LOCARNO: The US film “Nine Lives” by director Rodrigo Garcia, a tale of key turning points for nine different women played by famous Hollywood actresses, won the top prize, the Golden Leopard, at the 58th film festival in the Swiss city of Locarno. Garcia’s film treats with delicacy the portrayal of women’s lives as the 46-year-old director did in his 2000 work.

“The directing of the film is extraordinary,” said Italian cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, who headed the international festival’s jury, praising the technical virtuosity of the winning film, which in the end shows the crossed destinies of the nine heroines. Garcia, born in Columbia and raised in Mexico City before moving to the US, also brought together a star-studded cast of actresses, including Glenn Close, Holly Hunter, Sissy Spacek, Robin Wright Penn, Kathy Baker, Amy Brenneman, Elpidia Carrilo, Lisa Gay Hamilton and Armanda Seyfried. The ensemble of actresses won a collective award for best female performance.