MEDIA films scoop 18 awards in one weekend

MEDIA-funded films swept the boards at the ceremonies for the 2011 European Film Awards (EFAs) and the British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs), which took place on 3 December and 4 December respectively.

Lars von Trier's Melancholia - which was released in 20 European countries with €600,000 of MEDIA support - was a clear winner of European Film Awards, taking European Film, European Cinematographer and European Production Designer awards, at the ceremony on 3 December 2011 in Berlin, Germany. European Director award went to Susanne Bier for In a Better World. Tilda Swinton took European Actress for We Need to Talk About Kevin and European Screenwriter prize went to Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne for The Kid with a Bike. The King's Speech, which was distributed accross Europe with over €1 million of MEDIA grants, took the EFA prizes for European Actor (Colin Firth), European Editor (Tariq Anwar) and also won The People's Choice Award, which is voted for online by film fans across Europe.

Meanwhile, Tyrannosaur took three coveted prizes at the BIFAs: Best British Independent Film, The Douglas Hickox Award for Best Debut Director (Paddy Considine) and Best Actress (Olivia Colman) at the BIFAs ceremony in London on 4 December. The award for Best Director went to Lynne Ramsay for We Need To Talk About Kevin and the Best Actor award went to Michael Fassbender for his performance in Shame. Richard Ayoade won the Best Screenplay award for Submarine, and the prize for Best Technical Achievement was given to Maria Djurkovic for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, directed by Tomas Alfredson. All above British films have received support from MEDIA distribution schemes, helping them boost their audiences on the continent.

For the full list of winners, visit the European Film Awards and British Independent Film Awards websites.

Publication date: 05 Dec 2011