Driving Lessons favourite at 28th Moscow International Film Festival

Swede's first feature wins top prize at Moscow Film Festival

 
Kirill Galetski in Moscow 04 July 2006

 
The 28th Moscow International Film Festival recovered from the debacle of Michael Haneke's eleventh-hour refusal to chair the main jury, finishing with a surprise best picture winner.
The jury, including Julie Christie, Canadian actor Rémy Girard and French film critic and producer Pierre-Henri Deleau, chose cult Polish filmmaker and existing jury member Andrzej Zulawski to be jury president.

And at the closing awards night at the 1,800-seat Pushkinsky Cinema, they gave the Golden St. George Award for Best Film went to About Sara (Om Sara), the first feature from Swede Karim Othman.

Othman was not counting on winning a festival prize and had left Moscow after the last screening of his film and was nonplussed upon hearing the news.

Festival organisers spent the day before the festival feverishly working out the logistics of his return to Moscow to accept the award.

Jeremy Brock's coming-of-age story Driving Lessons was the clear festival favourite winning kudos from critics and audiences alike, plus a Best Actress nod to Julie Walters for her spirited turn as an aging actress.

The Perspectives programme, now in its third year, had a three-member jury chaired by Czech filmmaker Petr Zelenka.

The other two jury members were up-and-coming Russian director Nikolai Lebedev and Macedonian actress Labina Mitevska.

The jury chose The Source (Chashma), directed by Yolkin Tuichiyev of Uzbekistan.

This year's most feted guest was Gérard Depardieu, in town to receive a lifetime achievement award.

BEST FILM
About Sara (Om Sara)
Karim Othman (Sweden)

BEST FILM IN PERSPECTIVES PROGRAMME
The Source (Chashma)
Yolkin Tuichiyev (Uzbekistan)

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Driving Lessons
Jeremy Brock (UK)

AUDIENCE AWARD
Driving Lessons
Jeremy Brock (UK)

RUSSIAN FILM CRITICS' AWARD
Driving Lessons
Jeremy Brock (UK)

FIPRESCI PRIZE
Kubrador
Jeffrey Jeturian (Philippines)

RUSSIAN FILM CLUBS FEDERATION PRIZE
Klimt
Raul Ruiz (Austria-France-Germany-UK)

BEST DIRECTOR
Bertrand Blier
Combien tu m'aimes?

BEST ACTOR
Jens Harzer
Der Liebenversicherer

BEST ACTRESS
Julie Walters
Driving Lessons

I BELIEVE – STANISLAVSKY AWARD
Gerard Depardieu