KarimAinouz's Suely In TheSky picked up both the best picture and best director awards at the Rio de JaneiroInternational Film Festival.

HermillaGuedes also picked up the best actress award for her performance as anabandoned single mother stranded in the barren north east of Brazil.

Suely, which playedin both Venice and Toronto, screened in Rio's competitive Premiere Brazil section.

HeitorDhalia's Drained, the story of a perversesecond-hand goods storekeeper who revels in the misfortunes of those who cometo him seeking cash, also picked up three awards at the event.

SeftonMello was awarded the best actor honours - shared with Sidney Santiago for The 12 Labours - while the film also wonthe Special Jury prize and the FIPRESCI award, presented by the internationalcritics' jury headed by honorary president Derek Malcolm.

The bestdocumentary award went to director Evaldo Mocarzel for his study of squattersin his home city of Sao Paulo: On The Fringes OfSao Paolo: Squatting. The best short prize was awarded to Caroline Leonefor Joyce.

Meanwhile,awards voted for by the public went to director Cao Hamburger for his feature The Year My Parents Went on Vacation(best feature), documentary director Decio Matos Jr for Fabricating Tom Ze(best documentary). Mauro Shampoo wasawarded best short, and was selected best in its category in the awardspresented by the Association of Brazilian Documentary and Short Film Makers(ABD&C), Rio de Janeiro.

Furtherawards presented by ABD&C went to Accidentby Cao Guimaraes and Pablo Lobato (best documentary), The Caparao Guerrilla byFlavio Frederico (special honour). Simplecio Neto and Marcia Derraik received aspecial mention for their documentary StraightOf The Point.

The event,sponsored by the City Of Rio, the Secretary of Culture, Riofilme and Petrobrassaw a 10% increase in audience figures over last year. More than 250,000spectators attended the 300-plus films screened in the festival programme.Delegate figures also rose, with more than 400 international industry visitorsto the festival gathering alongside over 1,000 representatives of the Braziliancinema business.

FullAwards:

PremiereBrazil Official jury

Jury:Nelson Pereira dos Santos(president), Christiane Torloni (actress), Marcelo Piñero (director), RenataMagalhães (producer) and Christian Jeune (Cannes Festival).

BestFiction Feature: O ceu de Suely(Suely in the Sky), by Karim Aïnouz

BestDocumentary Feature: À margem do concreto(On the Fringes of São Paulo: Squatting), by Edvaldo Mocarzel

BestDirector: Karim Aïnouz, (O ceu de Suely/ Suely in the Sky)

BestActor: Selton Mello (O cheiro do ralo/ Drained) and Sidney Santiago (Os dozetrabalhos / The Twelve Labours)

BestActress: Hermilla Guedes (O Ceu de Suely/ Suely in the Sky)

BestShort: Joyce, by Caroline Leone

SpecialJury Prize: O Cheiro do Ralo(Drained), by Heitor Dhalia

AudienceAwards

BestFiction Feature: O ano em que meus paissairam de ferias (The Year MyParents Went On Vacation), by Cao Hamburger

BestDocumentary Feature: Fabricando Tom Ze (Fabricating Tom Ze) by Decio Mattos Jr

BestShort: Mauro Shampoo (Mauro Shampoo -Soccer Player, Hairdresser and Macho) by Paulo Henrique Fontenelle and LeonardoCunha

Note:Cinemark Award

Audienceawards carry with them prize values, provided by Cinemark Group, as

follows: Best Documentary Feature: $4,630 (R$10.000,00). BestFiction Feature: $9,261 (R$20.000,00)

FIPRESCIJury Prize

BestLatin American Feature: O Cheiro do Ralo(Drained), by Heitor Dhalia

ABD&CPrize (Brasilian Association of documentarists and short filmakers - Rio de Janeiro)

BestShort: Mauro Shampoo (Mauro Shampoo -Soccer Player, Hairdresser and Macho), by Paulo Henrique Fontenelle andLeonardo Cunha

BestDocumentary Feature: Acidente(Accident), by Cao Guimarães and Pablo Lobato

SpecialHonour: Caparao (The CaparaoGuerrilla), by Flávio Frederico

SpecialMention: Onde a Coruja Dorme(Straight of The Point), by Simplecio Neto and Márcia Derraik