Sweden, a leader in world cinema during film's golden age, returned to center stage Sunday by leading all nations in major awards at the 21st Palm Springs International Film Festival closing awards ceremony.

“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” a co-production of Sweden, Denmark and Germany based on a popular novel, earned the Mercedes-Benz Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature. “Involuntary,” Sweden's submission for Best Foreign Language Film, won the FIPRESCI international critics award for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year.

A third Swedish film, “The Swimsuit Issue,” also will be among the movies screening today as part of the Best of the Fest program at the Camelot Theatres and the Regal Cinema 9 in Palm Springs.

“There's no question that Swedish filmmaking is re-emerging as a potent force in world cinema with a number of excellent newly-emerging filmmakers and relatively established directors doing some of their best work in the new crop of films from there,” said Festival executive director Darryl Macdonald.

The audience pick for Best Documentary Feature, “The Most Dangerous Man In America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers,” benefited from appearances by Ellsberg, who blew the whistle on White House lies about the Vietnam War in 1971 and moved many filmgoers to tears at his Q&As.

Macdonald predicted the film would win an Oscar.

None of the Golden Globe nominees for Best Foreign Language Film made the top 12 audience favorites among narrative features, but Macdonald said he was delighted with the audience response to runner-up “The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner” and “a number of other films that made our audience top 10 of the festival.”

Tedo Bekhauri received the FIPRESCI Best Actor Award for his role in “The Other Bank” and Anne Dorval of “I Killed My Mother” earned the FIPRESCI Best Actress Award.

“It's been a great year for actresses,” said FIPRESCI critic Jonas Holmberg. “Ever since the performance by Mariah Carey.”

The Jan. 5-18 event started with a gala that earned international attention for Carey's tipsy acceptance speech. The debut screenings officially ended Sunday with a Closing Night Gala in which “The Lightkeepers” star Richard Dreyfuss arrived too late to walk down a red carpet.

Macdonald called it “an unqualified success on every level.”

“In a year when so many festivals worldwide are reeling from the double whammy of falling ticket sales and diminishing sponsorships, it's hugely heartening to see Palm Springs reverse that trend and enliven audiences into the bargain,” he said.

Macdonald said the festival should set an attendance record with more than 130,000 people.

Board Chairman Harold Matzner said the nonprofit event, which consistently lost money when the Nortel Networks was the title sponsor, will finish with a surplus.

“That is both wonderful and impressive in these times,” he said. “We did manage costs well — Darryl managed his costs well — but the festival broke a revenue record, which we did not expect to do.”

Two-thirds of the filmgoers came from out of town, filling local hotels to give the city of Palm Springs a return on its $400,000 title sponsorship through bed taxes.

Matzner said its big achievement was selling the Coachella Valley to the world through its gala and films.

“There's a lot of magic here,” he said. “I'm very proud of what we built — all 700 of us (counting volunteers, board members and staff).”

Filmmakers, industry people and filmgoers also expressed delight with the festival.

“It's really very relaxed and very friendly when you compare things to Toronto (film festival),” said Katherine Tulich, a FIPRESCI juror and critic for the Sydney Morning Herald and magazines. “A lot of films are not easily accessible. It's really great to see all those people coming out and seeing those movies.”

“I'm very impressed how many people came to every film,” said Anna Trojak, co-producer of the Holocaust documentary, “Broken Promise,” from Slovakia. “These lines are amazing. 8:45 (a.m.), lines standing already. Unbelievable.”

“I would say it's one of the smoothest-running festivals,” said Amy MacBride of San Juan Capistrano, who has attended the festival for 10 years. “We got our tickets online and that worked very well. The volunteers have been very knowledgeable, and they've been friendly and helpful and courteous to us.”

The festival featured fewer films but more screenings, which Macdonald said was a key to the smooth operation.

He added, “Our theater managers are due a huge vote of thanks for dealing with such large numbers of people so adroitly.”