Essential Killing by Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski has won the Best Film award at the 25th International Film Festival in Mar del Plata in Argentina.

The Best Actor Award went to Vincent Gallo, who in the film portrays the character of a Taliban fighter taken prisoner by Americans for killing three US soldiers.

During his transfer through Eastern Europe, Gallo’s character escapes and embarks on a bloody fight for survival.

A few weeks ago, Essential Killing won a special jury prize and the ‘Best Actor’ Award at the Venice Festival, even though Gallo does not utter a single word for the entirety of the film.

The 72-year-old Polish director has many internationally-acclaimed films to his credit, made both in Poland and abroad, such as Walkover (1965), Barrier (1966), Le depart (1967), Deep End (1970), King, Queen, Knave (1972), The Shout (1978) and Moonlighting (1982).

In 2008, he returned to film-making after a lapse of seventeen years with his highly successful Four Nights with Anna. (mk/jb)