European Film Awards 2009

By Maddalena Dottori
15/12/2009

Michael Haneke´s The White Ribbon triumphed at the 22^nd edition of the European Film Awards, where it scooped three major trophies.

Competing against Danny Boyle´s global hit Slumdog Millionare and Andrea Arnold´s Fish Tank in the Best Film category, the German pre-war drama (original title Das Weisse Band) won the coveted European Film, European Director and European Screenwriter awards at the ceremony held in Munich last Saturday.

Shot entirely in black and white, The White Ribbon - the Palm d´Or winner at the last Cannes Film Festival - examines the roots of fascism in pre-World War 1 Germany, chronicling a series of  mysterious and sordid accidents taking place in a rural village ruled by a feudal baron in 1913.

New-comer Tahar Rahim won Best Actor for his portrayal of an illiterate youth sent to jail for assaulting cops in Jacques Audiard´s A Prophet, which also scooped an award for sound design.

The Best Actress award was handed to Kate Winslet for her performance in The Reader, where she played the part of a former guard in a Nazi concentration camp embarking in an affair with a younger boy.  The British actress has already won various awards - including an Oscar, a BAFTA and a Golden Globe - for her role in the film.

Danny Boyle walked away with the People´s Choice Award for his Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire, while cameraman Anthony Dod Mantle won the Best Cinematography prize for his work in both Slumdog Millionaire and Antichrist.


For the complete list of European Film Awards 2009 winners go to:
Film Awards 2009 winners