Eran Riklis' The SyrianBride (Hacala Hasurit) took top honours as the 28th MontrealWorld Film Festival wrapped up on September 6. As well as the Grand Prix of theAmericas, the Israel-France-Germany coproduction won the Audience Award, theFIPRESCI prize and the Ecumenical Prize.

The film tells the story ofa young Druze woman whose impending marriage to a Syrian man is tearing herfamily apart. The runner-up Jury Award was shared by Chinese filmmaker AnZhanjun's The Parking Attendant In July and US director Jordan Roberts' Around The Bend.

The actor prize was sharedby the performers in the respective films, Around The Bend's Christopher Walken and Fan Wei, star ofParking Attendant.

Best director kudos went toSpanish veteran Carlos Saura for Spanish-French coproduction The 7thDay while the best actress prizewent to Karin Viard for French title The Role Of Her Life (Le Role De Sa Vie), directed by Francois Favrat. Favrat shared screenplayhonours with her three co-writers, Julie Lopes-Curval, Jerome Beausejour andRoger Bohbot.

The jury, headed by Frenchfilmmaker Claude Zidi, presented an Innovation Awardto Japanese director Yoichi Higashi's The Crying Wind for its "poetic quality" and a prize for BestArtistic Contribution to Canadian director GhyslaineCote's The Five Of Us (Elles EtaientCinq). The film, which opened thefestival, also won the award for Most Popular Canadian Film.

In the ZenithFirst Fiction Feature prizes - awards are presented to debut finalists from allthe programmes and to the best debut from each continent - the Golden Zenithwent to Jaime Aparicio's The Magician from Mexico, the Silver to Cuban film Three Times Two directed by Pavel Giroud, Lest Hamlet andEsteban Insausti, the Bronze to How To Conquer America In One Night (Comment Conquerir L'Amerique En UneNuit) by Dany Laferriereof Canada. US filmmaker Jim De Seve received an Honourable Mention for TryingThe Knot.

GOLDEN ZENITHSFILMS OF THE DIFFERENT CONTINENTAL SECTIONS

Golden Zenithfor Best European Film:

Cachorro (Bear Club) by Miguel Albaladejo (Spain)

Golden Zenithfor Best Canadian Film:

Everyone by Bill Marchant (Canada)

Golden Zenithfor Best Film from the United States:

Dear Frankie by Shona Auerbach (UK/US)

Golden Zenithfor Best Latin American Film (Glauber Rocha Award):

ConversacionesCon Mama by SantiagoCarlos Oves (Argentina)

Golden Zenithfor Best Asian Film:

The Lizard (Marmouliak) by Kamal Tabrizi (Iran)

Golden Zenithfor Best African Film:

Beat The Drumby David Hickson (SouthAfrica)

Golden Zenithfor Best Film from Oceania :

A Man's GottaDo by Chris Kennedy(Australia)

Golden Zenithfor Best Film from the section Cinema and Sport:

America Brownby Paul Black (US)

Golden Zenithfor Best Documentary Film:

TravellingWith Che Guevarra byGianni Min' (Italy)