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The Queen tipped for Venice prize Mirren is crowned Queen at Venice
(about 8 hours later)
Dame Helen Mirren's new film The Queen, about the aftermath of Princess Diana's death, is among the favourites to win the Venice Film Festival's top prize. Dame Helen Mirren has been named best actress at the Venice Film Festival for her role as Queen Elizabeth II.
Stephen Frears' drama, which stars Dame Helen as the monarch, has received wide acclaim at the festival. The Golden Lion award will be handed out later. Dame Helen has won high praise for her performance in The Queen, about the aftermath of Princess Diana's death.
In all, 21 films are competing for the award, which went to cowboy drama Brokeback Mountain last year. Ben Affleck was named best actor for his role in Hollywoodland, in which he portrays late actor George Reeves, who played Superman on TV in the 1950s.
The winning film will be picked by a jury led by actress Catherine Deneuve. Chinese film Still Life, about the effects of the Three Gorges Dam, took the Golden Lion prize for best film.
US dramas In all, 21 films competed for the awards, with last year's Golden Lion going to cowboy drama Brokeback Mountain.
The Queen is the only British film in competition at Venice. I'm just a bit of the DNA of the film Dame Helen Mirren
As well as Dame Helen - who has been tipped for an Oscar nomination for her performance - it features James Cromwell as Prince Philip and Michael Sheen as UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Dame Helen said: "I'm just a bit of the DNA of the film." She added that he movie's mother was screenwriter Peter Morgan and its father was director Stephen Frears.
Audiences were left perplexed by Darren Aronofsky's The FountainThe film portrays the royal family's struggle to come to terms with the public reaction to the princess's death in 1997, including demands for a show of mourning from the monarchy. The Queen, which was the only British film in competition at Venice, also picked up best screenplay.
But a number of US films have been well-received at Venice this year and could well be in the running. Collecting his prize, Mr Morgan joked: "Thank you Tony Blair for timing your political disintegration with the release of our film."
They include Infamous, the second film to examine the life of writer Truman Capote, and The Black Dahlia, starring Scarlett Johansson. As well as Dame Helen - who has been tipped for an Oscar nomination - The Queen features James Cromwell as Prince Philip and Michael Sheen as UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Also praised have been Bobby, an ensemble film based around the assassination of Robert Kennedy, and Alfonso Cuaron's Children Of Men - a futuristic drama set in a world where women can no longer get pregnant. The film portrays the royal family's struggle to come to terms with the public reaction to the princess's death in 1997, including demands for a show of mourning from the monarchy.
Grand gala Late entry
However, critics have been left cold by some of the more highbrow efforts in the competition. Before Saturday's ceremony, The Queen was thought to be among the favourites for the Golden Lion.
These have included Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain - a love story set over 1,000 years - and Quei Loro Incontri, a French-Italian film featuring philosophical dialogues between classic Greek characters. Still Life, directed by Jia Zhang-Ke, was a late entry to the festival's line-up.
Critics began walking out just 10 minutes into Quei Loro Incontri, although a group of fans applauded at the end. It tells the story of ordinary people, such as a miner and a nurse, who return to a rural village during the upheaval caused by the dam's construction.
It was in contrast to the last film in competition, Italian movie Nuovomondo, which was warmly received when shown on Friday. The best director award went to Frenchman Alain Resnais for Private Fears in Public Places, while the special jury prize went to Daratt, Chad's first entry in the competition.
Nuovomondo, which is titled The Golden Door in English, focuses on a Sicilian emigrant, Salvatore, and his family's journey to New York in the early 1900s. The winners were picked by a jury led by actress Catherine Deneuve.
"What I see in Salvatore's family's journey is the epochal passage of ancient man to modern," the film's director Emanuele Crialese said.
The Golden Lion prize will be awarded as part of a grand gala to celebrate the festival as it closes on Saturday night.