European Film Academy

The European Film Academy and EFA Productions are pleased to announce
that the European Film Awards 2009 will take place in Essen in Germany’s
Ruhr Area* in North Rhine-Westphalia. The unique move is a change from
the regular system which brings the European Film Awards to Berlin, home
of the European Film Academy, every two years. In the years inbetween
the awards ceremony is held in different European film capitals such as
London, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Warsaw, and now Copenhagen. As a first
highlight of the European Capital of Culture year “RUHR 2010″ the
European Film Awards 2009 are Berlin’s contribution to “Essen for the
RUHR 2010″. The annual awards ceremony celebrates the best in European
cinema, voted for by the European Film Academy’s 1,800 members. The
European Film Awards are presented by the European Film Academy e.V. and
its production company EFA Productions gGmbH and in 2009 supported by
the Minister President and the Minister for Federal and European Affairs
and the Media of North Rhine-Westphalia, Filmstiftung NRW, RUHR 2010,
the German State Minister for Culture and the Media, the MEDIA Programme
of the EU, FFA German Federal Film Board, and TNT Express.

* The metropolitan region Rhein-Ruhr consists of 20 cities with
approximately 10 million people from over 170 nations.

Berlin, 24 November 2008