BELGIAN SHORT NOMINATED FOR EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS

The European Film Academy (EFA) and the Berlin International Film Festival congratulate the

Berlin Short Film Nominee for the European Film Awards 2010
VENUS VS ME
by Nathalie Teirlinck
Belgium 2009, 27 min., fiction

The film is now nominated for the award European Film Academy Short Film 2010. It was selected by the festival’s international short film jury which was made up of Zita Carvalhosa, founder and director of the São Paulo International Short Film Festival (Brazil), Max Dax, chief editor of German pop culture magazine Spex, and British producer Samm Haillay.

VENUS VS ME tells the story of twelve-year-old Marie who has problems putting her childhood behind her. Ever since her young mother brought home a new boyfriend, Marie’s questions have gone unanswered and communication would seem to be impossible. Marie desperately tries to win back her mother for herself, at the same time seeking comfort in the world of her memories.

The short film initiative is organised by the European Film Academy in co-operation with fifteen film festivals throughout Europe. At each of these festivals, an independent jury presents one of the European short films in competition with a nomination in the short film category of the European Film Awards.

When the annual cycle is completed in September, the nominees will be presented to the over 2,000 members of the European Film Academy and it is they who will elect the overall winner: the European Film Academy Short Film 2010 which will be presented at the 23rd European Film Awards Ceremony on 4 December
in Tallinn/Estonia.

The next nomination will be presented in March in co-operation with the Tampere Film Festival (Finland).

Berlin, 17 February 2009

The European Film Academy (EFA) and the International Film Festival Rotterdam congratulate the

Rotterdam Short Film Nominee for the European Film Awards 2010
ØNSKEBØRN (Out Of Love)
by Birgitte Stærmose (Denmark 2009, 29 min., documentary fiction)

The film is now nominated for the award European Film Academy Short Film 2010. It was selected by the festival’s international jury which was made up of Jeremy Rigsby (programmer of Media City Festival in Windsor, Canada), Shai Heredia (director of Filter India Festival, Mumbai, India) and filmmaker, writer, visual artist and teacher Albert Wulffers (the Netherlands).

OUT OF LOVE tells a gripping story about the experiences of children in an unreal-looking Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, told in an unorthodox way.

The short film initiative is organised by the European Film Academy in co-operation with a series of film festivals throughout Europe. At each of these festivals, an independent jury presents one of the European short films in competition with a nomination in the short film category of the European Film Awards.

The European Film Academy is happy to announce that the Locarno International Film Festival has just joined the EFA Short Film Initiative, so that the programme now includes a total of 15 festivals (see complete list).

OUT OF LOVE joins the following nominees: AMOR by Thomas Wangsmo (Norway 2009, 14 min, fiction), selected at the Flanders International Film Festival - Ghent; DER AMPELMANN by Giulio Ricciarelli (Germany 2009, 14 min, fiction), selected at the Valladolid International Film Festival, LES ESCARGOTS DE JOSEPH (Joseph’s Snails) by Sophie Roze (France 2009, 12 min, animation), selected at the Corona Cork Film Festival; and BLIJF BIJ ME, WEG by Paloma Aguilera Valdebenito (The Netherlands 2009, 24 min, fiction), selected at the Premiers Plans - Festival d’Angers.

The next nomination will be presented in co-operation with the Berlin International Film Festival.

When the annual cycle is completed in September, the nominees will be presented to the over 2,000 members of the European Film Academy and it is they who will elect the overall winner: the European Film Academy Short Film 2010 which will be presented at the 23rd European Film Awards Ceremony on 4 December in Tallinn/Estonia.

Berlin, 08 February 2010

This year’s 23rd European Film Awards will see the re-launch of two award categories: EUROPEAN PRODUCTION DESIGNER and EUROPEAN EDITOR.

The move has been decided by the Board of the European Film Academy during their latest meeting in Berlin and reflects the distinct wish by EFA Members to honour the outstanding contribution of production designers and editors to European film culture.

The two awards replace the Prix d’Excellence which honoured achievements in the different film crafts. The recipients will be elected by the more than 2,000 members of the European Film Academy. They will vote from a list of three nominations in each of these categories, chosen from the selection list of around 40 recommended films.

The European Film Awards 2010 will be celebrated in Tallinn, Estonia, on 4 December.

