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EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS 2016

Toni Erdmann sweeps the 2016 European Film Awards

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- German director Maren Ade’s film has gone home with the awards in all the main categories at the ceremony held in Wroclaw

Toni Erdmann sweeps the 2016 European Film Awards
Maren Ade and the cast and crew of Toni Erdmann receiving the Award for Best European Film (© EFA)

“This is the first time that a woman has won this prize, and it’s 2016!” exclaimed a beaming Maren Ade at the National Forum of Music in Wroclaw after she received the Best European Film Award towards the end of the 39th European Film Awards ceremony. And she had every reason to be happy: this weekend, Toni Erdmann [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Maren Ade
film profile
]
 finally picked up the “official” recognition that had been denied it following its premiere during the competition of the most recent Cannes Film Festival. The Awards for Best Screenplay, Best Actor (for Peter Simonischek), Best Actress (for Sandra Hüller), Best Director and the aforementioned Best Film were all motives for the German filmmaker’s joy on Saturday night.

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And so the breakout film of this year, which already pocketed the European Parliament’s LUX Prize less than a month ago, was the big winner at this edition of the EFAs, leaving the other favourites in its dust: I, Daniel Blake [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
 by Ken LoachJulieta [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Pedro Almodóvar
film profile
]
 by Pedro AlmodóvarElle [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
 by Paul VerhoevenRoom [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
film profile
]
 by Lenny Abrahamson and Graduation [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Cristian Mungiu
interview: Cristian Mungiu
film profile
]
 by Cristian Mungiu all went home empty-handed.

To find other winning titles, we must look at the various other genres: Fire at Sea [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gianfranco Rosi
film profile
]
 by Gianfranco Rosi was crowned Best Documentary, A Man Called Ove [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
 by Hannes Holm was Best Comedy, My Life as a Courgette [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Claude Barras
film profile
]
 by Claude Barras was Best Animated Feature, The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Juho Kuosmanen
film profile
]
 by Juho Kuosmanen received the European Discovery Award – FIPRESCI Prize, and Body [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Malgorzata Szumowska
interview: Malgorzata Szumowska
film profile
]
 by Malgorzata Szumowska was chosen by European viewers as the recipient of the People’s Choice Award.

This year also saw the involvement of Pierce Brosnan, as he was handed the European Achievement in World Cinema Award by Susanne Bier, who joked that “he gets handsome parts because he’s a handsome man”, and legendary novelist and actor Jean-Claude Carrière, who picked up the Lifetime Achievement Award, as he reminisced about his collaborations with Buñuel and made a nod to Almodóvar, hinting at a possible future collaboration. The most moving moment of the evening undoubtedly came from president of the European Film Academy Wim Wenders, as he dedicated a posthumous Honorary Award to Polish maestro Andrzej Wajda, who had been informed of the honour while he was still alive.

Aside from that, this edition of the EFAs adopted a strong political stance, and Europe’s cultural and social unity were reasserted throughout, complete with the unfurling of the EU flag (before the ceremony). Regular mention was also made of the various elements that are moulding current society (the rise of nationalism, the problem of immigration, the culture of hatred and so on) – elements that, judging by what was on display this weekend, European cinema is seeking to assuage from its uppermost echelons.

Here is the complete list of winners:

Best European Film
Toni Erdmann [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Maren Ade
film profile
]
 – Maren Ade (Germany/Austria)

Best European Documentary
Fire at Sea [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gianfranco Rosi
film profile
]
– Gianfranco Rosi (Italy/France)

Best European Director
Maren Ade – Toni Erdmann

Best European Actress
Sandra Hüller – Toni Erdmann

Best European Actor
Peter Simonischek – Toni Erdmann

Best European Screenplay
Maren Ade – Toni Erdmann

Best European Comedy
A Man Called Ove [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
 – Hannes Holm (Sweden)

Best European Animated Feature
My Life as a Courgette [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Claude Barras
film profile
]
 – Claude Barras (Switzerland/France)

European Discovery Award
The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Juho Kuosmanen
film profile
]
 – Juho Kuosmanen (Finland/Sweden/Germany)

European University Film Award 
I, Daniel Blake [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
 – Ken Loach

People’s Choice Award
Body [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Malgorzata Szumowska
interview: Malgorzata Szumowska
film profile
]
- Malgorzata Szumowska (Poland)

Best European Short Film
9 Days - From My Window in Aleppo - Thomas Vroege, Floor van der Meulen, Issa Touma (Netherlands/Syria)

Best European Cinematographer – Prix Carlo di Palma
Camilla Hjelm Knudsen - Land of Mine [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Louis Hofmann
interview: Martin Zandvliet
film profile
]
 (Denmark/Germany)

Best European Editor
Anne Østerud and Janus Billeskov Jansen - The Commune [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Thomas Vinterberg
film profile
]
 (Denmark/Sweden/Netherlands)

Best European Production Designer
Alice Normington - Suffragette [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
film profile
]
 (UK)

Best European Costume Designer
Stefanie Bieker - Land of Mine

Best European Hair & Make-up Artist
Barbara Kreuzer - Land of Mine

Best European Composer
Ilya Demutsky - The Student (Russia)

Best European Sound Designer
Radosław Ochnio - 11 Minutes [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Jerzy Skolimowski
film profile
]
 (Poland/Ireland)

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(Translated from Spanish)

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