The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival wrapped in the Czech Republic on Saturday, with the Crystal Globe, the festival's main prize, going to a Czech film, Petr Zelenka's Year of the Devil.

It was a weekend of surprises and disappointments in the Bohemian spa town. Zelenka's film, a part fiction, part documentary black comedy about a group of Czech musicians battling alcoholism and spontaneous combustion, was not considered a favorite to win.

Among the 18 films in competition, other contenders for the top prize were said to be Cedric Klapisch's Euro Pudding, Min Boung-hun's Let's Not Cry, Caroline Link's Nowhere In Africa and Agust Gudmundsson's The Seagull's Laughter.

Jury chair Jean-Marc Barr praised Zelenka's film, calling it "refreshing" and "sincere" but admitted that he himself voted for Nowhere In Africa in the seven-member jury's final round of voting. Nowhere In Africa received a Special Jury Prize.

Other winners included Asghar Massombagi for Best Director for Khaled, Ugla Egilsdottir for Best Actress in The Seagull's Laughter, and William H. Macy for Best Actor in Focus, with Special Jury Mentions going to Let's Not Cry and Julio Wallovits' The Smoking Room.

Meanwhile, Sean Connery disappointed festival goers when he cancelled a planned visit, for medical reasons, to receive an award for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema. Connery is in Prague shooting The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Organisers of the festival also failed in a last-ditch effort to lure Ed Burns, who is also in Prague shooting A Sound Of Thunder.

The 37th annual festival marks its tenth year in which President Jiri Bartoska and Artistic Director Eva Zaoralova have collaborated, bringing the event from the brink of bankruptcy. The event saw record attendance this year with over 10,880 accredited visitors, almost 1,200 more than last year.

COMPETITION OF FEATURE-LENGTH FILMS

Grand Prix - Crystal Globe ($20 000)
Rok d'Abla (Year Of The Devil), Czech Republic 2002
dir. Petr Zelenka

Special Jury Prize
Nirgendwo In Afrika (Nowhere In Africa), Germany 2001
dir. Caroline Link

Best Director Award
Asghar Massombagi
for the film Khaled, Canada 2001

Best Actress Award
Ugla Egilsdottir
for her role in the film Mavahlatur (The Seagull's Laughter), Iceland 2001
dir. Agust Gudmundsson

Best Actor Award
William H. Macy
for his role in the film Focus, USA 2001
dir. Neal Slavin

Special Jury Mentions
Gwenchana Uljima (Let's Not Cry), Korea 2001
dir. Min Boung-hun

Smoking Room, Spain 2002
dir. Julio Wallovits, Roger Gual

DOCUMENTARY FILMS IN COMPETITION
Best Documentary Film Above 30 Minutes In Length
En'an No Musume (Daughter from Yan'an), Japan 2001
dir. Kaoru Ikeya

Best Documentary Film Lasting 30 Minutes Or Less
Obec B. (Village B.), Czech Republic 2002
dir. Filip Remunda

Special Mention
Devil's Playground, USA 2001
dir. Lucy Walker

Ochota Na Angela Ili Cetyre Ljubvi Poeta I Poricatelja (Hunting Down An Angel or Four Passions of The Soothsayer Poet), Russia 2002
dir. Andrei Osipov

OTHER PRIZES AWARDED AT THE FESTIVAL

Award For Outstanding Artistic Contribution To World Cinema
John Boorman, Great Britain
Vlastimil Brodsky, Czech Republic (In Memoriam)
Sean Connery, Great Britain

Prize Of The Mayor Of The Town Of Karlovy Vary
Michael York, Great Britain

Mladá Fronta Dnes Audience Prize
L'Auberge Espagnole (Euro Pudding), France 2002
dir. Cedric Klapisch

Eurotel Audience Prize
The Eurotel Audience Award was conferred to the film Brats, directed by Zdenek Tyc. The decision was made by the audiences, who could have used the short text messages from their cell phones as ballots during the festival. The choice could have been made from the films in the Official Selection - Competition section.

NON-STATUTORY AWARDS

The Philip Morris Freedom Award ($5 000)
Sjostry (Sisters), Russia 2001
dir.Sergei Bodrov Jr.

Award Of International Film Critics (Fipresci)
Nirgendwo In Afrika (Nowhere In Africa), Germany 2001

dir. Caroline Link

Special Mention
Gwenchana uljima (Let's Not Cry), Korea 2001
dir. Min Boung - hun

The Don Quijote Prize (FICC - International Federation of Film Societies)
Cuento De Hadas Para Dormir Cocodrilos (Bedtime Fairy Tales for Crocodiles), Mexico 2002
dir. Ignacio Ortiz Cruz

The Ecumenical Jury Award
Cisza (Silence), Poland 2001
dir. Michal Rosa

Ecumenical Jury Special Mention
Filament, Japan 2001
dir. Jinsei Tsuji

STUDENT FILMS

Best Student Film
Broken, dir. Patrick Downs
Columbia University, USA

Best collection of student films
FAMU, Czech Republic

Special Prizes

Best Documentary Film
Make Me Proud, dir. Moby Longinotto
National Film and Television School, Great Britain

Best Animation Film
Pirat (Pirate), dir. Jan Bubenicek
FAMU, Czech Republic

Special Mention
See No Evil, dir. Aris Bafaloukas
Hellenic Cinema and Television School, Stavrakos, Greece

Viktor Och Hans Broder (Victor And His Brothers), dir. Martin Klingberg
Dramatiska Institutet, Sweden

Tego Lata ... (This Summer...), dir. Emil Graffman
The Polish Film and Television School, Poland