Fairytale Victory at European Film Awards

The European Film Awards are presented by the European Film Academy and are aimed at boosting the profile of European cinema.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet's romantic comedy entitled 'Amelie' cleaned the floor at the European Film Awards on Saturday in Berlin. The french film director won both the Best Film category and the Best Director awards.

Amelie is a creative fantasy that regails the adventures of a young Parisian waitress. Jeunet also won the prize for Best Cinematographer for his superb camera work and staging and was voted Best Director in the People's Choice award.

The French were seemingly on a winning streak as French actress Isabelle Huppert won Best Actress for her role in "The Piano Teacher". She portrayed the piano teacher in Michael Haneke's dark voyeuristic tale of masochism and dependency. "I've always loved being a European actress," Huppert said in seductive French accent in her acceptance speech.

"Black Box BRD", a German film by Andreas Veiel about the 1989 murder of Deutsche Bank chief Alfred Herrhausen, won the Best Documentary award. German Culture Minister Julian Nida-Rumelin praised the cultural diversity of European cinemas in his opening speech. He said that this area deserved encouragement.

Not to be outdone, the Britons didn't go home empty handed either. Better known for his portrayal of Gandhi, Ben Kingsley was given the Best Actor award for his role in the British gangster movie "Sexy Beast".

Among the 1.500 guests at the ceremony were the Italian filmmaker Nanni Moretti and British heart-throb Ewan McGregor. The French director Patrice Chereau was also there as a nominee in the Best Film category for "Intimacy".