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Emanuele Crialese, 58, director of the cult film Respiro (Critics’ Week Award at Cannes in 2002) was born in Rome to Sicilian parents, studied at NYU and made his debut with Once We Were Strangers in 1997. Before that, he had already transitioned from female to male, from Emanuela to Emanuele.

Respiro was a success in France and then worldwide, and Crialese followed it up, four years later, with Golden Door, which took the Revelation Silver Lion award in Venice in 2006. Five years after that, Crialese’s Terraferma won Venice’s special jury prize. Now, a decade later, Crialese is back with L’Immensità, an autobiographical story set in 1970s Rome of a child who does not identify with the gender assigned to them at birth. The child’s mother is played by a magnificent Penelope Cruz, the father by Crialese’s alter-ego, Vincenzo Amato. After last year’s Venice premiere, L’Immensità screened at...

In films like Volver, Parallel Mothers, Everybody Knows, and now L’immensità, Penélope Cruz has cornered the market on playing mother figures that are both larger than life and movingly earthy. As Clara, the loving Spaniard expatriate trying to raise her children while staying married to an unfaithful man in 1970s Rome, Cruz does some of the best work of her already incredible, multilingual career.

To say director Emanuele Crialese’s camera falls in love with Cruz would be an understatement. She is lovingly shot and framed (even her Sophia Loren bob brings attention to her expressive eyes) and we don’t even need to hear her speak to know whoever’s gaze she’s under has completely fallen under her spell.

This adoration takes on a heartbreaking twist when we realize the camera is acting as a surrogate for Clara’s eldest, Adriana (Luana Giuliani) who was assigned female at birth,...

“L’Immensità” is director Emanuele Crialese’s first feature film in 11 years, and only his fifth in a quarter-century: The gifted Italian, best known to international audiences for his splendid, richly felt Ellis Island immigrant saga “Golden Door,” has never been one for unconsidered or impersonal projects. At first glance, then, one might wonder what drew him out of hibernation for a film that, with its trim runtime and small-scale domestic narrative, belies a title that translates as “immensity.” This 1970s-set story of a 12-year-old navigating his gender identity while his mother battles mental health demons is too palpably pained and heartfelt to be called slight, but it’s sensitive and peculiar in ways that feel fragile — occasionally splintered and swamped by an elaborate setpiece, or the outsize star magnetism of arguably its secondary lead, one Penélope Cruz.

What gives the film ballast, in fact, falls under the category of outside knowledge: that for Crialese,...

Italian director Emanuele Crialese broke out with 2002 Cannes Critics Week winner “Respiro,” followed by “Nuovomondo” and “Terraferma,” which both scooped prizes in Venice. He’s back on the Lido with his ambitious, boldly personal drama “L’immensità.” Set in 1970s Rome, the film features Penélope Cruz as the mother of two children, one of whom is a 12-year-old named Adriana who wants to change her name and gender identity and convince everyone that she is male.

In his director’s note, Crialese calls “L’immensità” a memory-based film for which he needed the necessary time, distance and self-awareness to make. Though not strictly autobiographical, it is based on the director’s personal experience transitioning. As Crialese tells Variety, Adriana’s character is a representation of himself.

Like “Respiro,” “L’Immensità” is centered on the troubled rapport between a powerful female character and her family, especially her children.

“Respiro” was the first time...

Exclusive: Here’s your first look at Oscar winner Penelope Cruz in Italian drama L’immensita, which is in post-production.

Emanuele Crialese’s film is set in 1970’s Rome. The Borghetti family has just moved into one of the many freshly-built apartment blocks in the city. Despite the beautiful, sweeping views of the city from their top floor apartment, the family is not as close as they once were. Clara and Felice (Vincenzo Amato) are no longer in love, but are unable to leave each other. Clara finds refuge from her loneliness in the shelter of her special relationships with her three children. The oldest, Adriana, an unknown child in their new neighborhood, deliberately presents as a boy to the neighborhood children, pushing the family’s bond towards breaking point.

Pathé is continuing sales on the Italian-language film at this week’s virtual EFM.

Pic is produced...

