotow) by Pawel Sala, based on a true story of two sons who murdered their own mother.
Garbacz was awarded in Karlovy Vary last year when he received a special mention.
This year, a special mention went to the Russian film Another Sky (Drugoje nebo) directed by Dmitri Mamulia.
The documentary jury awarded The River (Upe), a Lithuanian film directed by Julia Gruodiene and Rimantas Gruodis, in the documentary film under 30 minutes category, and the Swedish film Familia by Mikael Wistroem and Alberto Herskovits won the award for the best documentary film over 30 minutes.
Aurora directed by Cristi Puiu in co-production of Romania, France, Switzerland and Germany, won in the East of the West section in which ten films competed.
The East of the West jury also decided to give a special mention to The Temptation of St Tony (Puha Tonu Kiusamine) by Veiko Ounpuu, shot in co-production of Estonia, Sweden and Finland.
After the award-giving ceremony, the guests saw Heartbreaker (L' Arnacoeur), a romantic French comedy by Pascal Chaumeil with Romain Duris and Vanessa Paradis.
