H'wood fest gives heart to Europe

The kudos were presented at Monday night's awards ceremony at the BevHilton with 1,200 in attendance.

"Miffo," a Swedish film directed by Daniel Lind Lagerlof and written by Malin Lagerlof, centers on a young priest in one of Stockholm's poorest suburbs who falls in love with a young woman who lives on welfare.

"Moonlight," a film from the Netherlands by helmer Paula van der Oest and scribe Carel Donck, revolves around a teenage girl who discovers a wounded boy who turns out to be a drug courier from Afghanistan.

Documentary honors went to "Khachaturian," a film by Peter Rosen about the life of the composer working in Stalin's USSR.

The fest gave the short-film kudos to Spanish pic "Dejavu," by Jesus Garcia.

"There is no more appropriate place than the Hollywood Film Festival to honor the illustrious talents of all these magnificent artists who have created some of the most memorable characters and truly unforgettable films," fest chair Paula Wagner said.

Jury members included Wagner, Ken Annakin, Judith Bronowsky, George Gallo, Marina Goldovskaya, Laszlo Kovacs, Arnold Schwartzman and Aradhana Seth.

Fest concluded Tuesday with a screening of Miramax's "The Human Stain," directed by Robert Benton, and starring Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman.