MUMBAI: At a grand prize gala in Stockholm as the XXI Stockholm International Film Festival came to an end, American director Debra Granik received the 7-kg Bronze Horse Prize for this year's Best Film Winter's Bone.

"Through her heroine, the director paints an original portrait of a matriarchy who, by turns, warns, punishes, and ultimately offers an unlikely deliverance. The story and performances worked together to realize an uncompromised vision," a jury of the film festival said in a statement.

Winter's Bone won the Best Actress Award for Jennifer Lawrence for her performance in the film while the Best Actor Prize went to George Pistereanu for his performance in the Romanian-Swedish film If I want to whistle, I whistle.

The 34-year-old Vietnamese director Phang Dang Di won the Best First Feature and best cinematography award for his best debut film Bi, Do not Be Afraid that revolves around a troubled generation of accommodation in Hanoi.

Earlier during the festival that began on 17 November, the Stockholm Visionary Award was presented to director Gus Van Sant while the Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Harriet Andersson.

The Stockholm International Film Festival, that was launched in 1990 with just 45 films is today one of the leading competitive film festivals in Europe with 180 films.