Georgian filmmaker Levan Zakareishvili's Tbilisi-Tbilisi, a portrait of harsheveryday life in his nation's capital, was the surprise winner of the GoldenLily award for best film at this year's goEastFestival of Central and East European Cinema, which came to a close on Tuesdayevening in Wiesbaden.

The international jury,headed by German film historian Ulrich Gregor, gaveits award for best direction to Russian director Alexei German Jr for Garpastum (which had won the top prize at the SofiaInternational Film Festival last month) and special mentions to Cristi Puiu's The Death Of Mr Lazarescu (Romania) and Damian Kozole's LabourEquals Freedom (Slovenia).

The Croatiandirector-producer sister duo Ivona and Anita Juka received the documentary film award for their film Facing Day about three prison inmateswho escape their daily routine by participating in a performance ofShakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The film had its world premiere in Wiesbaden.

Meanwhile, the GermanFederal Foreign Office's new prize for "artistic originality which createscultural diversity" was given by the jury to Hungary's PutyiHorvath for his Bela Tarr-producedDeath Rode OutOf Persia, while the FIPRESCI Award went to City Of The Sun by Slovak director MartinSulik.

Festival directorChristine Kopf said around 8,000 festival-goers attended the festival'sprogramme of 150 films and accompanying events such as a three-day symposium onmainstream Russian cinema.