The Moscow International Film Festival closed its doors July 2, 2006. This year’s Grand Prix went to the Swedish film “About Sara” by Othman Karim, while the French director Bertrand Blier was voted Best Director for “How Much Do You Love Me?”
The jury at this 28th festival was led by the Polish filmmaker Andrzej Zulawski.
"About Sara" is the first feature-length drama by the young filmmaker Othman Karim. The film was awarded the Golden St. George, while the Special Jury Prize, the Silver St. George, went to "Driving Lessons" by the British director Jeremy Brock, for whom this is also a directing debut after making a name for himself as a screenwriter.
The award for Best Director was given to Bertrand Blier, well-known for his provocative films such as "Les Valseuses" (“Going Places”) "Trop belle pour toi.." (“Too Beautiful for You”), while the German director Jens Harzer was voted Best Actor for his role in "Running on Empty" (“Der Lebensversicherer”) by the Turkish filmmaker Bulent Akinci, and Julie Walters waltzed off with the award for Best Actress for her performance in "Driving Lessons."
The French star Gérard Depardieu was honored with the Stanislavski Award for his entire movie career. In 2004, this award was given to the American actress Meryl Streep.
