05-12-2010

Polish talent dominates European Film Academy Awards

By Anna Franklin

    TALLINN: Ghost Writer directed by Polish born director Roman Polanski picked up a total of six awards at the 23rd European Film Awards in Tallinn on Saturday night including best director and best film while young Polish newcomer Katarzyna Klimkiewicz won the best short film prize for her film Hanoi-Warszawa produced Kino Polska TV.

    Polanski did not attend the ceremony but spoke to the audience throughout most of the evening via a broadcast link to him home. Ghost Writer also picked up the prizes for best script, production design and composer. The film's star Ewan McGregor received the prix for best actor.

    The European Co-production award- Prix Eurimages went to Turkish producer Zeynep Ozbatur Atakan who heads her own production company Zeyno Film. She is best known for her work as the producer of Nuri Bilge Ceylan's films Climates, Three Monkeys and Once Upon a Time in Anatolia.

    Klimkiewicz is one of the new crop of rising young talent in Poland. Her script for Hanoi- Warszawa was produced by Kino Polska TV (www.kinopolska.pl) after winning the broadcaster's script competition. It was co-produced by Mastershot Studio (www.mastershotstudio.pl), the Film 1.2 Association, the Polish Filmmakers Association (www.sfp.pl), and the Andrzej Munk - The Young and Film -Studio (www.studiomunka.pl).

    More than 2300 members of the European Film Academy, filmmakers from across Europe, voted to select this year's award winners.

    THE 23rd EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS
    The Winners

    EUROPEAN FILM 2010
    THE GHOST WRITER, France/Germany/UK
    directed by Roman Polanski
    written by Robert Harris & Roman Polanski
    produced by Robert Benmussa, Alain Sarde & Roman Polanski

    EUROPEAN DIRECTOR 2010
    Roman Polanski for THE GHOST WRITER

    EUROPEAN ACTRESS 2010
    Sylvie Testud in LOURDES

    EUROPEAN ACTOR 2010
    Ewan McGregor in THE GHOST WRITER

    EUROPEAN SCREENWRITER 2010
    Robert Harris & Roman Polanski for THE GHOST WRITER

    CARLO DI PALMA EUROPEAN CINEMATOGRAPHER AWARD 2010
    Giora Bejach for LEBANON

    EUROPEAN EDITOR 2010
    Luc Barnier & Marion Monnier for CARLOS

    EUROPEAN PRODUCTION DESIGNER 2010
    Albrecht Konrad for THE GHOST WRITER

    EUROPEAN COMPOSER 2010
    Alexandre Desplat for THE GHOST WRITER

    EUROPEAN DISCOVERY 2010- Prix FIPRESCI
    LEBANON, Israel/Germany/France
    written & directed by Samuel Maoz
    produced by Moshe Edery, Leon Edery, David Silber, Uri Sabag, Einat
    Bickel, Benjamina Mirnik & Illan Girard

    EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY DOCUMENTARY - Prix ARTE 2010
    NOSTALGIA DE LA LUZ (Nostalgia for the Light), France/Germany/Chile
    Directed by Patricio Guzmán

    EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY ANIMATED FEATURE FILM 2010
    THE ILLUSIONIST by Sylvain Chomet

    EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY SHORT FILM 2010
    HANOI - WARSZAWA (Hanoi - Warsaw), Poland
    by Katarzyna Klimkiewicz

    EUROPEAN CO-PRODUCTION AWARD - Prix EURIMAGES 2010
    Zeynep Özbatur Atakan, producer

    EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
    Bruno Ganz, actor

    EUROPEAN ACHIEVEMENT IN WORLD CINEMA 2010
    Gabriel Yared, composer

    PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD for Best European Film 2010
    MR. NOBODY
    written and directed by Jaco van Dormael
    produced by Philippe Godeau