The European Film Awards have unveiled their best-of-the-year choices for 2011, and Lars von Trier’s Melancholia has walked away the big winner, taking home awards for Best Film, Best Cinematography (Manuel Alberto Claro), and Best Production Design (Jette Lehmann). I’m on the record with respect to my mixed feelings about von Trier’s Antichrist follow-up — you can read my less-then-ecstatic review here — but, at the very least, I’m happy to see Claro’s admittedly award-worthy lensing garnering some recognition. In all likelihood, his work, as well as the film as a whole, will be a meager presence in the ongoing Oscar season.
Love was also thrown in the direction of Tom Hooper’s Best Picture-winning The King’s Speech — the film earned wins in the categories of Best Actor (Colin Firth) and Best Editing (Tariq Anwar). In other news, Ludovic Bource (The Artist) was named Best Composer — just another indication that, if Michel Hazanavicius’ silent-film homage continues to impress viewers and critics, the film could very well end up a below-the-line sweeper at the Academy Awards.
Tilda Swinton’s Best Actress win for We Need to Talk About Kevin is noteworthy, too. I’ll be seeing the film on Tuesday, after which I’ll have more to say on the topic. I’ll also be catching up with The Kid with a Bike, which was honored for Best Screenwriter, within the next week or so. Check out the EFA’s full list of nominees below, with the winners underlined.
Best European Film
Best European Director
Best European Actor
Best European Actress
Best European Screenwriter
Best European Animated Feature
Best European Documentary
Best European Cinematographer
Best European Editor
Best European Production Designer
Best European Composer
Best European Discovery (FIPRESCI Prize)
Best European Short