The film to beat at the European Film Awards, "Melanchola," took home the top prize Saturday in Berlin. Lars von Trier was not present when his film won, as the eccentric director has stopped making public statements since his series of gaffes earlier this year.
"Melancholia"'s frontrunner status was hinted at during the show, according to The Hollywood Reporter. At one point, host Anke Engelke walked on stage in a wedding dress in slow motion, alluding to Kirsten Dunst's character in the film. "Melancholia" was up for eight awards but went home with three, also taking cinematography (Manuel Alberto Claro) and production design (Jette Lehmann). The film came up short a win for director, which went to Susanne Bier for "In a Better World," the best foreign film winner at the Oscars earlier this year.
Other notable wins included best actor, going to Colin Firth for "The King's Speech." The film proved to be a crowd favorite on both sides of the sea, also gaining the People's Choice Award at the European Film Awards. Tilda Swinton took best actress for "We Need to Talk About Kevin," and British director Stephen Frears was awarded the lifetime achievement award.
Check out photos from the night, and see the full list of winners below.
EUROPEAN FILM 2011:MELANCHOLIA, Denmark/Sweden/France/GermanyWRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Lars von TrierPRODUCED BY: Meta Louise Foldager & Louise Vesth
EUROPEAN DIRECTOR 2011:Susanne Bier for HÆVNEN (In a Better World)
EUROPEAN ACTRESS 2011:Tilda Swinton in WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
EUROPEAN ACTOR 2011:Colin Firth in THE KING’S SPEECH
EUROPEAN SCREENWRITER 2011:Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne for LE GAMIN AU VELO (The Kid with a Bike)
CARLO DI PALMA EUROPEAN CINEMATOGRAPHER AWARD 2011:Manuel Alberto Claro for MELANCHOLIA
EUROPEAN EDITOR 2011:Tariq Anwar for THE KING’S SPEECH
EUROPEAN PRODUCTION DESIGNER 2011:Jette Lehmann for MELANCHOLIA
EUROPEAN COMPOSER 2011:Ludovic Bource for THE ARTIST
EUROPEAN DISCOVERY 2011:ADEM (Oxygen) by Hans Van Nuffel, Belgium/theNetherlands
EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY DOCUMENTARY 2011 - Prix ARTE:PINA by Wim Wenders, Germany
EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY ANIMATED FEATURE FILM 2011:CHICO & RITA by Tono Errando, Javier Mariscal & Fernando Trueba
EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY SHORT FILM 2011:THE WHOLLY FAMILY by Terry Gilliam, Italy
EUROPEAN CO-PRODUCTION AWARD 2011 - Prix EURIMAGES:Mariela Besuievsky, Spain
EUROPEAN ACHIEVEMENT IN WORLD CINEMA 2011:Mads Mikkelsen, Denmark
EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD:Stephen Frears, UK
EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY SPECIAL HONORARY AWARD:Michel Piccoli, France
THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD 2011:THE KING’S SPEECH by Tom Hooper, UK