Guillermo del Toro’s ‘The Shape of Water’ has won the Golden Lion award for best film at this year’s Venice Film Festival. <br /><br />Accepting the top prize from jury president Annette Bening, the Mexican director described his dark fairy tale as a portrait of hope – “as opposed to now,” he said. <br /><br />The film stars Sally Hawkins and Michael Shannon and tells the story of a mute cleaning lady who falls in love with an aquatic creature. <br /><br />The runner-up Grand Jury prize went to family tragedy “Foxtrot” by Israel’s Samuel Maoz.<br /><br />Xavier Legrand of France won best director for his divorce drama “Custody.” He also took home the Lion of the Future award for a debut film. <br /><br />Charlotte Rampling received the best actress award for her performance in the Italian film “Hannah.” This film is the first chapter in an Italian-Belgian-French trilogy centring on women.<br /><br />Palestinian Kamel El Basha won best actor prize for his role in “The Insult.”<br /><br />The awards ceremony wraps up a 10-day movie marathon in which 21 international films competed for honours at the world’s oldest film festival.<br />
