Dec 3, 2006, 3:11 GMT
Warsaw - Hollywood star Penelope Cruz walked away with the European Actress 2006 title at the 19th European Film Awards Saturday night in Warsaw for her role in Spanish director Pedro Almodovar's drama Volver.
Cruz's coup came on the heels of Almodovar taking the European Director 2006 prize and composer Alberto Iglesias also winning the European Composer 2006 award for the Volver soundtrack.
Volver is competing for the European Film 2006 award against British director Ken Loach's The Wind That Shakes the Barley, The Lives of Others by German director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, The Road to Guantanamo by Brits Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross and Grbavica, an Austrian, Bosnia-Herzegovina, German and Croatian co-production directed by Jasmila Zbanic.
Prizes will be awarded to films in a total of 14 categories, including Achievement in World Cinema, Documentary and short films.
French actress Sophie Marceau and Polish screen heartthrob Maciej Stuhr hosted the gala, seen as the European Oscars.
Already awarded an Oscar for his Holocaust drama the Pianist, Polish-born director Roman Polanski is due to receive a lifetime achievement award.
The show is being broadcast to nearly 60 countries across Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.
Your Talkback on this Story