SOUNDBITE: Director and Venice Film Festival Jury President, Michael Mann, saying (English):<br/> <br />"It's my great pleasure to give the Golden Lion award to Kim Ki-Duk for his picture 'Pieta'." (APPLAUSE)<br/> <br />It's allegedly taken inspiration from Michelangelo, and tells the story of a pitiless loan shark.<br/> <br />It's also uncomfortably violent to watch.<br/> <br />But after winning this year's Golden Lion award at the Venice International Film Festival, Pieta looks like it could get much more Western exposure than its director Kim Ki-Duk could have hoped for.<br/> <br />The Pieta is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus.<br/> <br />The film's violence underpins an absorbing thriller and a moving love story.<br/> <br />But Kim says it's another element that should take centre stage.<br/> <br />SOUNDBITE: Pieta Director, Kim Ki-Duk, saying (Korean):<br/> <br />"I believe in the modern society a lot of the issues and incidents arise from money, they happen because of money and money creates the necessity, the selfishness and the greed that people have. I think money is the cause of so many of the incidents we see so commonly around us. I think money itself is another character in this movie."<br/> <br />The other big winner on the night was Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master"<br/> <br />The film is loosely based on the early days of Scientology, which earned him a Silver Lion for best director<br/> <br />It also saw Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix jointly scoop the best actor award - Hoffman rushing to Italy at the last minute to accept for both of them.<br/> <br />Meanwhile Hadas Yaron was named best actress for her performance in "Fill the Void"<br/> <br />It tells the story of a young bride torn between love and her obligations to her ultra-Orthodox Jewish family.<br/> <br />With the Venice Film Festival having wrapped, all attention is now focussed on Toronto, which continues through to September 16.
