Last updated (GMT/UTC): 16.01.2012 06:39
The Iranian film "A Separation" has won the best foreign language film award at the Golden Globe prizes in Los Angeles.
The Golden Globes are ranked second in prestige after the Oscars in the annual Hollywood film awards.
“A Separation,” from writer-director Asghar Farhadi, tells the story of a married couple facing the dilemma of whether to leave Iran.
It beat out rival films from China, Belgium and Spain, as well as "In the Land of Blood and Honey," the bilingual film about the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina directed by U.S. actress Angelina Jolie.
Farhadi, speaking after the ceremony to journalists in Beverly Hills, said that Iranians and Americans have "no issues with each other."
"In my opinion, the people [of the two countries] have no issues with each other. The people of Iran, as I mentioned earlier, are very peace-loving," he said. "I hope not just for Iran but all over the world that no one experiences war, and war becomes something that we discuss as something from the past."
“A Separation” earlier won the Golden Bear for best film at the Berlin Film Festival.
In the other Golden Globe prizes, "The Descendants" won for best drama, "The Artist" for best musical or comedy, Martin Scorsese won best director for "Hugo," George Clooney won best actor for "The Descendants," and Meryl Streep got best actress for "The Iron Lady."
compiled from agency reports