Swedish director JosefFares' Zozo will receive this year'sNordic Council Film Prize - roughly $59,000, the largest in Scandinavia - it was announced during this morning's pressconference at the Swedish Film Institute in Stockholm.

Ten Nordic features werenominated, but the jury chairwoman, Norwegian film journalist Anne Hoff, calledZozo 'a moving and relevant filmabout a child's strategies of survival, when confronted by war, sorrow and astrange culture."

The prize will be sharedamong the film's writer, director and producer, so Fares will take two-thirds(as writer-director), leaving one third for producer Anna Anthony of MemfisFilm.

The award has previouslybeen given to Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki's The Man Without A Past and Danish directorPer Fly's Manslaughter.

Zozofollows an 11-year-old boy (Imad Creidi) who grows up in 1980s

Beirut, leading a normal life with schooland friends, in spite of the raging civil war. One day his entire family is killed, just as it hadprepared everything to emigrate to Sweden. Zozo has to cope with life on his own, and hedecides to try to go to Sweden - to him a completely unknown country.

Fares, now 29, came to Sweden from Lebanon with his family in 1987.

When he was 15 he beganmaking short films, mainly action projects, with his friends, earning him thenickname of The Low-Budget King of Orebro.

One of them was seen bySwedish director Lucas Moodysson, who recommended Fares to his productioncompany, Memfis Film.

His first two features -comedies - for Memfis, Jalla! Jalla! and Cops (Kopps),also produced by Anthony, had more than 750,000 admissions domestically. Zozohas sold more than 280,000 tickets in Sweden, and Trust Film Sales has licensed the film to some20 countries. The Nordic Council Film Prize will be presented at a Nov 1 ceremonyin Copenhagen's Tivoli Concert Hall.