Dec 3, 2006, 3:11 GMT
Warsaw - Focused on hard times in communist-era East Germany, The Lives of Others by German director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck triumphed over Pedro Almodovar's Volver to win European Film 2006 at the 19th European Film Awards Saturday night in Warsaw.
Henckel von Donnersmarck also scored the European Screenwriter 2006 award, while Ulrich Muhe won European Actor 2006 for his role in the critically acclaimed film, titled Das Leben Der Anderen in the original German-language version.
Spanish director Almodovar's life-after-death comic drama Volver (Coming Back) won in the categories of best European director, actress, composer and cinematographer.
Dressed in a glittering, gold evening gown, Hollywood star Penelope Cruz walked away with the European Actress 2006 for her role in Volver.
Almodovar himself scored the European Director 2006 prize and composer Alberto Iglesias was named European Composer 2006 for the film's soundtrack, while Jose Luis Alcaine took the prize for cinematography.
The European Cinematographer 2006 award was handed to Barry Ackroyd for his camera-work on Ken Loach's The Wind That Shakes the Barley.
The Lives of Others was competing for the European Film 2006 prize against Volver, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, 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.
Already awarded an Oscar for his Holocaust drama the Pianist, Polish-born director Roman Polanski received a lifetime achievement award.
Prizes were awarded in 14 categories. The French-Georgian co- produced 13 Tzameti directed by Gela Babluani was recognized as European Discovery 2006, while Germany's Die Grosse Stille (Into Great Silence) by director Philip Groning was named European Film Academy Documentary 2006.
French actress Sophie Marceau and Polish screen heartthrob Maciej Stuhr hosted the gala, considered the European Oscars.
The show was broadcast to nearly 60 countries across Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.
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