ARTNEWSPRESS: The 32 European Film Awards crowned The Favourite with a number of its prizes, even though the film was playing catch-up with last year. Still a lovely evening also bestowed wins on newcomers like Ladj Ly and increasingly promising talent like Céline Sciamma. Best Actor winner Antonio Banderas sent a message to say Pedro Almodovar is “a miracle in my life.” Following some early controversy, and four nominations, Roman Polanski’s An Officer And A Spy did not pick up any trophies, while the European Film Academy made a point of saying it is looking to “revise its disciplinary measures.” See below for the full list of winners announced tonight.
PREVIOUS: The European Film Academy is handing out its top European Film Awards tonight in Berlin. Nominations for the final 32nd EFAs are tied in the main categories by three films with four mentions each: Roman Polanski’s An Officer And A Spy, Pedro Almodovar’s Pain And Glory and Marco Bellocchio’s The Traitor. The latter two are also the Oscar representatives from their respective Spain and Italy.
Further factoring heavily this evening are Ladj Ly’s Cannes revelation Les Miserables and Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite, which is catching up with the EFAs after its awards-season triumphs earlier this year (due to a vagary of how the European Academy hands out its prizes, The Favorite already has four statues, having taken wins for cinematography, editing, costume design and hair and make-up in a November round).
Still, focus this evening may turn on whether Polanski’s Dreyfus Affair drama scoops any prizes. While the filmmaker remains a controversial figure, there has been a divide between U.S. and Euro perspectives in the #MeToo era. An Officer And A Spy, which has EFA nominations for Picture, Director, Actor and Screenwriter, was one of the most contested titles at the Venice Film Festival where it debuted earlier this year. It went on to win the Grand Jury Prize there and has performed well at the French box office. Its EFA nominations in early November came one day after it emerged that a French woman had accused the director of raping her at his Swiss chalet in 1975. There have since been social media calls for the EFA to disqualify the movie. Academy President Wim Wenders did not address the issue during his initial remarks from the stage in Berlin tonight, however, Deputy Chairman Mike Downey noted, “The European Film Academy deplores violence in all its forms” and said that with respect to recent allegations against Polanski, the EFA Board is looking to “revise its disciplinary measures.” In the meantime, “from a procedural point of view, we must respect the democratic desicions of the EFA membership and respect the hundreds of artists who worked on the film in question.”
WINNERS
EUROPEAN DIRECTOR
Yorgos Lanthimos, The Favourite
EUROPEAN SHORT FILM
The Christmas Gift, dir: Bogdan Mureșanu
EUROPEAN ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Bunuel In The Labyrinth Of The Turtles, dir: Salvador Simó
EUROPEAN SCREENWRITER
Céline Sciamma, Portrait Of A Lady On Fire
EUROPEAN ACTOR
Antonio Banderas, Pain And Glory
EUROPEAN ACTRESS
Olivia Colman, The Favourite
EUROPEAN DISCOVERY – Prix FIPRESCI
Les Misérables, dir: Ladj Ly
PEOPLES CHOICE AWARD
Cold War, dir: Pawel Pawlilkowski
EUROPEAN COMEDY
The Favourite
EUROPEAN DOCUMENTARY
For Sama; dirs: Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
EUROPEAN FILM
The Favorite, dir:Yorgos Lanthimos
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Nancy Tartaglione
