The annual awards, held this year in the Estonian capital Tallinn, also honoured Israeli war drama "Lebanon", shot almost entirely from inside a tank. Lebanon won the coveted Golden Lion at the Venice film festival in 2009.
Polanski, who spent several months this year under house arrest in Switzerland but avoided extradition to the United States in connection with a 1977 sex crime, did not attend the prize ceremony but appeared via Skype from his Paris home.
Polanski was named best director, the movie -- with a lead role loosely based on former British prime minister Tony Blair -- was best European film, its star Ewan McGregor picked up the best actor award and Polanski and Robert Harris won the best script writer category.
Following is a list of the main winners:
Best film - The Ghost Writer
Best director - Roman Polanski/The Ghost Writer
Best actress - Sylvie Testud/Lourdes
Best actor - Ewan McGregor/The Ghost Writer
Best screenwriter - Robert Harris and Roman Polanski/The Ghost Writer
Best cinematographer - Giora Bejach/Lebanon
Best editor - Luc Barnier and Marion Monnier/Carlos
Best production designer - Albrecht Konrad/The Ghost Writer
Best composer - Alexandre Desplat/The Ghost Writer
European discovery - Lebanon
Best documentary - Nostalgia de la Luz
Best animated feature - The Illusionist
Best short film - Hanoi - Warszawa
Lifetime achievement award - Bruno Ganz, actor
Achievement in world cinema - Gabriel Yared, composer
People choice - Mr. Nobody.
