Variety_4 Months' tops Euro Film Awards (December 1)

01.12.2007

Palm d'Or winner nabs picture, director

Romanian helmer Cristian Mungiu was the major victor at the 20th European Film Awards on Saturday, taking both the best picture and director prizes for his Palm d'Or winner "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days." …..

The ceremony, hosted by German thesp Jan Josef Liefers and France's Emmanuelle Beart in Berlin's cavernous Arena venue, celebrated its 20th anniversary with a number of cinematic asides down memory lane as well as bombastic and rocking musical accompaniment by Finish rock institution the Leningrad Cowboys, which made their first appearance in Aki Kaurismaeki's 1989 musical comedy "Leningrad Cowboys Go America."

Opening the ceremony, German culture minister Bernd Neumann praised the state of European film and plugged the country's increasingly significant $80 million-a-year Federal Film Fund, stressing that it was accessible to European filmmakers: "Use our fund and deliver great European films."

The financing vehicle has attracted a number of international productions to Germany. In addition to Hollywood films such as Bryan Singer's "Valkyrie" and the Wachowski's "Speed Racer," it has also bankrolled European movies such as Ole Christian Madsen's upcoming Danish World War II drama "Flame & Citron" starring Mads Mikkelsen.

The European Film Awards, hosted in Berlin every other year, will take place in Copenhagen in 2008 and in Tallinn, Estonia, in 2010. The ceremony is produced by the European Film Academy and in cooperation with German pubcaster ZDF and European culture channel ARTE. The show is set to air in a total of 61 territories around the globe.

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