The oldest film festival in the world has ended and big surprises were in store for the viewers, the critics and for the stars of the 22 competing films. One thing's for sure: the winners of the final night of the gala, with their Golden Lion statuettes, are one step closer to an Oscar nomination.

Helen Mirren took home the 'Best Actress' award for her portrayal of the Queen in the movie bearing the same title. But most people were already expecting this, as Stephen Frear's 'The Queen', one of the favorites since before the beginning of the competition.

The biggest surprise was, however, that of Ben Affleck getting the 'Best Actor' distinction, for his part as George Reeves, the first actor to give life to Superman, in the drama 'Hollywoodland'. Although his performance was far above the ordinary - which is quite a normal thing, considering that Ben is the most suitable actor to be able to identify himself with a disgraced movie star - many believed that maybe the members of the jury went a bit too far when they handed him the award.

And yet, there was much more to come. While the favorites of the festival for the top prize were considered to be 'The Queen', 'The Golden Door' and Emilio Estevez's 'Bobby', it was a last minute entry that swept aside all competition. Jia Zhang-Ke's drama, 'Still Life', was nominated by the French actress Catherine Deneuve (the head of the jury) as a 'very special' one, thus perfect for the 'Best Film' award.

Critics were a little put off when the names of the big winners were uttered, saying that the 2006 edition was obviously nothing like the previous one. But they still have something to be happy about, as the Rome Film Festival is about to begin and maybe, this time, they will get the chance to see their favorites win.