Russian film-maker AlexeiUchitel has taken top honours at the 27th Moscow International Film Festivalwith Cold War era drama Dreaming Of Space.

The award on Sunday marksthe second successive year that a homegrown film-maker has won the Golden StGeorge: in 2004 Dmitry Meskhiev's Our Own took best director, film andactor.

Set in a 1950s northernRussian port, Dreaming Of Space - the competition's only Russian entry -follows two men trying to escape to the West against the backdrop of loveentanglements and the start of the space race. The award marks the firstvictory at Moscow for Uchitel, who lost out with The Stroll two yearsago.

Elsewhere, best directorwent to Thomas Vinterberg for Dear Wendy, which premiered at Sundanceand opens in Russia through Central Partnership on August 11.

Vesela Kozakova won bestactress for her role in Radoslav Spassov's Stolen Eyes, in which sheplays a Turkish schoolteacher trying to stop the persecution of Turks inBulgaria.

Meanwhile best actor wasawarded to Hamid Farahnejad for his portrayal of a soldier in the Iranian warzone feature Left Foot Forward On The Beat.

Finnish film-maker AkuLouhimies' took the special jury prize with Frozen Land while theProspects competition prize - aimed at first-time and innovative directors -went to How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer by Georgina GarciaRiedel.

Jury members includeddirectors Claire Denis and Ulrich Seidl and Russian actresses ViktoriaTolstoganova and Elena Safonova.

Other honourees during the10-day festival included French actress Jeanne Moreau and Hungarian film-makerIstvan Szabo.