|
|
|
THE STARS COME OUT IN PARIS... |
|
|
|
 |
It was the night of the stars in Paris even if there wasn’t a single one to be seen in the sky. On the night of Saturday December 2, the French capital was as inhospitable as only a northern European city in winter can be, with rain lashing the Champs Elysées in horizontal surges.
In the Palais de Chaillot, however, directly across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower, garlanded with millennial lights, the atmosphere was completely different. There was an abundance of stars both on stage, to present and receive the European Film Awards 2000, and in the audience to clap and cheer. Nor was it just Europe’s screen stars who were there: the French establishment was out in force, too, led by Prime Minister Lionel Jospin and Minister of Culture Catherine Tasca.
Firmly laying their claim to be the inauguration of the annual Awards season, the European Film Awards 2000, broadcast live throughout Europe (and, for the first time, unencrypted in France), were also shown in an edited version around the world over the next couple of days (including, for the first time, in Latin America).
Lars von Trier’s Dancer in the Dark was the evening’s big winner, nabbing European Film 2000 and the People’s Choice Award for Best Director for Lars von Trier, not to mention European Actress 2000 and the People’s Choice Award for Best Actress for its star, Björk. But the real emotion came elsewhere. It was to be found in the genuine delight on the face of young Icelandic actor Ingvar E Sigurdsson as he received the People’s Choice Award for Best Actor (the entire population of Iceland apparently voted for him, following the enormous success there of Angels of the Universe).
It showed itself in the prolonged applause that greeted veteran French director Agnès Varda as she made her way onto the stage to pick up the Prix Arte (European Documentary 2000) for Les glaneurs et la glaneuse. And it was to be found above all in the infectious enthusiasm of 70-year-old star Richard Harris, cheerfully reminding the audience that the European Film Academy was bestowing on him an honour - its prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award - that his own country had never seen fit to give him. |
|
|
|
