The creation of the European Film Academy (EFA) was the initiative of a group of Europe's finest filmmakers brought together on the occasion of the first European Film Awards Ceremony held in November 1988. EFA was finally founded in 1989 as the European Cinema Society by its first president Ingmar Bergman and 40 filmmakers to advance the interests of the European film industry. Wim Wenders was elected as first chairman of the association which two years later was renamed European Film Academy. In 1996, he followed Ingmar Bergman as president of the EFA while British producer Nik Powell was elected as chairman. French producer Humbert Balsan became new chairman in 2003 until his sudden death in 2005. Current EFA Chairman is French producer Yves Marmion.

Since its early beginnings, Berlin has been the seat of the EFA Secretariat where it is registered as a non-profit association.