US film "Juno" wins top award at Rome festival

ROME, Oct 27 (Reuters) ''Juno'', the story of an American teenager dealing with an unplanned pregnancy, today won the best film award at the Rome film festival.

The film is directed by 30-year-old Canadian-born Jason Reitman, best known for his 2005 satirical comedy ''Thank You For Smoking'', which won a string of awards and was nominated for two Golden Globes.

Critics praised the performance by actress Ellen Page as Juno MacGuff, the quick-witted young woman plunged into adulthood who tries to find a suitable set of parents to adopt her unborn child.

''The film hit the members of the jury with emotion,'' organisers said.

The festival's jury, chaired this year by Bosnian director Danis Tanovic, is made up of 50 movie-goers.

Reuters SG GC1822