Sawt Falasteen - Monica Bellucci and Florin Serban win at Locarno Film Festival

Serban, a leading figure of the Romanian New Wave, said on the festival website that his film was "above all, a portrait of a way of seeing the world that may be disappearing. Or perhaps should disappear."

The jury honoured Monica Bellucci for her role in "Kettice" by Giovanni Tortorici, a film about teenagers' search for identity and desire for freedom.

South Korean actress Kim Minhee also won an acting award for "Nowhere to Lay My Eyes," by Hong Sangsoo, the story of a brother and sister visiting their mother on Jeju Island.

Serban's dark film clocks in at more than two-and-a-half hours, exploring the relationship between Marius, the head doctor at the hospital in his small hometown, and his teenage son Ioan, whom he has raised alone since his wife's death.

Marius's world is turned upside down when he learns that the police suspect his son of murder. The festival jury praised the film for the "strength of its writing, the uniqueness of its vision, and its exceptional command of film language".

Seventeen films competed for the Golden Leopard, the highest honour at the film event held every summer in the small Swiss town on the shores of Lake Maggiore. It comes with a prize of 75,000 Swiss francs ($92,000), shared between director and producer.

Q.Bulbul--SF-PST