– For eight weeks, the European Film Academy’s initiative celebrated European film in 125 cities in 47 countries
(© Matthijs Wouter Knol)
For eight weeks, the European Award Season celebrated the great wealth and diversity of European film. With the festive gala ceremony of the 38th European Film Awards last weekend in Berlin, the pan-European programme experienced a sparkling and successful finale. In its fourth international edition – the first one under its new title – the European Award Season saw a record participation of partners in 125 cities in 47 countries.
Thanks to the Academy’s partner Europa Cinemas, arthouse cinemas from Norway to Malta, from Portugal to Poland highlighted European films, presenting special programmes, events and dedicated retrospectives.
Montenegro again came on board with all cinemas in the country. For the first time, four cities outside of Europe participated: Hong Kong, Santiago de Chile, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam). On top of this, several film festivals, among them the long-time Academy partner Seville European Film Festival, aligned with the work of the European Film Academy and were part of the programme, so were national cinematography centres and film museums.
A pilot programme with the Berlin-based Yorck cinema group took the lead: every week, one of the nominated films was screened in a local cinema, presented by a Berlin-based Academy member who introduced the film and with international guests such as Joachim Trier and Mads Mikkelsen welcoming the audience in person. Local public radio broadcaster radioeins (rbb) was the media partner promoting the Academy nominee screenings.
“The European Award Season has shown the potential of European cinema. From small arthouse theatres to international festivals, from local communities to cities across the globe, audiences celebrate the richness of our films and the talent and vision so clearly present behind European cinema. This record participation in 125 cities across 47 countries demonstrates that European stories resonate everywhere. It’s time for confidence about Europe and its cinema. We’ve got something to be proud of together and make sure we can grow its visibility. Through our collaboration with partners, filmmakers, and audiences the European Film Academy will continue to do so in the next years,” says Academy CEO Matthijs Wouter Knol.
Apart from cinema screenings, existing co-operations under the new brand were continued with MUBI, documentary platform DA Film, and FestivalScope, the latter running a European Short film programme. Another new initiative is the collaboration with the library platform filmfriend, linked to 862 public libraries in German-speaking European countries. All library members could watch European films related to the history of the European Film Awards on this platform as part of their subscription. ARTE presented films by and with the honorary award recipients Liv Ullmann and Alice Rohrwacher on their digital platform, as well as on linear TV.
For the duration of the European Award Season, all participating cinemas focused specifically on European films. A lot of the screenings came with an introduction by or discussion with filmmakers. Specific audience engagement was important for most cinemas participating: there were special screenings for young teenagers, students as well as parent-friendly events and screenings focusing on a senior audience. There were special music nights and a poster painting competition in Tirana (Albania) and “knitting in the cinema” screenings in Salzburg (Austria).
Film theatres also showed retrospectives of renowned European filmmakers. There was a special focus on Wim Wenders in Prishtina (Kosovo) and in Košice (Slovakia), an Ulrike Ottinger selection in Istanbul, a retrospective celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Jerzy Has in Wroclaw (Poland) and a Julia Ducournau focus in Cluj-Napoca (Romania).
A lot of the partners also highlighted films from a specific country or with a particular theme: There was a French Film Festival with themed drinks at the bar in Hradec Kralové (Czechia), an Italo Mafia Special in Cologne (Germany), European Children’s Film Week in Budapest, a special with films about cats in Riga (Latvia), German Film Days in Oslo, the mini festival “Children and Youth in Film” with Q&As in Biel/Bienne (Switzerland) and a short doc selection in Kyiv (Ukraine).
The European Award Season is supported by the Creative Europe MEDIA Programme of the European Union and Eurimages and co-operates with Europa Cinemas, CICAE and European Film Promotion. Media partners are Cineuropa and EBU.
