The Great Beauty wins big at European Film Awards

Italian movie The Great Beauty has been tipped for glory at the Oscars after winning big at the European Film Awards (EFA) on Saturday night (07Dec13). The film, also released as La Grande Bellezza, won the coveted European Film award at the ceremony in Berlin, Germany, while also taking prizes for director Paolo Sorrentino and Best Editing. The movie’s star, Toni Servillo, saw off competition from Britain’s Jude Law to take the European Actor prize.
Last year (12), Michael Haneke’s drama Amour dominated the European Film Awards and went on to scoop the Best Foreign Language Film trophy at the Academy Awards.
Other winners at the EFAs included Belgian star Veerle Baetens, who took the European Actress trophy ahead of Hollywood regulars Keira Knightley and Naomi Watts for her role in The Broken Circle Breakdown, and Pierce Brosnan’s Love is All You Need, which triumphed in the comedy film category.
Veteran French actress Catherine Deneuve picked up a lifetime achievement award, and Spanish moviemaker Pedro Almodovar was also honoured for his contribution to filmmaking.
During his speech, Almodovar took the opportunity to criticise the Spanish government for slashing funding for the film industry, calling the cuts “insensitive” and blasting the country’s “awful cultural policy”.