Paul Greengrass' film Bloody Sunday has won the coveted Golden Bear award at the Berlin Film Festival.

The film, about the shooting of 13 civilians in Londonderry in 1972, shared the prize with Japanese animated feature Spirited Away.

Bloody Sunday has already won the World Cinema Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival.

Joint winner: Japan's Spirited Away

Simon Shaps, managing director of Granada, which helped back the film, said: "It was a huge risk-taking project and to win both the Sundance and Berlin Film Festival is a remarkable achievement."

Bloody Sunday, which was screened in the UK on ITV1 last month and is being shown in cinemas world-wide, has attracted criticism for its alleged anti-British army stance.

But director Paul Greengrass said he wanted the film to help create a sense of reconciliation about what he called "this terrible and traumatic day".

Fantasy

In all, 23 films were in competition at the Berlinale, and the 10-member international jury was headed by Indian-born and US-based director Mira Nair, the woman behind Monsson Wedding.

Halle Berry with Billy Bob Thornton in Monster's Ball

Spirited Away, directed by Hayao Miyazaki, is the story of 10-year-old Chihiro, who suddenly finds herself in a world of fantasy where she has to save her parents.

The runner-up award, the Silver Bear, went to Halbe Treppe (Grill Point), by German director Andreas Dresen, which follows the lives of two couples on the country's border with Poland.

Halle Berry scooped the best actress Silver Bear for her role in Marc Foster's drama Monster's Ball - boosting her hopes of winning the equivalent Oscar at the Academy Awards in five weeks.

The best actor prize went to Jacques Gamblin for his part in French director Bertrand Tavernier's Laisser-Passer (Safe Conduct).

Toshio Suzuki produced Spirited Away

Best director went to Frenchman Otar Iosseliani for Lundi Matin, about a small-town factory worker who breaks out of his daily routine by taking a trip to Venice.

Another triumph for France came when the cast of Francois Ozon's Huit Femmes - including Catherine Devenue, Isabelle Huppert and Emmanuelle Beart - won another Silver Bear for their artistic contribution.

Iris star Hugh Bonneville won the best young actor prize for his part as Iris Murdoch's husband John Bayley, playing opposite Kate Winslet.

British director Martin Jones picked up the festival's other Golden Bear, the best short film prize for At Dawning.

Prize winners in full:

Golden Bear: Bloody Sunday, directed by Paul Greengrass (Britain/Ireland), and Sen To Chihiro No Kamikakushi (Spirited Away), Hayao Miyazaki (Japan)

Jury Grand Prix (Silver Bear): Halbe Treppe (Grill Point), Andreas Dresen (Germany)

Best Actress (Silver Bear): Halle Berry (Monster's Ball) (USA)

Best Actor (Silver Bear): Jacques Gamblin (Laissez-Passer) (France/Germany/Spain)

Best Director (Silver Bear): Otar Iosseliani (Lundi Matin) (France/Italy)

Artistic Excellence (Silver Bear): Ensemble acting in Huit Femmes by Francois Ozon (France)

Best Music (Silver Bear): Antoine Duhamel in Laissez-Passer

Blue Angel Prize (in honour of Marlene Dietrich) for best European film: Sma Ulykker (Minor Mishaps) by Annette K Olessen (Denmark)

Alfred Bauer prize for innovation or a first film: Baader, Christopher Roth (Germany)

Short films:

Golden Bear: At Dawning, by Martin Jones (Britain)

Silver Bear: Bror Min (My Brother) by Jens Jonsson (Sweden)

Prize for Best Young Actress: Danielle Hall, Beneath Clouds by Ivan Sen (Australia)

Prize for Best Young Actor: Hugh Bonneville, Iris by Richard Eyre (Britain/USA)