Irish film 'Freeze Frame' has won the top award at the international Taormina Film Festival in Italy.
Director John Simpson received the Grand Jury BNL Award for the Best First Film, taking home prize winnings of €25,000 to be invested in the development of a second film.
A dark and original thriller, 'Freeze Frame' stars Lee Evans, Sean McGinley and Ian McNeice.
It was chosen as the winner by an international jury - actress Iris Peynado, director Paolo Sorrentino, director of the International Istanbul Festival Hülia Uçansu, fashion designer and cinema lover Emanuel Ungaro - under the chairmanship of German director Michael Verhoeven.
'Freeze Frame' opened in Ireland last Friday.
