Brussels, 15/12/2004 (Agence Europe) - Last weekend Barcelona hosted the 17th European Film Awards 2004, a major festival of European cinema attended by Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for information society and media. This major festival of cinema was organised by the European Film Academy and awards prizes for best film, best director, best actor, best actress. Seven of the films nominated received financial backing from the MEDIA programme. To the tune of a combined total of almost 300 million euros. Aid totalling just over 7 million euros was also granted for the distribution of 11 films. Among the film nominees was the German film, "Gegen die Wand" by the German-Turkish producer Fatih Akin, who obtained the prize for best European film 2004. The prize for best actress went to Imelda Stauton for her role in "Vera Drake" by British director Mike Leigh and prize for best actor went to Javier Bardem for his role in the Spanish film "Mar Adentro" by Alejandro Amenabar, who was also awarded the prize for best director. Founded in 1989, this festival also draws up a balance sheet of the history of the European Film Academy and as Commissioner Reding added, “to take stock of how far we have come and to explore new avenues which will allow European cinema to preserve its identity.” The Commission also promised to examine during her mandate, how the MEDIA programme - which invested over 100 million euros in European cinema in 2004 - together with other European projects can "help relaunch this industry which indeed contributes so much to what we know today as intercultural dialogue."