Simone Tang (left) of Aching Hearts and Sverrir Gudnason of Original won best actress and actor awards respectively at the closing of the 12th Shanghai International Film Festival on June 21 (DONG JUN)

Top award at the 12th Shanghai International Film Festival went to Original, a Danish-Swedish co-production and a feature debut for its young directors.

The Golden Goblet winner was announced as the festival came to a close at the Shanghai Grand Theater last night.

Antonio Tublen and Alexander Brondsted's movie centers on the hilarious adventures of a paranoid young man who finally transforms himself.

Sverrir Gudnason, who plays the hero, was named best actor.

"I feel so good," said Gudnason. "This is the best thing that anybody has given to me and will keep me going on."

Danish actress Simone Tang, who depicts the bittersweet growth of a high school student in the movie Aching Hearts, won the best actress award.

Czech film maker Julius Sevcik took the best director award for his suspense thriller Normal. "It is a big honor to me," said Sevcik. "My favorite director is Wong Kar-wai. This award, actually, is for all the crew who worked on this film."

The best screenplay award went to Italian scriptwriters Fabio Bonifacci and Giulio Manfredonia for We Can Do That, a moving story about a group of former mental patients.

South Korean composer Roh Hyoung-woo won the best music award for his score for Rough Cut.

Best cinematography went to French cameramen Nicolas Guicheteau and Hans Meier, who shot the French film Nowhere Promised Land.

Chinese film The Search received the Jury Grand Prix while another domestic entry Empire of Silver was given the Jury Award.

This year 16 films from more than 10 countries were vying for awards during the nine-day event.

At the closing ceremony, the festival honored American composer Quincy Jones with a Lifetime Achievement award. Jones has written scores for 33 films and plans to cooperate with Chinese musician Tan Dun on a theme song for the 2010 Shanghai World Expo.

French actress Isabelle Huppert was honored with an Outstanding Artistic Achievement award.

Hollywood thriller Angels & Demons, starring Tom Hanks and Ewan McGregor, was the closing film.

(Shanghai Daily June 22, 2009)