L’immensità

Working at a pace that hovers around one feature per five years, Emanuele Crialese took a longer than usual “sabbatical” after Terraferma premiered at Venice and Toronto back in 2011. Employing the services of alumni thesps Vincenzo Amato and Filippo Pucillo (they’ve collectively worked on his films – Once We Were Strangers (1997), Respiro (2002), and 2016’s Golden Door), this project undoubtably might be his most hyped up item with Penélope Cruz taking on the lead role. Currently experiencing another wave of appreciation after her performance in Parallel Mothers, Crialese’s fifth feature film is set in Rome and looks at more family dynamics.…...

M-Appeal has closed deals for two of its Ventana Sur titles: Marcela Lordy’s “The Book of Delights” to Pigeon Co. in Taiwan and “The Night of the Beast” from Mauricio Leiva Cock to HBO in Eastern Europe.

“The Book of Delights” is an Argentina-Brazil co-production between Cinematográfica Marcela and bigBonsai which had already sold in the U.S. and Japan before the Taiwan announcement was made. M-Appeal will be looking to secure deals in more territories during Ventana Sur.

Adapted from Clarice Lispector’s Brazilian novel “Uma Aprendizagem ou Livro dos Prazeres,” “The Book of Delights” is the erotic story of Lóri, a woman on the lookout for sexual satisfaction, unwilling to compromise her own agency. An attractive young teacher by day, Lóri engages in a string of casula affairs catering to her desires and needs while purposefully avoiding emotional attachments.

Eventually, she crosses paths with renowned philosophy teacher,...

International sales agency M-Appeal has closed two deals at Cannes Marché du Film for Marcela Lordy’s feature “The Book of Delights,” licensing to Film Movement in North America and At Entertainment in Japan.

Adapted from Clarice Lispector’s Brazilian novel “Uma Aprendizagem ou Livro dos Prazeres,” “The Book of Delights” is the erotic story of Lóri, a woman on the lookout for sexual satisfaction without sacrificing any of her own self-determination. Described by the film’s literature as a “free spirited, independent and attractive teacher,” Lóri engages in a string of love affairs catering to her desires and needs while purposefully avoiding emotional attachments.

Eventually, she crosses paths with renowned philosophy teacher, Ulisses, famous in the field of philosophy to a degree which has over-inflated his ego. The encounter causes Lóri to re-evaluate her own decisions and kickstarts a journey of self-discovery, realization and human contact.

“The Book of...

Dana Budisavljević's docu-fiction scooped four Golden Arenas and the Audience Award, while Predrag Ličina's The Last Serb in Croatia bagged five trophies. The 66th edition of the Pula Film Festival (13-21 July) saw only seven films in competition, and only three of these were world premieres, so it is hardly surprising that five movies picked up multiple trophies during the awards ceremony, held, as per tradition, on Saturday evening in the Arena. The winner of the Grand Golden Arena for Best Film, Dana Budisavljević's The Diary of Diana B., also reaped prizes for its director, editor Marko Ferković, and music composers Alen and Nenad Sinkauz. Additionally, it won the Golden Door (the Audience Award) and the Award of the Fedeora Jury in the national competition. The biggest number of Arenas, however, went to Predrag Ličina's zombie satire The Last Serb in Croatia. Hristina Popović was awarded Best Actress in a.

Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt are on the promotional spree for their upcoming film Badrinath Ki Dulhania. The couple brought their entertainment quotient to the fashion runway at the 12th edition of Caring with Style Fashion show. Veteran designers Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla hosted a special show ‘The Golden Door’ association with Cancer PatientsRead More

The post Watch: Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt make Amitabh Bachchan groove on ‘Jahaan chaar yaar’ on a fashion runway appeared first on Bollywood Hungama.

The Golden Door International Film Festival has announced its 2016 lineup today. The New Jersey festival features a mix of indie winners and mainstream majors. It runs from September 22nd through the 25th and it’s held at the beautiful Landmark Loews, Beacon Paramount theatre, and Rialto-Capital.

Read More: Watch: This Wacky Rom-Com Will Keep You Guessing in ‘Who’s Jenna…?’ Trailer

The festival will host the world premiere of Chris Robert’s film “Another You,” which follows young and ambitious science major Sydney Jameson who finds love and refuses to let it go, turning an ordinary relationship into a dangerous fixation. Sydney soon loses herself in a scientific break through, finding a way to use the theory of De Ja Vu to explore her past mistakes. It stars Ksenia Solo (“Black Swan), Kris Holden-Ried (“K-19: The Widowmaker”), Diego Boneta (“Scream Queens”), and Richard T. Jones (“Judging Amy”). Watch an exclusive clip from the film below.

