The six awards won by The Square were best film, best comedy, best director, best screenwriter, production design, and best actor for Dane Claes Bang, who plays the stylish but weird gallery director.
The Swedish film-maker Ruben Östlund, twice led the audience in a loud “primal screen of happiness” as he accepted awards for The Square for best director and best film.
The Square, a surreal, freaky and at times difficult to watch satire set in the world of contemporary art, has dominated the 30th anniversary of the European film awards.
The European Film awards were founded in Berlin in 1988 as an arthouse alternative to the Oscars, with Krzysztof Kieślowski’s A Short Film About Killing winning the first best film award.