Berlin, 2 February 2010

EUROPEAN FILM 2009
DAS WEISSE BAND (The White Ribbon), Germany/Austria/France/Italy
written and directed by Michael Haneke
produced by Stefan Arndt, Veit Heiduschka, Michael Katz, Margaret Menegoz
& Andrea Occhipinti

EUROPEAN DIRECTOR 2009
Michael Haneke for DAS WEISSE BAND (The White Ribbon)

EUROPEAN ACTOR 2009
Tahar Rahim in UN PROPHETE (A Prophet)

EUROPEAN ACTRESS 2009
Kate Winslet in THE READER (Der Vorleser)

EUROPEAN SCREENWRITER 2009
Michael Haneke for DAS WEISSE BAND (The White Ribbon)

CARLO DI PALMA EUROPEAN CINEMATOGRAPHER AWARD 2009
Anthony Dod Mantle for ANTICHRIST & SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY PRIX D’EXCELLENCE 2009
Brigitte Taillandier, Francis Wargnier, Jean-Paul Hurier & Marc Doisne for
the Sound Design, UN PROPHETE (A Prophet)

EUROPEAN COMPOSER 2009
Alberto Iglesias for LOS ABRAZOS ROTOS (Broken Embraces)

EUROPEAN DISCOVERY 2009
KATALIN VARGA, Romania/UK/Hungary
written & directed by Peter Strickland
produced by Tudor Giurgiu, Oana Giurgiu & Peter Strickland

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY ANIMATED FEATURE FILM 2009
MIA ET LE MIGOU (Mia and the Migoo), France/Italy
directed by Jacques-Rémy Girerd

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY SHORT FILM 2009
POSTE RESTANTE by Marcel Lozinski

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Ken Loach

EUROPEAN ACHIEVEMENT IN WORLD CINEMA
Isabelle Huppert

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY DOCUMENTARY 2009 – Prix ARTE
THE SOUND OF INSECTS - Record of a Mummy, Switzerland
by Peter Liechti

EUROPEAN CO-PRODUCTION AWARD – Prix EURIMAGES
Diana Elbaum and Jani Thiltges

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY CRITICS AWARD 2009 – Prix FIPRESCI
Andrzej Wajda for TATARAK (Sweet Rush)

PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD for Best European Film
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, UK
directed by Danny Boyle
written by Simon Beaufoy
produced by Christian Colson

THE 22nd EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS:
Ruhr Metropolis / Germany, 12 Dec 2009

When the doors open for the 22nd European Film Awards on Saturday, 12 December, the world of European cinema will step onto the red carpet at the spectacular venue of the Jahrhunderthalle in Bochum. Winners, nominees and EFA Members - altogether 1,400 guests will be welcomed by German comedy star Anke Engelke who will lead through the evening as the show’s host.

An impressive line-up of actors and actresses will enter the stage to present the individual awards, among them Victoria Abril (Spain), Caterina Murino (Italy), Johanna ter Steege (the Netherlands), and María Valverde (Spain), as well as Detlev Buck (Germany), Jesper Christensen (Denmark), Sir Ben Kingsley (UK), Maciej Stuhr (Poland), and Anatole Taubman (Switzerland).

Joining them will be documentary director Nino Kirtadzé (France/Georgia), actor/director Aksel Hennie (Norway) who was part of the European Film Promotion’s SHOOTING STARS programme in 2004, and director/actor Branko Djuric (Bosnia & Herzegovina).

The list of presenters is completed by Dr. Gottfried Langenstein, President of ARTE, Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Information, Society and Media, and EFA President Wim Wenders.

Among the guests this year will be actresses Hannelore Elsner (Germany), Krystyna Janda (Poland), and Julia Jentsch (Germany), directors Roland Emmerich and Sönke Wortmann. Award winners already announced include Peter Liechti (EFA Documentary 2009 - Prix ARTE), Diana Elbaum and Jani Thiltges (European Co-production Award - Prix EURIMAGES), Andrzej Wajda (EFA Critics’ Award 2009 - Prix FIPRESCI) and the recipients of the honorary awards Ken Loach and Isabelle Huppert.