Kerri-Anne Kennerley has hit back at reports that she is quitting her TV show. The Australian television star, who has hosted breakfast programme Mornings with Kerri-Anne for eight years, was rumoured to be quitting her job and being replaced by Catriona Rowntree. The speculation arose when Kennerley went on holiday shortly after reported meetings with bosses about the future of the show. She has now told the Herald Sun that she only "abruptly" took leave because talks about the series stalled and she needed a break. "Clearly it hasn't been a very positive week and quite honestly I'm a bit [sick] of it," she said. Kennerley said that she went to the Hunter Valley and enjoyed a break at the Golden Door retreat, adding: "They don't roll over [annual (more)...

Cinema Retro has received the following announcement from the Loew's Theatre in Jersey City, NJ:

This week we are pleased to be a participating sponsor of the Golden Door International Film Festival of Jersey City in its inaugural year.

It is going to run from Thursday, October 13, through Sunday, October 16.

Festival events will happen at various locations around Jersey City, with the Loew's being a principal venue. We will be the site of both the opening and closing ceremonies, plus various screenings. The closing ceremony will include awards to Festival winners and special awards to the actor Paul Sorvino -- of "Goodfellas" and "Law and Order" fame, plus a whole lot of other character/supporting roles -- and to Leon Gast -- Jersey City native and Academy Award winning director of the 1996 documentary "When We Were Kings."

However please note that there will be no Festival events at the Loew's on Saturday,...

Wild Bunch and Elle Driver are in Toronto with films by such illuminaries as Fernando Meirelles (City of God, The Constant Gardener), Cedric Kahn, Goro Miyazaki (Tales from Earthsea), Emanuele Crialese (Respiro, The Golden Door), Kore-eda (Nobody Knows), Lou Ye (Summer Palace), Nacho Vigalondo(Timecrimes) and Marco van Geffen. Handling their publicity is Martin Marquet, one of the bright lights in our universe. You can find the team at the Hyatt Regency on King Street West. Check out their films below the jump. 360 (Isa: Wild Bunch), Gala Directed by Fernando Meirelles Starring Anthony Hopkins, Rachel Weisz (Tbc) and Ben Foster,…...

#20. Terraferma Director: Emanuele Crialese Cast: Filippo Pucillo, Donatella Finocchiaro, Mimmo Cuticcho, Giuseppe Fiorello, Timnit T. Distributor: Rights Available Buzz: Using a familiar backdrop of his native Sicily (sun-bleached islands plus rhythmic aqua blues) this appears (see trailer) less epic in scope than his 2006 film The Golden Door and less fable like than 2002's Respiro -- but Emanuele Crialese still works with the same obsession: free spirit status of the individual. Perhaps more telling, less romantic and more complex within this format, along with Kaurismäki's Le Havre, this Venice selected title only confirms that immigration migration due to the despairing differences between rich and poor and climate change is more than just a trendy topic. The Gist: Two women, an Island dweller and a foreigner: one dramatically influences the life of the other. But they both share the same desire for a different future, a better life for their children and the dream of the mainland.

Want to get great skin, but don't have the time or money to get to a spa?

Estheticians Linda Ashbrook and Ashton Chody from California's famed Golden Door Spa (Oprah and Barbra Streisand are fans!) came up with these awesome spa recipes you can do at home.

Facial Scrub

Mix 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, 1/2 cup sweet almond oil, 1 tbsp ground oatmeal and 1 tsp nutmeg. Cleanse face and then apply scrub to moist skin. Using middle two fingers massage into face with an upward motion. Relax for 10 minutes with a warm, wet towel, ...

Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

It's estimated that 75 percent of people who made New Year's resolutions break them by March. Ouch!

If your resolution was to workout more, don't give up! Here are a few tips from California's famous Golden Door Spa to help keep you motivated.

1. Exercising in the morning tends to provide greater success and stimulates your metabolism throughout the day; however, the bottom line is it is important to exercise when it is most convenient for you.

2. "Accumulated steps" may be another mantra for success. Strap on a pedometer, a device used to track the ...

Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

It started with Halloween candy and moved on to pumpkin pie and then eggnog and peppermint bark.

After weeks of indulging and overindulging, it's time to get back on a healthier track!

