'Melancholia' tops European Film Awards

'Melancholia'London-- Lars von Trier's end-of-the-world drama "Melancholia" nabbed the best film prize at the European Film Awards, which were handed out Saturday in Berlin.The pic, which had topped the noms with eight mentions, also took home two craft prizes, cinematographer for Manuel Alberto Claro, and production designer for Jette Lehmann.Tom Hooper's "The King's Speech" took three prizes: Colin Firth was named best actor, Tariq Anwar grabbed the editor award, and the film also took the People's Choice award, which was voted for by the public.Susanne Bier was named best director for contempo drama "In a Better World," and the screenwriter prize went to Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne for "The Kid With a Bike." Tilda Swinton was named best actress for troubled teen tale "We Need to Talk about Kevin." Helmer-scribe Hans Van Nuffel won the Discovery Award for "Oxygen," which also centers on a teen in crisis. The pic follows a boy suffering from cystic fibrosis.Ludovic Bource took the award for composer for "The Artist." The docu prize was picked up by 3D dance film "Pina," written and directed by Wim Wenders.The animated feature film kudo was picked up by "Chico and Rita," directed by Tono Errando, Javier Mariscal and Fernando Trueba. Stephen Frears was given the Lifetime Achievement Award, while Mads Mikkelsen was feted with the European Achievement in World Cinema award.French thesp Michel Piccoli, who toplined "We Have a Pope," was given the Special Honorary Award. Contact Leo Barraclough at leo.barraclough@variety.com