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NEW YORK - The Clint Eastwood film Letters from Iwo Jima has been named best film of 2006 by the National Board of Review in the first major award of the Oscar season.
Helen Mirren was named best actress for her portrayal of Britain's ruling Queen Elizabeth in The Queen, while Forest Whitaker won the best actor award for his role in The Last King Of Scotland.
The awards were voted on by 120 film professionals who viewed more than 250 movies and can be an indicator of what to expect for the world's top film honors, the Academy Awards, held in February.
Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima - the story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War 2 - is not due to be released in US cinemas until December 20. It is the second Eastwood film to be released this year about the 1945 fight for the tiny Pacific island following Flags of Our Fathers.
Martin Scorsese was named best director for his crime thriller The Departed, while Spanish director Pedro Almodovar's Volver, starring Penelope Cruz, won best foreign film.
Best documentary went to An Inconvenient Truth, featuring former US Vice-President Al Gore and his concerns about global warming.
The winners:
Best Film: Letters from Iwo Jima
Best Director: Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Best Actor: Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
Best Actress: Helen Mirren, The Queen
Best Supporting Actor: Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond
Best Supporting Actress: Catherine O'Hara, For Your Consideration
Best Foreign Film: Volver
Best Documentary: An Inconvenient Truth
Best Animated Feature: Cars
Best Ensemble Cast: The Departed
Breakthrough Performance by an Actor: Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
Breakthrough Performance by an Actress: Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls and Rinko Kikuchi, Babel
Best Directorial Debut: Jason Reitman, Thank You for Smoking
Best Original Screenplay: Zach Helm, Stranger Than Fiction
Best Adapted Screenplay: Ron Nyswaner, The Painted Veil
- REUTERS
