"City of Life and Death" director Lu Chuan (left), accompanied by cast member Qin Lan, accepts the Golden Shell award at the San Sebastian Film Festival in San Sebastian, Spain on September 26, 2009. [Ander Gillenea/Getty Images/CFP]

Chinese director Lu Chuan's film "City of Life and Death", a heart-wrenching reprise of the Nanjing Massacre during World War Two, has won the top prize at Spain's San Sebastian Film Festival.

The jury, led by French director Laurent Cantet, on Saturday presented the Golden Shell award to Lu, and praised his focus on "the minute ethical dilemmas demanded by surviving in wartime."

The black-and-white film also garnered the jury prize for best cinematography, for the efforts of Cao Yu.

The Nanjing Massacre, which occurred in late 1937 when invading Japanese troops occupied Nanjing (then Nanking) and slaughtered more than 300,000 lives, has been recounted many times in film, print and television. One famous version is Chinese-American author Iris Chang's best-seller "The Rape of Nanking".

Director Lu told the story for the first time from the perspective of a Japanese soldier. "The film alternates Japanese and Chinese points of view to brush a compelling portrait of day-to-day life in a devastated city," according to the jury.

The annual San Sebastian Film Festival is one of the best-known film festivals in Europe. Other award winners this year included Lola Duenas, who was named best actress for the Spanish film "Yo Tambien", and Pablo Pineda from the same film, who was awarded best actor.

(CRI September 27, 2009)