(China's director Jia Zhang-ke poses with the Golden Lion for Best Film. A poetic film about the effects of China's Three Gorges Dam on the lives of ordinary people, "Still Life" by Jia, has won the Golden Lion for Best Film at the 63rd Venice Film Festival, the jury announced at a gala finale. Photo: AFP)

Chinese film "Still Life" (Sanxia Haoren) directed by Jia Zhangke has been awarded the Golden Lion for Best Film at the 63rd Venice Film Festival which concluded on Saturday.

French director Alain Resnais was awarded the Silver Lion for Best Director for "Coeurs". British actress Helen Mirren won the Best Actress award for her performance in Stephen Frears' "The Queen," while American star Ben Affleck's role in "Hollywoodland" brought him the Best Actor award.

A second film by Zhang-ke, "Dong" also featured in the festival's Horizons section.

A total of 7 Chinese films, among which four from the Chinese mainland, two from Hong Kong and one from Taiwan, took part in competition at the Venice festival.

Another Chinese director, Liu Jie, took the Best Film prize in the Horizons fiction section for "Courthouse on Horseback" (Mabei Shang de Fating).