IP/10/1662 Brussels, 5 December 2010 Commissioner Vassiliou salutes MEDIA triumph at European Oscars, Polanski film takes 6 awards Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer, swept the boards at the European Film Awards in Tallinn, Estonia, on 4 December, taking the prizes for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor (Ewan McGregor), Scriptwriter (Robert Harris & Roman Polanski), Production Designer (Albrecht Konrad) and Composer (Alexandre Desplat). It was one of 18 nominated films at the ceremony supported by the European Union's MEDIA cinema funding programme. Four other MEDIA-backed films were also honoured with Sylvie Testud winning Best Actress for her role in Lourdes, Jaco Van Dormaels' Mr. Nobody receiving the People’s Choice Award, Sylvain Chomet's The Illusionist taking the prize for Best Animated Film, and Luc Barnier and Marion Monnier sharing the European Editor Award for Carlos. The Ghost Writer, based on a political thriller by novelist Robert Harris, tells the story of a journalist hired to 'ghost' the memoirs of a controversial prime minister. Androulla Vassiliou, the European Commissioner responsible for education and culture, was guest of honour at this year's ceremony. "It was a great night for the Ghost Writer and for the MEDIA programme. I'm delighted that 10 out of 15 competition awards went to MEDIA films," she commented. "My congratulations to all the winners for an incredible harvest of creativity!" 18 out of 30 films in competition at the awards received MEDIA support totalling more than € 4.5 million. Overall, the MEDIA programme is contributing €755 million in support of Europe's film industry in the period 2007-2013, with a focus on improving distribution and promotion, as well as strengthening competitiveness. Over the past 19 years, MEDIA has supported the development and distribution of thousands of films as well as training, festivals and promotion projects throughout the continent. The European Film Awards 2010 are organised by the European Film Academy. More than 2 300 of its members voted for this year's awards. The ceremony received support from the Estonian government and European Capital of Culture Tallinn 2011. Full list of MEDIA supported films at European Film Awards in annex. For more information Full details of the winners http://www.europeanfilmacademy.org/2010/12/04/the-23rd-european-film-awards-the-winners/ About the EU’s MEDIA programme: http://ec.europa.eu/media MEDIA-backed films at the European Film Awards 2010 European Film Des hommes et des dieux (Of Gods and Men) by Xavier Beauvois (664.000 €) The Ghost Writer by Roman Polanski (590.000 €) The Secret in Their Eyes by Juan José Campanella (65.000 €) Soul Kitchen by Fatih Akin (720.000 €) European Director Olivier Assayas - Carlos (80.000 €) Roman Polanski - The Ghost Writer (590.000 €) European Actress Sibel Kekilli - When We Leave (35.000 €) Lesley Manville - Another Year (41.000 €) Sylvie Testud - Lourdes (492.000 €) Lotte Verbeek - Nothing Personal (115.000 €) European Actor Jakob Cedergren - Submarino (419.000 €) Ewan McGregor - The Ghost Writer (590.000 €) George Pistereanu - If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle (6,000 €) Luis Tosar - Cell 211 (193.000 €) European Screenwriter Jorge Guerricaechevarría and Daniel Monzón - Cell 211 (193.000 €) Robert Harris and Roman Polanski - The Ghost Writer (590.000 €) Radu Mihaileanu – The Concert (532.000 €) Carlo Di Palma European Cinematographer Award Caroline Champetier - Of Gods and Men (664.000€) 2 European editor Luc Barnier and Marion Monnier - Carlos (80.000 €) Hervé de Luze - The Ghost Writer (590.000 €) European Production Designer Paola Bizzarri and Luis Ramirez - I, Don Giovanni (31.000 €) Albrecht Konrad - The Ghost Writer (590.000 €) European Composer Ales Brezina - Kawasaki’s Rose (27.000 €) Pasquale Catalano - Loose Cannons (548.000€) Alexandre Desplat - The Ghost Writer (590.000 €) Gary Yershon - Another Year (42.000 €) European Animated Feature Film The Illusionist by Sylvain Chomet (120.000 €) Planet 51 by Jorge Blanco, Javier Abad and Marcos Martínez (100,000 €) 3 .