European Film Awards 2011: 'Melancholia' Takes Home Top Prize

The film to beat at the European Film Awards, "Melanchola," took home the top prize Saturday in Berlin. Lars von Trier was not present when his film won, as the eccentric director has stopped making public statements since his series of gaffes earlier this year.

"Melancholia"'s frontrunner status was hinted at during the show, according to The Hollywood Reporter. At one point, host Anke Engelke walked on stage in a wedding dress in slow motion, alluding to Kirsten Dunst's character in the film. "Melancholia" was up for eight awards but went home with three, also taking cinematography (Manuel Alberto Claro) and production design (Jette Lehmann). The film came up short a win for director, which went to Susanne Bier for "In a Better World," the best foreign film winner at the Oscars earlier this year.

Other notable wins included best actor, going to Colin Firth for "The King's Speech." The film proved to be a crowd favorite on both sides of the sea, also gaining the People's Choice Award at the European Film Awards. Tilda Swinton took best actress for "We Need to Talk About Kevin," and British director Stephen Frears was awarded the lifetime achievement award.

Check out photos from the night, and see the full list of winners below.

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Danish director Lars von Trier's wife Bente Froge holds the 'European Film 2011' award for von Trier's film Melancholia during the 24th European Film Awards ceremony on December 3, 2011 in Berlin. The European Film Awards by the European Film Academy (EFA) return to Berlin for the first time since 2007. AFP PHOTO / POOL/ AXEL SCHMIDT

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USERS WHO VOTED ON THIS SLIDE

EUROPEAN FILM 2011:
MELANCHOLIA, Denmark/Sweden/France/Germany
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY: Lars von Trier
PRODUCED BY: Meta Louise Foldager & Louise Vesth

EUROPEAN DIRECTOR 2011:
Susanne Bier for H?VNEN (In a Better World)

EUROPEAN ACTRESS 2011:
Tilda Swinton in WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN

EUROPEAN ACTOR 2011:
Colin Firth in THE KING?S SPEECH

EUROPEAN SCREENWRITER 2011:
Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne for LE GAMIN AU VELO (The Kid with a Bike)

CARLO DI PALMA EUROPEAN CINEMATOGRAPHER AWARD 2011:
Manuel Alberto Claro for MELANCHOLIA

EUROPEAN EDITOR 2011:
Tariq Anwar for THE KING?S SPEECH

EUROPEAN PRODUCTION DESIGNER 2011:
Jette Lehmann for MELANCHOLIA

EUROPEAN COMPOSER 2011:
Ludovic Bource for THE ARTIST

EUROPEAN DISCOVERY 2011:
ADEM (Oxygen) by Hans Van Nuffel, Belgium/theNetherlands

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY DOCUMENTARY 2011 - Prix ARTE:
PINA by Wim Wenders, Germany

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY ANIMATED FEATURE FILM 2011:
CHICO & RITA by Tono Errando, Javier Mariscal & Fernando Trueba

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY SHORT FILM 2011:
THE WHOLLY FAMILY by Terry Gilliam, Italy

EUROPEAN CO-PRODUCTION AWARD 2011 - Prix EURIMAGES:
Mariela Besuievsky, Spain

EUROPEAN ACHIEVEMENT IN WORLD CINEMA 2011:
Mads Mikkelsen, Denmark

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD:
Stephen Frears, UK

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY SPECIAL HONORARY AWARD:
Michel Piccoli, France

THE PEOPLE?S CHOICE AWARD 2011:
THE KING?S SPEECH by Tom Hooper, UK

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/03/european-film-awards-2011_n_1127454.html

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