The best of European cinema was celebrated across the continent last month. And now the winners of the 36th European Film Awards have been announced…
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The five films nominated for Best European Film 2023 are among the strongest of the year – and not just in Europe.
Jonathan Glazer's harrowing Holocaust drama The zone of interest; Agnieszka Holland's breathtaking and haunting drama Green border; Aki Kaurismäki Finnish feel-good love story Fallen leaves; Justine Triet's acclaimed French courtroom drama Anatomy of a fall; and Matteo Garrones Io Captainwhich, like Green Border, dealt with the refugee crisis at Europe's borders.
The European Film Awards, which celebrate the greatest achievements of European cinema, have made their verdict, awarding Justine Triet's Anatomy of a Fall the top prize.
The French film swept everything and won the awards “Best Film”, “Best Director”, “Best Screenplay” and “Best Actress” for Sandra Hülser.
It tells the gripping story of a possible murder in the Alps that turns into a gripping courtroom drama, driven by a standout performance from Hülser.
Triet's unconventional crime novel deals with difficult parenthood and the burden of responsibility in relationships. Especially when the relationship is dissected publicly for all to see – which in turn allows the director to use the justice system as a springboard to expose entrenched misogynistic prejudices. The main character, Sandra (Hüller), is not the ideal victim fighting for her innocence to be heard; She speaks matter-of-factly about the imperfections of her relationships and feels like a full human being, in contrast to the cliched figure of the blameless martyr fighting for survival.
The ceremony can be seen in the player below:
Anatomy of a Winner
After the Palme d'Or at Cannes this year, the film has continued to grow in success, finding an audience and filling its awards list.
In fact, “Anatomy of a Fall” is increasingly becoming an awards favorite, having already picked up Best Screenplay and Best International Film Gotham Independent Film Awardsand Best Foreign Language Film at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards. As we discovered in ours EFA predictionsthere was every reason to believe that it would score a major victory in all of its categories.
The EFAs aren't shy about giving multiple awards to the same film, as we saw last year Triangle of sadness. Same case this year.
Sandra Hülser, who was nominated twice this year for her performances in “Anatomy of a Fall” and “The Zone of Interest,” was a surprise for the best actress category. This is deserved, as she is the beating heart of the film and its intricate complexities. Thanks to her fantastic twist, the film shows itself to be far more interested in weightier meditations on perception and storytelling, and so the overpowering sense of uncertainty is addictive throughout.
Stay tuned to Euronews Culture for our full interview with Hülser.
While Anatomy of a Fall is a thought-provoking drama with appropriate emotional depth and a worthy winner, it is, dare we say it, a little overrated. “Green Border” and “The Zone of Interest” could have gotten more attention – not just because they are incredible films, but also because of the variety. Jonathan Glazer should have won best director for his formal daring and for creating a Holocaust drama like no other, and it's disappointing that Agnieszka Holland's highly effective Green Border comes up empty-handed went home. We hope you take a look during the ongoing awards season.
Still, don't be surprised if Anatomy of a Fall continues to do well leading up to (and possibly including) next year's Oscars.
Elsewhere, as previously mentioned, Mads Mikkelsen won Best Actor for his magnificent performance in The Promised Land (unfortunately Mikkelsen was not in Berlin to accept his award, but tuned in virtually); Oscar-winning British actress Vanessa Redgrave received the European Lifetime Achievement award (Redgrave was also disappointingly only seen virtually alongside her daughter Joely Richardson); and the Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr was awarded the Academy's President and Board of Directors Honorary Award. He showed up. So that's something.
Also noteworthy is the European Young Audience Award, which went to Scrapper by Charlotte Regan – with Molly Manning Walker as cinematographer. Manning Walker won the European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI for How To Have Sex and we are delighted that two emerging talents from the UK have been recognized with prizes. Both films are on our list of the best films of 2023, so stay tuned to Euronews Culture for our thoughts and our full countdown to our best film of the year…
(Scroll down to see the full list of winners.)
Outstanding films that need an equally impressive production
This year, the European Film Awards have once again shown the vibrancy of European cinema with their program and the nominated films.
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However, if they want to position themselves as a must-see event and be on par with Hollywood awards shows – both in terms of pageantry and prestige to elevate the quality of filmmaking even further – they need to improve the aesthetics a bit.
Last year's ceremony in Iceland was auspicious and announced itself as a momentous date. In comparison, this year's edition in Berlin felt a bit paltry. The awards ceremonies taking place in the Berlin Arena would have required a larger, more magnificent stage to present the outstanding film crop of 2023. The Berlinale Palast, for example, would have sent a stronger message. The arena's low stage and cheap chairs didn't fit the bill and gave the ceremony a somewhat disappointingly understated feel.
And while they're at it, they could invite the directors of the Berlinale, Cannes and Venice. After all, the films that premiered at their festival are the most nominated…
As far as marketing goes, Berlin's citywide billboards could have highlighted the ceremony a little more.