Berlin, 8 December 2009

The European Film Academy, EFA Productions, and the International Federation of Film Critics FIPRESCI have announced that the

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY CRITICS’ AWARD 2009 - Prix FIPRESCI
goes to

Andrzej Wajda
for TATARAK (Sweet Rush)

As FIPRESCI’s General Secretary Klaus Eder explained: “For us critics it is without doubt a big pleasure to honour Wajda, who wrote European film history already with his first films (GENERATION, KANAL, ASHES AND DIAMONDS) and who has influenced generations of filmmakers. We are therefore pleased and honoured to show him all our respect as critics. Our award also honours his latest film TATARAK. It’s not at all what you would call a later work - it is, on the contrary, the film of a young spirit, with which Wajda in a risky and courageous way undertakes to open new and very personal perspectives for the European authors’ cinema of today.”

Andrzej Wajda will be attending the 22^nd European Film Awards Ceremony on 12 December in Bochum to accept the award on stage.

Berlin, 3 December 2009

The European Film Academy (EFA) is proud to have won a group of distinguished personalities from the world of European film to co-operate with for the promotion of European cinema and the European Film Awards. In close co-ordination with the European Film Academy, these renowned filmmakers will represent EFA and the European Film Awards at various prestigious events.

The European Film Academy takes great pleasure in welcoming as EFA Ambassadors:

Moritz Bleibtreu, actor, Germany

One of the best-known German faces in international cinema, Moritz Bleibtreu first shot to international attention as Manni in Tom Tykwer’s RUN LOLA RUN (1998). He was nominated in 2001 for the EFA People’s Choice Award for THE EXPERIMENT by Oliver Hirschbiegel and is now nominated for European Actor for his role as Andreas Baader in THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX by Uli Edel.

Stephen Daldry, director, UK

Ever since the nomination of BILLY ELLIOT for the European Film Awards 2000, Stephen Daldry has been connected to the European Film Academy. His film THE READER is nominated for the 2009 European Film Awards in three categories (European Film, Actress, and Actor).

Maria de Medeiros, actress / director, Portugal

The Portuguese actress (TRÊS IRMÃOS by Teresa Villaverde, IL RESTO DI NIENTE by Antonietta de Lillo, Guy Maddin’s THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD, Quentin Tarantino’s PULP FICTION) and director (CAPITÃES DE ABRIL, JE T’AIME…MOI NON PLUS) is a true, multilingual European artist. Together with her Catalan colleague Juanjó Puigcorbé, she hosted the European Film Awards 2004 in Barcelona.

Mads Mikkelsen, actor, Denmark

Be it as a nominee (2006 for AFTER THE WEDDING by Susanne Bier, 2008 for FLAME AND CITRON by Ole Christian Madsen) or as a presenter (2007 in Berlin, 2008 in Copenhagen), the Danish star (known from Nicolas Winding Refn’s PUSHER films, THE GREEN BUTCHERS by Anders Thomas Jensen, and the James Bond film CASINO ROYALE) very much enjoys the company of his European fellows every time he is attending the European Film Awards.

Cristian Mungiu, director, Romania

After several short films and the feature OCCIDENT, Cristian Mungiu was the great Romanian discovery for the international audience when his film 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS & 2 DAYS won the Palme d’Or in Cannes two years ago and the award for European Film 2007 at the European Film Awards.

Kim Rossi Stuart, actor, Italy

Having started his acting career at the age of five, among Kim Rossi Stuart’s latest works have been Gianni Amelio’s THE KEYS TO THE HOUSE, Michele Placido’s CRIME NOVEL, and now Francesca Archibughi’s A MATTER OF HEART. In 2006 he wrote, directed and acted in the film ALONG THE RIDGE.

Belén Rueda, actress, Spain

The Spanish actress received her first Goya for her role as Julia in THE SEA INSIDE by Alejandro Amenábar and has been a friend of the European Film Academy since her nomination for THE ORPHANAGE by Juan Antonio Bayona last year. With Spain, she represents a country where the Academy experiences great enthusiasm and interest in the European Film Awards.

Johanna ter Steege, actress, the Netherlands

After her dream debut in THE VANISHING, for which she was awarded in the very first European Film Awards in 1988, Johanna ter Steege prospered in films by internationally renowned directors such as Robert Altman and István Szabó. Among her many films are J’ENTEND PLUS LA GUITARE by Philippe Garell, SWEET EMMA, DEAR BÖBE by István Szabó, PARADISE ROAD by Bruce Beresford, and Dutch titles like GUERNSEY by Nanouk Leopold and AU REVOIR by Heddy Honigmann. The Dutch actress Johanna ter Steege has been a very faithful ally of the European Film Academy since its beginnings.

