The festival, which featured 97 feature-length and 17 short films from 43 countries, saw another successful year, with 43,000 tickets sold and 44 screenings sold out.

Columbus, a family drama set in the modernist architectural environment of Ohio's capital, won the Kingfisher prize "as a beautifully performed, unapologetically intellectual, quietly profound tribute to the consoling and connecting power of art - in this case architecture".

The jury, which picked Kogonada's debut feature unanimously, chose Arabia, an "honest portrait of the dislocating effects of economic instability on Brazil's casual labourers - and indeed the workers of the world", for the special mention honour. The film was directed by Joao Dumans and Affonso Uchoa.

The audience award went to Heartstone by Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson, who told the STA he was happy that people have been touched by the coming-of-age story set in a small community in Island.

The FIPRESCI prize, presented by the International Federation of Film Critics, went to the feature debut of Bosnian director Alen Drljić, Men Don't Cry, which deals with the persisting traumas of the Yugoslav war.

Men Don't Cry is a Slovenian minority co-production and also includes Slovenian actors, among them Sebastian Cavazza, who said at the awards ceremony that the film "confirmed our society needs to face the traumas of the past if it is to make a step forward.

Picked as the best short film was I'm Not from Here by Maite Alberdi and Giedre Žickyte, while the youth jury honoured the opening film of this year's festival, the gay-themed Call Me By Your Name by Italian director Luca Guadagnino.

LIFFe selector Simon Pepek assessed that this year's edition had been a success, although room of improvement always existed.

He noted that the programme had been slightly more demanding, since "this year's film yield had not been one with much joyful or optimistic content".

Popek added that some films must have come as a shock to unprepared of first-time LIFFe visitors, among them The Killing of a Sacred Deer by Yorgos Lanthimos and You Were Never Really Here by Lynne Ramsay.

While the ceremony closing the 11-day festival was held on Saturday, screenings are also scheduled today. On Monday, special screenings will be organised of Columbus and Heartstone.