Europe has nothing to envy Hollywood; Now it needs a bigger platform to reflect its ambitions. The European Film Academy is more than capable of taking the lead, with a great team behind the scenes. However, the awards ceremony must reflect the quality of the films themselves.
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Last year's 35th edition was also a role model and a highlight. It was a truly unforgettable event. Unless budget cuts are the cause this year, European cinema needs a little more momentum.
Full list of this year's winners
Best European Film
• WINNER: ANATOMY OF A FALL (ANATOMIE D'UNE CHUTE) – Directed by Justine Triet (France)
• FALLEN LEAVES (KUOLLEET LEHDET) – Director: Aki Kaurismäki (Finland, Germany)
• GREEN BORDER (ZIELONA GRANICA) – Director: Agnieszka Holland (Poland, France, Czech Republic, Belgium)
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• ME CAPTAIN (IO CAPITANO) – Directed by Matteo Garrone (Italy, Belgium)
• THE ZONE OF INTEREST – Director: Jonathan Glazer (UK, Poland, USA)
Best European Director
• WINNER: Justine Triet for ANATOMY OF A FALL
• Aki Kaurismäki for FALLEN LEAVES
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• Agnieszka Holland for GREEN BORDER
• Matteo Garrone for ME CAPTAIN
• Jonathan Glazer for THE ZONE OF INTEREST
Best European Actress
• WINNER: Sandra Hülser in ANATOMY OF A FALL
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• Sandra Hülser in THE ZONE OF INTEREST
• Eka Chavleishvili in BLACKBIRD BLACKBIRD BLACKBERRY
• Alma Pöysti in FALLEN LEAVES
• Mia McKenna-Bruce in HOW TO HAVE SEX
• Leonie Benesch in THE TEACHER LOUNGE
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Best European Actor
• WINNER: Mads Mikkelsen in THE PROMISED LAND
• Thomas Schubert in AFIRE
• Jussi Vatanen in FALLEN LEAVES
• Josh O'Connor in LA CHIMERA
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• Christian Friedel in THE ZONE OF INTEREST
Best European Screenwriter
• WINNER: Justine Triet and Arthur Harari for ANATOMY OF A FALL
• Aki Kaurismäki for FALLEN LEAVES
• Maciej Pisuk, Gabriela Łazarkiewicz-Sieczko and Agnieszka Holland for GREEN BORDER
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• İlker Çatak & Johannes Duncker for THE TEACHERS' LOUNGE
• Jonathan Glazer for THE ZONE OF INTEREST
Best European Documentary
• WINNER: SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD (SAVVUSANNA SÕSARAD) – Director: Anna Hints (Estonia, France, Iceland)
• APOLONIA, APOLONIA – Director: Lea Glob (Denmark, Poland)
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• FOUR DAUGHTERS (LES FILLES D'OLFA) – Director: Kaouther Ben Hania (France, Tunisia, Germany, Saudi Arabia)
• MOTHERLAND – Director: Hanna Badziaka & Alexander Mihalkovich (Sweden, Ukraine, Norway)
• ON THE ADAMANT (SUR L'ADAMANT) – Director: Nicolas Philibert (France, Japan)
European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI
• WINNER: HOW TO HAVE SEX directed by Molly Manning Walker (UK, Greece)
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• 20,000 species of bees (20,000 ESPECIES DE ABEJAS) directed by Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren (Spain)
• LA PALISIADA (ЛЯ ПАЛІСІАДА) directed by Philip Sotnychenko (Ukraine)
• SAFE PLACE (SIGURNO MJESTO) directed by Juraj Lerotić (Croatia, Slovenia)
• THE QUIET MIGRATION (QUIET LIV) directed by Malene Choi (Denmark)
• VINCENT MUST DIE (VINCENT DOIT MOURIR) directed by Stéphan Castang (France)
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Best European Animated Feature Film
• WINNER: ROBOT DREAMS directed by Pablo Berger
• A GIRL'S GREYHOUND directed by Enzo d'Alò
• CHICKEN FOR LINDA! Director: Chiara Malta, Sébastien Laudenbach
• TEH AMAZING MAURICE directed by Toby Genkel
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• WHITE PLASTIC SKY directed by Tibor Bánóczki, Sarolta Szabó
Best European Short Film
• WINNER: HARDLY WORKING directed by Susanna Flock, Robin Klengel, Leonhard Müllner, Michael Stumpf
• 27, directed by Flora Anna Buda
• AQUERONTE directed by Manuel Muñoz Rivas
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• DREAMING SO ALIVE ABOUT OUR SPANISH VACATION, directed by Christian Avilés
• FLORES DEL OTRO PATIO directed by Jorge Cadena
The nominations are based on the votes of 4,600 European Film Academy members who viewed the films in the Academy's annual selection.
Stay tuned to Euronews Culture for our full interviews with Sandra Hülser and Agnieszka Holland.