Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi's Baran shared the top prize at the 2001 Montreal World Film Festival, his third Grand Prix of the Americas in as many appearances in competition at Montreal.

Majidi previously won in 1999 for The Colour Of Paradise and in 1997 for The Children Of Heaven. The prize was shared with Hungarian Arpad Sopsits' Abandoned (Torzok). The 2001 Jury, headed by French actress Emmanuelle Beart, awarded a Special Grand Prix to Argentine-Spanish co-production The Son Of The Bride (El Hijo De La Novia) by Juan Jose Campanella. The film also won the Best Latin America Film Award.

Germany's Oliver Hirschbiegel received the Best Director nod for his film The Experiment (Das Experiment). The Best Actress prize was shared by Sandrine Kiberlain, Nicole Garcia and Mathilde Seigner, the female cast of Claude Miller's Canada/France co-production Betty Fisher And Other Stories, which also won the Fipresci Award.

Best Actor went to Robert Stadlober for the film Engel & Joe by Germany's Vanessa Joop. Canada's Catherine Martin won the Screenplay prize for her film Mariage. Brazil's Luiz Fernando Carvalho won the prize for Best Artistic Contribution for To The Left Of The Father (Lavoura Arcaica).

Christos Georgiou's Under The Stars, (Kato Apo Ta Asteria), a UK-Greece-Cyprus co-production, won the Montreal Award for Best First Fiction Film while Germany's Roland Suso Richter's The Tunnel (Der Tunnel) won the audience award. Best Canadian film honours went to festival opener Tar Angel (L'ange De Goudron) by Denis Chouinard.

In The Bedroom by US director Todd Field received a Special Mention from the Fipresci jury. Abandoned won the festival's Ecumenical Award while Baran received a Special Mention.

The festival also served up career achievement awards to directors Kon Ichikawa and Fernando Solanas and actors Sophia Loren, Jackie Chan, and Francisco Rabal, the latter dying tragically on his homeward journey to Spain.

The Awards in full:

Feature films:
Grand Prix of the Americas (Best films):
Baran by Majid Majidi (Iran)
Torzok (Abandoned) by Arpad Sopsits (Hungary)

Special Grand Prix of the Jury:
El Hijo De La Novia (The Son Of The Bride) by Juan Jose Campanella (Argentina/Spain)

Best Director:
Das Experiment (The Experiment) by Oliver Hirschbiegel (Germany)

Best Artistic Contribution:
Lavoura Arcaica (To The Left Of The Father) by Luiz Fernando Carvalho (Brazil)

Best actress:
Sandrine Kiberlain, Nicole Garcia, Mathilde Seigner for the film Betty Fisher And Other Stories by Claude Miller (France/Canada)

Best actor:
Robert Stadlober for the film Engel & Joe by Vanessa Joop (Germany)

Best screenplay:
Mariage by Catherine Martin (Canada)

On the occasion of the presentation of his new film Kah-Chan - Big Mama, Mr. Kon Ichikawa received a Life Achievement Award from the Jury and the Festival

Short films:

1st Prize:
Still Life by Sima Urale (New Zealand)

2nd Prize:
Kleine Fische (Little Fish) by Holger Ernst (Germany)

Other awards :
Special Grand Prix of the Americas :

The following persons received a Grand Prix of the Americas during the Festival for their exceptional contribution to the cinematographic art:
Sophia Loren, actress
Jackie Chan, actor
Fernando Solanas, director
Francisco Rabal, actor

Montreal Award for the Best first fiction film:
Under The Stars (Kato Apo Ta Asteria) by Christos Georgiou (United Kingdom/Greece/Cyprus)

Air Canada People's Choice Award:
Der Tunnel (The Tunnel) by Roland Suso Richter (Germany)

FedEx Award for Best Canadian film:
L'ange De Goudron (Tar Angel) by Denis Chouinard (Canada)

Belanger Sauve Award for the Best Latin-American feature film:
El Hijo De La Novia (The Son Of The Bride) by Juan Jose Campanella (Argentina/Spain)

International Press Award (FIPRESCI):
Betty Fisher And Other Stories by Claude Miller (France/Canada)

Special mention to:
In The Bedroom by Todd Field (U.S.A.)

Ecumenical Award:
Torzok (Abandoned) by Arpad Sopsits (Hungary)

Special mention to:
Baran: Majid Majidi (Iran)