It had, noted Charlotte Rampling as she prepared to tear open the envelope and announce the winner of European Film 2001, been a terrific year. “European films,” said the British-born, French-based actress (herself a nominee for her performance in François Ozon’s Sous le sable), “continue to enthral both critics and audiences around the world.”

So saying, she nodded to the conductor (this, surely, is the first year that the European Film Awards has had its own live band), who obliged with a brief fanfare. Unfortunately, the envelope put up fierce resistance, obliging Rampling to ask the orchestra for an encore.

And then it was all over: Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain was named European Film 2001, rounding out a perfect evening for the French hit. Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s film had already picked up three other Awards: People’s Choice Award for Best European Director; the same award from the members of the Academy itself; and the European Cinematographer Award, which went to Bruno Delbonnel.

“I am the King of Europa,” chortled Jeunet, in a nod to James Cameron’s Titanic acceptance speech. In the context of Jeunet’s earlier, more humorous acceptance speeches, however, the words lacked the hubris of Cameron’s claim. And they rounded out the evening of Saturday December 1 at the Berlin Tempodrom in a suitably good-natured way.

If the past year has proved nothing else in the movie business, it is that European films can be major hits with European audiences. From Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain in France via Der Schuh des Manitu in Germany and L’ultimo bacio in Italy to Bridget Jones’s Diary in the UK, local audiences have turned out for local films like never before.

Amélie, of course, has been hugely successful elsewhere in Europe, too, and has gone on to win the hearts of Hollywood, making it the strongest favourite for a Foreign Oscar since… well, since that previous European Film Awards winner, La vità e bella, from 1999. Who better, then, than Roberto Benigni to complete the evening, beamed into the Tempodrom from the Pinocchio set at Cinecittà, to remind everyone that the European Film Awards 2002 will be held in Rome.

“I am the King of Europa,” chortled Jeunet, in a nod to James Cameron’s Titanic acceptance speech. In the context of Jeunet’s earlier, more humorous acceptance speeches, however, the words lacked the hubris of Cameron’s claim

Ably hosted by regular compere Mel Smith in a prestigious new venue still smelling of fresh cement (observant visitors will have seen posters all over Berlin announcing the official opening ceremony of the Tempodrom for the week after the European Film Awards), the 2001 event gave a Lifetime Achievement Award to the Monty Python team - accepted in anarchic style by the two Terrys, Jones and Gilliam - and a European Achievement in World Cinema statuette to Ewan McGregor for his performance in Moulin Rouge. This was useful, since McGregor could also pick up the Screen International Award for Best Non-European Film for the same movie on behalf of its director, Baz Luhrmann.

The most closely contested award of the evening was probably European Actress: who would have wanted to have to chose between Isabelle Huppert in La pianiste, Charlotte Rampling in Sous le sable and Audrey Tautou in Amélie? As it was, the Academy members plumped for Huppert, who responded with the evening’s only multilingual acceptance speech (including a bit of Esperanto). And the most popular was probably the European Actor Award to Ben Kingsley for his performance in Sexy Beast. “I hope,” he said, referring to his honorary membership of the EFA board, “people won’t think it’s an inside job!”