01/10/2007

A Thousand Years of Good Prayers won the Golden Shell of the 55th San Sebastian Film Festival last Saturday evening, in a ceremony marked by a strong Asian flavour. Although a US production, the top winner was directed by Hong Kong-born filmmakerWayne Wang, who in 1995 co-directed Blue in the Face with this year's jury president, Paul Auster.

The jury also awarded Wang¹s leading man Henry O. the Silver Shell for best actor, while the best cinematography award went to DoP Charlie Lam for Hong Kong title Exodus.

The Silver Shell for best actress went to Spain¹s Blanca Portillo for her performance in Siete mesas de billar francés, despite initial rumours that her co-star Maribel Verdú had snagged the prize. The film was produced by Elías Querejeta P. C, S. L., which also manages its international sales.

This story of two very different women ­ Portillo and Verdú ­ suddenly forced to live together also picked up the Jury Prize for best screenplay for David Plannel and director/co-writer Gracia Querejeta.

The Silver Shell for best director went to British documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield for Battle for Haditha, while the Iranian/French co-production Buddha Collapased Out of Shame by Hana Makhmalbaf received the Special Jury Award for its "exquisite cinematography and remarkable performance by child actress Nikbakht Noruz".

The Altadis-New Directors Award went to another Asian title, Soul Carriage, the feature debut by UK-born Conrad Clark.

This year¹s edition of the festival closed with the premiere of Flawless, which was presented to festival audiences by its UK director Michael Radford and actors Demi Moore and Lambert Wilson.