Here are some tips to get you started courtesy of California's legendary Golden Door Spa, which has seen everyone from Gloria Swanson to Lucille Ball to Oprah.

Always eat sitting down.

Never eat out of boxes or bags. This acknowledges, signifies and honors the meal and can help you avoid mindless eating.

Take three long, deep breaths before you eat.

...

Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

New York -- As the Tribeca Film Festival unveiled lineups for its Midnight, Restored/Rediscovered and new Encounters sections Tuesday, co-founder Jane Rosenthal explained the downsizing of her star-filled slate.

"Everyone told us there was so much to choose from last year, so hopefully this raises the bar for pictures and allows us to be a bit more selective," said Rosenthal, recovering from a flu that left her virtually unable to talk Monday. "Our curatorial program is a stronger program for it."

Organizers on Monday had announced the elimination of two NY/NY sections and plans to screen 159 features this year, down from 174 in 2006 (Hr 3/13).

Rosenthal added that the number of screening venues, which increased and expanded uptown last year, will increase and allow for more screenings of each film. The AMC Loews Kips Bay 15, AMC Loews 72nd Street 1 and Clearview Chelsea West will be added.

She seemed most enthusiastic about DJ Spooky's "Rebirth of a Nation," a "remix" of D.W. Griffith's 1915 epic "The Birth of a Nation" that deconstructs the controversial film. In an equally unusual event, film archivist Paolo Cherchi Usai will screen historical films to the "Passio of Arvo Part" music at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and Trinity Church.

The new Encounters program -- developed by festival executive director Peter Scarlet, managing director and programmer Nancy Schafer and senior programmer David Kwok -- will "focus on people stretching themselves, either the subjects or the filmmakers," Rosenthal said. The 23-film slate will include world premieres from actors-turned-producers Rosario Dawson ("Descent") and Benicio Del Toro ("Lovesickness") and actors-turned-directors Mary Stuart Masterson ("The Cake Eaters"), James Franco ("Good Time Max") and Diego Luna ("Chavez").

Other features in the new section are "The Air I Breathe," featuring five actors (Forest Whitaker, Brendan Fraser, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Andy Garcia and Kevin Bacon) as characters in life-altering situations; Italy's Ellis Island-themed Oscar entry "Golden Door" (Nuovomondo); and "Suburban Girl," Marc Klein's adaptation of the best-selling novel "The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing."

Martin Scorsese and Scarlet have curated Restored/Rediscovered, preserving and presenting rare films. Cinda Firestone's prison riot docu "Attica," Grigori Chukrai's post-Stalin-era Russian love story "The Forty-First" (Sorok Fervyi) and actor Gerard Blain's 1973 French directorial effort "The Pelican" (Le Pelican) made this year's cut.

The 11-film Midnight program follows the offbeat, more commercial taste of similar late-night fest sections. Films include Michael Addis' fame docu "Hecklers," featuring Jamie Kennedy; Jim Hickey's gross-out comedy "Dirty Sanchez," featuring the eponymous U.K. comedy troupe; and John Erick Dowdle's serial killer thriller "The Poughkeepsie Tapes."

The entire 2007 Tribeca slate encompasses 244 films, including 75 world, 32 North American and 18 domestic premieres. Some 4,550 films were submitted to the fest, including 2,250 features.

ROME -- Two of Italy's best-known directors and three up-and-coming talents are behind the best film nominees at this year's 2007 David di Donatello awards, organizers announced Tuesday.

In most previous years, one or two films have dominated the nominations for the David awards, Italy's top film honors. But this year's slate spreads the wealth between nearly a dozen productions nominated in more than one major category.

Among the leading lights are Ermanno Olmi's Centochiodi, which garnered the director his seventh David nomination in the best film category. The film is reported to be Olmi's last narrative film. Giuseppe Tornatore's La Sconosciuta (The Unknown) also was nominated for the top honor.

The films from emerging talents in the centerpiece competition are Emanuele Crialese's Nuovomondo (The Golden Door), which won a special jury prize at last year's Venice film festival; 2006 Cannes C.I.C.A.E. award winner Anche Libero va Bene (Along the Ridge) from Kim Rossi Stuart; and Daniele Luchetti's local boxoffice smash Mio Fratello e Figlio Unico (My Brother is an Only Child).

