The jury led by Australian actress Cate Blanchett gave two runner-up Silver Lion awards, one to Mexican director Michel Franco's thriller New Order and the other to Japanese historic drama Wife of a Spy, by Kiyoshi Kurosawa.

Veteran Russian director Andrei Konchalovsky was also awarded a special jury prize for Dear Comrades!, a film about the 1962 massacre of striking workers in Novocherkassk which had been tipped as a front-runner for the top prize.

British actress Vanessa Kirby, who was in Venice with two films, won the best actress award for her performance as a woman reeling from the grief of losing her newborn daughter during a home birth in Pieces of a Woman.

The best actor prize went to Italy's Pierfrancesco Favino.

A strict safety protocol was put in place for the festival, including the wearing of face masks when watching films and leaving empty about half the seats in theatres.

Due to travel restrictions, few Hollywood celebrities made the trip to the world's oldest film festival, which is regarded as a showcase for Oscar contenders as awards season approaches.

Reuters