Von Trier wins best Europe film award

Berlin - Denmark's Lars Von Trier late on Saturday won the prize for best European film of 2011 for his movie Melancholia at a ceremony by the European Film Academy.

Melancholia follows two sisters, the bride Justine (Kirsten Dunst) due to get married in the sumptuous romantic castle of Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), but the union is doomed as the wayward planet Melancholia heads for Earth.

Dunst won the Best Actress award at Cannes for her role, although the Danish director was kept out after making some dubious remarks about Hitler.

Von Trier was not present in Berlin and a member of his team accepted the award on his behalf.

"I should say from Lars that he has no message for you since he has decided not to make statements anymore and I really don't know why.

"He has asked me though that I should salute to you in a very kind and friendly way," his colleague said.

The King's Speech by Tom Hooper was the other big winner of the evening, taking three prizes including best actor for Colin Firth in the role of stuttering monarch King George VI.

Hooper declared: "I'm absolutely thrilled to get this. I think it's great that we're standing here, celebrating the ideal of the European project through the film industry."

Michel Hazanavicius's The Artist won best music prize while German director Wim Wenders, president of the academy, won the best documentary award for Pina about choreographer Pina Bausch.