Alice Nellis' Little Girl Blue has been named Best Film at the annual Czech Lion awards, the Czech equivalent of the Oscars.

The film's producer, Jan Sverak, received the award at a gala ceremony Saturday at Prague's Lucerna Palace and immediately shared it with the film's director, Alice Nellis.

Sverak enjoyed 2-to-1 odds to win Best Film as he was also the producer and director of Empties, one of three films nominated for the prize. In the end, Empties earned Sverak the Best Director award and the Best Screenplay award for his father, Zdenek Sverak.

French-German-Czech co-production La Vie En Rose received three awards: Best Actress for Marion Cotillard, Best Sound Design and Best Musical Score.

Best Actor went to Ivan Trojan for his performance in Vaclav. Jan Budar received Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the same film. Best Supporting Actress went to Zuzana Bydzovska for her role in High School.

Veteran director Vojtech Jasny received an award for his lifetime contribution to cinema. Jasny said that he is developing a World War II story to be shot at the former Theresienstadt (Terezin) ghetto and filmed in English. Nellis and Sverak also said they were developing new stories.

Complete winners list, 2008 Czech Lions
Best film: Little Girl Blue (dir. Alice Nellis)
Best Director: Jan Sverak for Empties
Best Screenplay: Zdenek Sverak for Empties
Best Actor: Ivan Trojan for Vaclav
Best Actress: Marion Cotillard for La Vie En Rose
Best Supporting Actor: Jan Budar for Vaclav
Best Supporting Actress: Zuzana Bydzovska for High School
Best Cinematography: Ramunas Greicius for Little Girl Blue
Best Score: Becky Bentham, Edouard Dubois and Christopher Gunning for La Vie En Rose
Best Editing: Jiri Brozek for It's Gonna Get Worse
Best Sound: Laurent Zeilig for La Vie En Rose
Best art production: Jan Balej for One Night In One City
Audience award for most successful film: Empties
Outstanding contribution to cinema: Vojtech Jasny

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