• Miramax Films has given us the newest trailers for The Golden Door. Directed by Emanuele Crialese, this period pic starring Charlotte Gainsbourg takes place in Sicily 1913. In a desolate corner of the Sicilian countryside lives a family of peasants who have worked the same land for generations. The pic will be released in theaters beginning May 25, 2007. Here are some trailers below.Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqiLxlnMjCA Clip #1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO2xUZdx2RMCLIP #2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEelsyuMiHQCLIP #3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-XvkpCFO1ECLIP #4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJTuL0jJCVoCLIP #5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZxQY7oIegE...

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• Emanuele Crialese’s Nuovomondo (known or soon to be known to North American audiences as The Golden Door) was among the cherished films from 06’s Venice film festival. Miramax Films picked up the rights to the Italian/Franco/German production back in November and will be showcasing the picture this summer. Starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, this goes way back to Sicily circa 1913. In a desolate corner of the Sicilian countryside lives a family of peasants who have worked the same land for generations. The monotony of daily life is relieved by the arrival of a man from America. This man, with his golden teeth, goes from place to place talking about the New World and its inhabitants, of the riches of this paradise: potatoes as big as train carriages, carrots as long as canoes, trees dripping with gold coins. And he has photographs proving the truth of this fabulous place.

...

Emanuele Crialese's The Golden Door, an account of a Sicilian family coming to America at the turn of the last century, will serve as the opening-night film of the San Francisco International Film Festival, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

The fest, which runs April 26-May 10, will screen 200 films from 54 countries and present three world premieres.

Tom DiCillo's satiric comedy Delirious, starring Steve Buscemi, has been slated as the Centerpiece film, while the closing-night attraction will be Oliver Dahan's Edith Piaf biopic La vie en rose, starring Marion Cotillard.

"A golden anniversary comes around only once in an organization's lifetime," San Francisco Film Society executive director Graham Leggat said Tuesday in unveiling the lineup. "And we intend to take full advantage of this remarkable occasion."

Honorees at the annual black-tie Film Society Awards Night, set for May 3 at the Westin St. Francis Hotel, include Spike Lee, recipient of the Directing Award...

• Continuing on yesterday’s cue, Indie Queens and Foreign Femme Fatales top 10 list demonstrates an appreciation for performance, grace, style, facial symmetry and once again that je ne sais quoi factor. This year’s compilation is a mix of 2006’s old school – which’ve once again proved their weight in gold and we also witnessed a new generation of leading ladies make their marks. The sum is a healthy representation of world inhabitants and some sizzling performances. 10. Abbie Cornish2006: Unless you happen to live in the Aussieland sunbelt, prior to 04’ no one heard of the actress. Cornish’s international claim to fame (Somersault) was finally released stateside in 06’ and folks were whip lashed by her with additional stints in A Good Year and junkie-friendly vehicle of Candy.2007: The next Watts/Kidman to come out of Australia will next appear in The Golden Age and Kimberly Peirce's

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• Founded in 1988, the European Film Academy currently unites 1,700 European film professionals with the common aim of promoting Europe's film culture. Here are this year's noms.... European Film 2006 Breakfast On Pluto; Ireland/UK Directed by Neil Jordan Produced by Parallel Film Productions Ltd./Number 9 Films Grbavica; Austria/Bosnia-Herzegovina/Germany/Croatia Directed by Jasmila Zbanic Produced by Coop99 Filmproduktion Gmbh/Deblokada/Noirfilm/Jadran Film Das Leben Der Anderen (The Lives Of Others); Germany Directed by Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck Produced by Wiedemann & Berg Filmproduktion/Bayerischer Rundfunk/Arte/Creado Film The Road To Guantanamo; UK Directed by Michael Winterbottom And Mat Whitecross Produced by Revolution Films Ltd. Volver; Spain Directed by Pedro Almodovar Produced by El Deseo D.A., S.L.U. The Wind That Shakes The Barley; UK/Ireland/Germany/Italy/Spain Directed By Ken Loach Produced By Sixteen Films/Matador Pictures/Regent Capital/UK Film Council/Bord Scannan Na

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Miramax Films has snared U.S. and Australian rights to Italian foreign-language Oscar contender Golden Door (Nuovomondo), directed and written by Emanuele Crialese.

The film tells a mythical tale of a Sicilian peasant family who come to America to seek their fortune in the early 1900s. It secured this year's Silver Lion during the Venice International Film Festival.

