Iranian director Asghar Farhadi's "Nader and Simin: A Separation" won the Golden Bear for best picture at the Berlin film festival on Saturday, becoming the first Iranian picture to win the coveted award.

Farhadi's drama portraying a marriage in crisis tells a family which is pitted against another in a gripping legal tussle which highlights the gap between middle class "intellectuals" and poorer, traditional Iranians for whom religious beliefs and honor tend to be more important.

Hungarian director Bela Tarr's black-and-white "The Turin Horse" won the runner-up film prize.

Agencies