Mungiu's 4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days Wins Big At European Film Awards....

Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu's 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days triumphed at the European Film Awards on Saturday night (01Dec07), taking home the Best Film and Best Director prizes.Mungiu's harrowing drama, about an illegal abortion in Romania during the communist era, already won the Palme D'or at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year (07), while another Cannes favourite, The Edge of Heaven from German-Turkish director Fatih Akin, was named Best Screenplay.Oscar winner Helen Mirren was crowned Best Actress for her performance as British monarch Elizabeth II in The Queen, and Israel's Sasson Gabai won the Best Actor gong for comedy The Band's Visit at the ceremony at Berlin's Arena venue.Other winners include French icon Jean-Luc Godard, who was awarded the Lifetime Achievement prize, and cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, who took home the award for European Achievement in World Cinema. As he accepted his honour, Ballhaus was surprised with a moving video message by longtime collaborator Martin Scorsese and applauded by the 1,400 crowd with a standing ovation.The list of winners is as follows: Best Film - 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days Best Director - Cristian Mungiu for 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days Best Actor - Sasson Gabai, The Band's Visit Best Actress - Helen Mirren, The Queen Best Screenwriter - Fatih Akin, The Edge of Heaven Best Cinematographer - Frank Griebe, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer Best Composer - Alexandre Desplat, The Queen European Film Academy Discovery - Eran Kolirin, The Band's Visit Prix D'Excellence - Uli Hanisch for Production Design, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer Best Documentary - Prix Arte - Rithy Panh's Paper Cannot Wrap Up Embers Best Short Film - Eduardo-Chapero Jackson's Alumbramiento Co-producer Award - Margaret Menegoz, Veit Heiduschka Honorary Award - Manoel de Oliveira European Achievement in World Cinema - Prix Eurimages - Michael Ballhaus People's Choice Award - Giuseppe Tornatore's La Sconosciuta Critics Award - Prix Fipresci - Alain Resnais' Private Fears in Public Places Lifetime Achievement Award - Jean-Luc Godard (France).

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