Maciej Stuhr, actor, Poland

The popular Polish actor and comedian Maciej Stuhr has had roles in films by renowned directors such as Andrzej Wajda, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Agnieszka Holland and Krzysztof Warlikowski to name but a few, and among his latest films are titles like THE WEDDING and 33 SCENES FROM LIFE. Together with French actress Sophie Marceau, he hosted the 2006 European Film Awards Ceremony in Warsaw and has been a much-appreciated guest at the European Film Awards ever since.

Danis Tanovic, director/screenwriter, Bosnia & Herzegovina

His film NO MAN’S LAND won the European Film Awards 2001 (Screenwriter) and a total of 42 awards, and brought the absurd reality of war to the conscience of people across Europe and the world. He went on to make L’ENFER, based on the script by Krzysztof Kieślowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz, and, most recently, TRIAGE, starring Colin Farrell, Paz Vega and Christopher Lee.

The EFA Ambassadors Moritz Bleibtreu, Stephen Daldry, Johanna ter Steege and Maciej Stuhr will be among the guests at this year’s European Film Awards Ceremony on 12 December in Bochum, international kick-off for the European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010 “Essen for the Ruhr”.

Berlin, 17 November 2009

At the Seville European Film Festival the European Film Academy and EFA Productions announced the nominations for the 22nd European Film Awards. At the same time, the new EFA-website with lots of information about the Awards went online at www.europeanfilmawards.eu
The more than 2,000 EFA Members will now vote for the winners which will be presented during the Awards Ceremony on 12 December in Bochum.

Nominated are:

EUROPEAN FILM 2009
FISH TANK, UK
written and directed by Andrea Arnold
produced by Kees Kasander & Nick Laws

LÅT DEN RÄTTE KOMMA IN (Let the Right One in), Sweden
directed by Tomas Alfredson
written by John Ajvide Lindqvist
produced by John Nordling & Carl Molinder

UN PROPHETE (A Prophet), France
directed by Jacques Audiard
written by Jacques Audiard & Thomas Bidegain based on an original idea by Abdel Raouf Dafri after an original screenplay by Abdel Raouf Dafri & Nicolas Peufaillit
produced by Chic Films & Page 114 & Why Not Productions

THE READER, Germany, UK
directed by Stephen Daldry
written by David Hare
produced by Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack, Donna Gigliotti &
Redmond Morris

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, UK
directed by Danny Boyle
written by Simon Beaufoy
produced by Christian Colson

DAS WEISSE BAND (The White Ribbon), Germany, Austria, France, Italy
written and directed by Michael Haneke
produced by Stefan Arndt, Veit Heiduschka, Margaret Menegoz &
Andrea Occhipinti

EUROPEAN DIRECTOR 2009
Pedro Almodóvar for LOS ABRAZOS ROTOS (Broken Embraces)
Andrea Arnold for FISH TANK
Jacques Audiard for UN PROPHETE (A Prophet)
Danny Boyle for SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Michael Haneke for DAS WEISSE BAND (The White Ribbon)
Lars von Trier for ANTICHRIST

EUROPEAN ACTOR 2009
Moritz Bleibtreu in DER BAADER MEINHOF KOMPLEX (The Baader Meinhof Complex)
Steve Evets in LOOKING FOR ERIC
David Kross in THE READER (Der Vorleser)
Dev Patel in SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Tahar Rahim in UN PROPHETE (A Prophet)
Filippo Timi in VINCERE

EUROPEAN ACTRESS 2009
Penélope Cruz in LOS ABRAZOS ROTOS (Broken Embraces)
Charlotte Gainsbourg in ANTICHRIST
Katie Jarvis in FISH TANK
Yolande Moreau in SERAPHINE
Noomi Rapace in MÄN SOM HATAR KVINNOR (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
Kate Winslet in THE READER (Der Vorleser)

EUROPEAN SCREENWRITER 2009
Jacques Audiard & Thomas Bidegain for UN PROPHETE (A Prophet)
Simon Beaufoy for SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Gianni di Gregorio for PRANZO DI FERRAGOSTO (Mid-August Lunch)
Michael Haneke for DAS WEISSE BAND (The White Ribbon)

