SAN SEBASTIAN: Turkish director Yesim Ustaoglu’s “Pandora’s Box” Saturday won the Golden Shell award for best film at the San Sebastian film festival.

One of the film’s stars, 90-year-old French actress Tsilla Chelton, also jointly won the best actress award, along with American Melissa Leo for her role in “Frozen River,” a film that had been among the favorites to win the top award.

The jury, chaired by American director Jonathan Demme, gave the best director award to Britain’s Michael Winterbottom for his film “Genova,” a ghost story starring Colin Firth.

Argentine Oscar Martinez won the award for best actor for his role in the film “El Nido Vacio.” “Pandora’s Box,” a surprise choice for the Golden Shell, recounts the story of two sisters and a brother in their 40s forced by their mother’s disappearance to rediscover each other.

The siblings, who live in Istanbul, unite to search for their missing mother, but old tensions emerge during their journey and they realise that they know little about each other.

A total of 15 films were in competition for the award at the festival in the port city in Spain’s northern Basque Country.—AFP