The cast features Charlotte Gainsbourg and Vincenzo Amato and was produced by Alexandre Mallet-Guy.

The project was brought to Miramax by the company's vp acquisitions, Peter Lawson. The deal was brokered by Miramax executive vp business affairs and operations Michael Luisi with Wild Bunch's Carole Baraton.

Miramax Films has snared U.S. and Australian rights to Italian foreign-language Oscar contender Golden Door (Nuovomondo), directed and written by Emanuele Crialese.

The film tells a mythical tale of a Sicilian peasant family who come to America to seek their fortune in the early 1900s. It secured this year's Silver Lion during the Venice International Film Festival.

The cast features Charlotte Gainsbourg and Vincenzo Amato and was produced by Alexandre Mallet-Guy.

The project was brought to Miramax by the company's vp acquisitions, Peter Lawson. The deal was brokered by Miramax executive vp business affairs and operations Michael Luisi with Wild Bunch's Carole Baraton.

ROME -- Emanuele Crialese's Nuovomondo (The Golden Door), a period drama about a family of Sicilians seeking to immigrate to the United States, has been selected as Italy's candidate in the best foreign-language film race for the 2006 Academy Awards, while Daniel Burman's Derecho de Familia (Family Law) will represent Argentina. Nuovomondo was a success at the recent Venice International Film Festival, taking home the Silver Lion award as the festival's biggest revelation. The critically acclaimed film -- which has grossed about $1 million after two weeks in general release in Italy -- was largely cast with Sicilian stage actors. But it does feature Charlotte Gainsbourg as Lucia, a British woman who sneaks on a ship bound to New York from Palermo. There's also a cameo appearance by Vincent Schiavelli, who died last year shortly after filming wrapped. Crialese is best known for his 2002 film Respiro.

VENICE, Italy -- The last-minute entry in competition at the 63rd Venice Film Festival was awarded the event's top prize Saturday, when Jia Zhang-Ke stunned observers by taking home the coveted Golden Lion for his film Sanxia Haoren (Still Life). The film was a last-minute addition in competition, its name withheld until Sept. 5 because of sensitivities related to acquiring the proper permissions from Chinese censors. It only screened twice on the Lido, and in a poll of 14 leading Italian critics taken on the eve of the closing ceremony, not one listed the film among their top three choices. When its name was announced, it attracted only scattered applause from the flabbergasted crowd in the Palazzo del Cinema. But the film was a hit with the jury, winning the prize over such favorites as Emilio Estevez's Bobby, Stephen Frears' The Queen and Nuovomondo (Golden Door) from Emanuele Crialese.

VENICE, Italy -- The last-minute entry in competition at the 63rd Venice Film Festival was awarded the event's top prize Saturday, when Jia Zhang-Ke stunned observers by taking home the coveted Golden Lion for his film Sanxia Haoren (Still Life). The film was a last-minute addition in competition, its name withheld until Sept. 5 because of sensitivities related to acquiring the proper permissions from Chinese censors. It only screened twice on the Lido, and in a poll of 14 leading Italian critics taken on the eve of the closing ceremony, not one listed the film among their top three choices. When its name was announced, it attracted only scattered applause from the flabbergasted crowd in the Palazzo del Cinema. But the film was a hit with the jury, winning the prize over such favorites as Emilio Estevez's Bobby, Stephen Frears' The Queen and Nuovomondo (Golden Door) from Emanuele Crialese.

Dame Helen Mirren and Ben Affleck have taken the acting honors at this year's Venice Film Festival in Italy. Mirren was named Best Actress for her performance as British monarch Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen, while Affleck was a surprise win as Best Actor for his part as 1950s TV Superman actor George Reeves in Hollywoodland. On collecting her award, Mirren said, "It's an incredible honor to have a film take its first steps here in Venice. (Director) Stephen Frears is the mother of the film. I'm just a bit of the DNA of this film." Chinese movie Still Life (Sanxia Haoren) won the festival's top award, the Golden Lion, beating out competition from favorites The Queen, Bobby and Golden Door. Actress Catherine Deneuve, who headed the jury, praised Still Life as "a very special film. We were very touched and we were very moved." French filmmaker Alain Resnais, 84, won Best Director for Private Fears In Public Places, while Best Screenplay went to Peter Morgan for The Queen. Chad movie Daratt won the Special Jury Prize.