CARLO DI PALMA EUROPEAN CINEMATOGRAPHER AWARD 2009
Christian Berger for DAS WEISSE BAND (The White Ribbon)
Anthony Dod Mantle for ANTICHRIST & SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Maxim Drozdov & Alisher Khamidkhodzhaev for BUMAZHNY SOLDAT (Paper Soldier)
Stéphane Fontaine for UN PROPHETE (A Prophet)

EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY PRIX D’EXCELLENCE 2009
Francesca Calvelli for the Editing, VINCERE
Catherine Leterrier for the Costume Design, COCO AVANT CHANEL (Coco Before Chanel)
Waldemar Pokromski for Make Up and Hair, DER BAADER MEINHOF KOMPLEX (The Baader Meinhof Complex)
Brigitte Taillandier, Francis Wargnier, Jean-Paul Hurier & Marc Doisne for the Sound Design, UN PROPHETE (A Prophet)

EUROPEAN COMPOSER 2009
Alexandre Desplat for COCO AVANT CHANEL (Coco Before Chanel)
Jacob Groth for MÄN SOM HATAR KVINNOR (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
Alberto Iglesias for LOS ABRAZOS ROTOS (Broken Embraces)
Johan Söderqvist for LÅT DEN RÄTTE KOMMA IN (Let the Right One in)

In addition to the awards listed above, see nominations

Seville, 7 November 2009

When the 1,400 guests at the 22nd EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS CEREMONY take their seats at Bochum’s legendary Jahrhunderthalle (Century Hall), a former gas power station of the steel mills, they will be welcomed by German comedy star ANKE ENGELKE, the host of the evening. She is known in the international film world for hosting the opening of the Berlin International Film Festival for several years. On stage with her will be BAUHOUSE, pioneers of audiovisual composition, with an audio video performance mixing video, film and music.

Among the evening’s distinguished film guests will be British director Ken Loach, recipient of the LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, and French actress Isabelle Huppert who will receive the award EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY ACHIEVEMENT IN WORLD CINEMA 2009.

The script for the event has been developed by Nick Roddick, Markus Zimmer and Karsten Dusse. The set has been designed by Jürgen Schmidt-André. The European Film Awards Ceremony is produced by EFA Productions in co-operation with the German public broadcaster ZDF and the European culture channel ARTE. Producer is Marion Döring, Director of the EFA, executive producer is Jürgen Biesinger. The production is directed by Andreas Morell to be broadcast in a total of 44 territories.

Berlin, 4 November 2009

The European Film Academy proudly announces the three nominations in the category EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY ANIMATED FEATURE FILM 2009.

The jury consisting of EFA Board Members Per Holst (producer, Denmark) and Antonio Saura (producer, Spain) as well as representatives of CARTOON, the European Association of Animation Film, Agnès Bizzaro (program consultant/ editor, France/Germany), Enzo d’Alo (director, Italy) and Joanna Quinn (director, UK) decided to nominate the following films:

MIA AND THE MIGOO (Mia et le Migou)
by Jacques-Rémy Girerd

NIKO & THE WAY TO THE STARS (Niko - Lentäjän poika)
by Kari Juusonen & Michael Hegner

THE SECRET OF KELLS (Brendan et le Secret de Kells)
by Tomm Moore

MIA AND THE MIGOO (France 2008) tells the story of a young girl’s journey in search of her father who is working at the building site of a luxury hotel in the middle of a hidden forest. Deep in the woods, she encounters the mysterious creature Migoo.

NIKO & THE WAY TO THE STARS (Finland/Germany/Denmark/Ireland 2008) is the adventure tale about the young reindeer Niko who is still learning how to fly. He sets out for a quest to find his father, a famous member of the legendary Santa Flying Forces.

In the 9th century, in the remote parts of Ireland, lies the fortified Kells Abbey, which is threatened by the Vikings. In THE SECRET OF KELLS (France 2009), twelve-year-old Brendan explores the art of illuminating the darkness and discovers the means of protection against the raids of the barbarians.

The nominated films will now be submitted to the EFA Members to elect the winner who will be presented at the European Film Awards Ceremony on Saturday, 12 December, in Bochum.

Berlin, 22 October 2009