Awards to be announced at the close of the venice film festival

The Venice Film Festival draws to a close on Saturday evening with the highly anticipated announcement of the awards.

US director Alexander Payne heads the competition jury. A total of 21 films are in the running for the coveted Golden Lion.

Several other awards will also be presented, for example for Best Acting Performance and Best Director.

Last year, "The Room Next Door" by Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar won the Golden Lion.

Among the critics' favourites this year are the films "The Voice of Hind Rajab" by Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania, "A House of Dynamite" by US director Kathryn Bigelow and "No Other Choice" by Park Chan Wook of South Korea.

"The Voice of Hind Rajab" has received a lot of attention. In it, Kaouther Ben Hania tells the story of the last moments in the life of a Palestinian girl named Hind Rajab in the Gaza Strip, who died at the age of 5.

The film received exceptionally long applause after the premiere and mostly very positive reviews.