‘Hunger’ has picked up the European Discovery Award at the 21st European Film Academy Film Awards held in Copenhagen on Saturday night while Irish short film ‘Frankie’ written and directed by Darren Thornton won the Best Short Film Award.
‘Hunger’ directed by Steve McQueen and based on the events surrounding the 1981 IRA Hunger Strike in the Maze Prison in Northern Ireland, won the European Discovery which honours a young and upcoming director for a first full-length feature film. The other three features in the category were; ‘Snijeg’ (Snow) directed by Aida Begić which follows the survivors in the war-torn Bosnian village of Slavno, ‘Tatil Kitabi’ (Summer Book), written and directed by Seyfi Teoman and ‘Tulipan’, directed by Sergey Dvortsevoy.
‘Frankie’ funded by the Irish Film Board and RTÉ under the Short Cuts Scheme
beat off competition from 14 short films all over Europe. The short was produced by Collette Farrell from Calipo Film Company and stars Anthony Brophy (The Mapmaker), Darren Healy (Love is the Drug) and Alan King (Studs). The short ‘Joy’ directed by Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy was also nominated in this category.
The winners were voted by the 1,800 members of the European Film Academy.
The winners at the 21st European Film Awards are as follows:
EUROPEAN FILM 2008
GOMORRA (Gomorrah)
EUROPEAN DIRECTOR 2008
Matteo Garrone for GOMORRA (Gomorrah)
EUROPEAN ACTOR 2008
Toni Servillo in GOMORRA (Gomorrah) and IL DIVO
EUROPEAN ACTRESS 2008
Kristin Scott Thomas in IL Y A LONGTEMPS QUE JE T'AIME (I've Loved You So Long)
EUROPEAN SCREENWRITER 2008
Maurizio Braucci, Ugo Chiti, Gianni di Gregorio, Matteo Garrone, Massimo Gaudioso & Roberto Saviano for GOMORRA (Gomorrah)
CARLO DI PALMA EUROPEAN CINEMATOGRAPHER AWARD 2008
Marco Onorato for GOMORRA (Gomorrah)
EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY PRIX D'EXCELLENCE 2008
Magdalena Biedrzycka for costume design, KATYN
EUROPEAN COMPOSER 2008
Max Richter for WALTZ WITH BASHIR
EUROPEAN DISCOVERY 2008
HUNGER directed by Steve McQueen. Written by Enda Walsh & Steve McQueen
EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY CRITICS' AWARD 2008 - Prix FIPRESCI
Abdellatif Kechiche for LA GRAINE ET LE MULET (The Secret of the Grain / Couscous)
EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY DOCUMENTARY 2008 - Pix
ARTE RENÉ by Helena Trestikova
EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY SHORT FILM 2008 - Prix UIP
FRANKIE by Darren Thornton
EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Dame Judi Dench
EUROPEAN ACHIEVEMENT IN WORLD CINEMA 2008
Søren Kragh-Jacobsen, Kristian Levring, Lars von Trier, and Thomas Vinterberg
PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD 2008
HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX directed by David Yates written by Michael Goldenberg
