The British movie The Full Monty has scooped two prizes at the European Film Awards in Berlin.

The comedy - which tells the story of a group of redundant steelworkers who turn to stripping to earn a living - picked up the prestigious Film of the Year Award and also the Best Film Prize, which was voted for by international cinema audiences.

The film, set in Sheffield, in northern England, has overtaken Four Weddings And A Funeral as the most commercially successful British film of all time.

Scottish actor Robert Carlyle, who plays the central character Gaz, was drawn to the project because of two factors.

"The comedy angle greatly appealed, and the fact that I was playing a father," he said. "The combination of those two elements swung it for me."

Mr Carlyle, who rose to fame after starring in the British film Trainspotting, said the greatest challenge presented to him in the film was humour.

"It's played for real. All the best comedy I feel is played like that," he said. "It's the reality of the situation which is funnier than trying for intentional laughs."

The blockbuster hit was director Peter Cattaneo's first feature film. Like Robert Carlyle, he was drawn in by the film's humour. But he says he was also attracted by the more serious undertones of the subject matter such as being unemployed and not being able to pay maintenance.

"It is a very contemporary story about the effects of long term unemployment," he said. "It was a topical subject a few years ago, and has been somewhat forgotten, but it is still there."

Because of its huge success in Britain and abroad, there is already talk that The Full Monty is likely to get a nomination at the next Oscars ceremony in Hollywood.
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