Abortion drama Vera Drake wins Venice Golden Lion

British director Mike Leigh poses with the Golden Lion

The winners were cheered at the gala ceremony in Venice's sumptuous La Fenice opera house, but the jury's failure to recognise the Italian favourite, Gianni Amelio's Le Chiavi di Casa (The House Keys), is sure to spark controversy at home.

'It's a great honour,' said British director Leigh as he accepted the Golden Lion. 'I would like to thank most sincerely the Cannes Film Festival for rejecting this film so I could come to Venice,' he joked.

The film raises difficult questions about abortion in a world where the wealthy have access to discreet and legal abortions and the poor throw themselves on the mercy of practitioners like Drake. 'The audience must walk away with a debate and struggle with it. These things are not black and white,' Leigh said.

Staunton anchors the movie as a working mother who risks her close-knit family's love after a girl on whom she performs an abortion and is jailed.

Alejandro Amenabar's Mar Adentro (Out to Sea), the true story of a Spanish sailor who fought for 30 years for the right to die after a diving accident left him paralysed, also took home its fair share of prizes on Saturday. The latest film by the director of The Others won the Jury Grand Prix, while the best actor prize went to Spain's Javier Bardem for his portrayal of Ramon Sampedro, the quadriplegic euthanasia activist whose wry humour seduced followers.

3-iron, a poetic and beautifully filmed story about love and solitude by Kim Ki-Duk, who has been called 'Korea's Michelangelo Antonioni,' won the prize for best director.

The two young actors in the Italian film Lavorare conz Lentezza (Working Slowly) shared the prize for best young actor or actress.