Greek period drama, “Little England” (Mikra Anglia) won the Golden Goblet Award for Best Film at the 17th Shanghai International Film Festival. The Best Director Award was also secured by the movie’s 73-year-old director Pantelis Voulgaris, whereas Penelope Tsilika added the Best Actress category to the movie’s haul of prizes.

The movie is based on Ioanna Karystiani’s best-selling book and the Mrs. Karystiani herself excquisitely adapted the novel in a screenplay for her husband, Mr. Voulgaris (of “Brides” fame). The movie is set on the Greek island of Andros in the 1930s when it was a breeding ground for sailors. Their women – mothers, daughters, wives, lovers – had to adjust their own lives to cater to the men’s absence and had to deal with loneliness, the joys of brief homecoming and even tragedies.

Ms. Tsilika depicts a young woman in love with a sailor and is just one of a great cast of actors that create an almost flawless masterpiece.

Before handing over the award in the Best Film category, Gong Li, who chaired the jury, said: “To me, a successful film festival does not use money as a standard to judge works of art. Here we are not bound by the demands of the box office or subject to the pressures of public opinion. Here, as filmmakers we are given freedom and treated with respect and equality.”

Mr. Voulgaris and Ms Tsilika accepted their prizes in person.

The 17th Shanghai festival was held on June 14-22 and 15 films participated in the official competition section.