Naming the firstwinners of the 2006/07 awards season, The National Board of Review has votedClint Eastwood's Letters From Iwo Jima the best film of 2006, while Forest Whitaker and Helen Mirren earnedrespective acting honours for The Last King Of Scotland and The Queen.

Martin Scorsese got his awards season campaign going by winning best directorfor The Departed, while supporting actor honours went to Djimon Hounsou for Blood Diamond and Catherine O'Hara for For Your Consideration.

Zach Helm won best original screenplay for Stranger Than Fiction and Ron Nyswaner took best adapted screenplayhonours for The Painted Veil.

Pedro Almodovar's Volver won bestforeign language film, while Davis Guggenheim's An Inconvenient Truth was voted best documentary and Cars picked up the animated award.

In the special awards, Eli Wallach picked up Career Achievement, Jonathan Demmewon the Billy Wilder Award for Excellence in Direction, Donald Krim took theWilliam K Everson Award for Film History, Irwin Winkler won the Career Achievment In Producing, and the BVLGARI Award for NBR Freedom of Expression went to Waterand World Trade Center.

FULL LIST OF WINNERS:

Best Foreign-Language Film: Volver
Best Documentary: An Inconvenient Truth
Best Animated Feature: Cars
Best Director: Martin Scorsese The Departed
Best Actor: Forest Whitaker The Last King OfScotland
Best Actress: Helen Mirren The Queen
Best Supporting Actor: Djimon Hounsou BloodDiamond
Best Supporting Actress: Catherine O'Hara ForYour Consideration
Best Acting By An Ensemble: The Departed
Breakthrough Performance Actor: Ryan Gosling HalfNelson
Breakthrough Performance Actress: JenniferHudson Dreamgirls
Best Directorial Debut: Jason Reitman ThankYou For Smoking
Best Original Screenplay: Zach Helm StrangerThan Fiction
Best Adapted Screenplay: Ron Nyswaner ThePainted Veil

Ten best films of 2006'Best Film: Letters From Iwo Jima; Babel; BloodDiamond; The Departed: The Devil Wears Prada; Flags Of Our Fathers; The HistoryBoys; Little Miss Sunshine; Notes On A Scandal; The Painted Veil

Five best foreign language films of 2006: Volver;Curse Of The Golden Flower; Days of Glory; Pan's Labyrinth; Water

Five best documentaries of 2006: AnInconvenient Truth; 51 Birch Street; Iraq In Fragments; Shut Up & Sing;Wordplay

Top Independent Films: Akeelah And The Bee;Bobby; Catch A Fire; Copying Beethoven; A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints;Half Nelson; The Illusionist; Lonesome Jim; Sherrybaby; 10 Items or Less; ThankYou For Smoking

Career Achievement: Eli Wallach
Billy Wilder Award for Excellence in Direction:Jonathan Demme
William K Everson Award for Film History:Donald Krim
Producer of the Year Award: Irwin Winkler
The BVLGARI Award for NBR Freedom ofExpression: Water and WorldTrade Center