In praise of European cinema

The European Film Academy is a body that provides tools for the promotion of and education about European filmmaking across 52 countries throughout the continent. Most may know the Academy for its annual award ceremony which celebrates the cream of filmmaking in Europe, but the Academy is currently expanding its scope of work: the new “Month of European Film” is part of a more expansive project to spread a passion for European film as far and wide as possible. Here are just a few examples of the vital work the Academy is doing…

1. Hosting Europe’s most spectacular movie award ceremony.

This is the big one. A group of 40 pioneering European filmmakers, spearheaded by the Swedish maestro Ingmar Bergman, formed the European Film Academy in 1988, at the first ever presentation of the European Film Awards. Their objective: bridging the gap between cinematic artistry and the film industry by taking a love for a wide range of European cinema and opening it up to the public, while also making sure that European films don’t disappear in cinemas

Since this year, the Academy is honouring films and filmmakers via the Month of European Film, which culminates in the annual awards ceremony. After an entirely virtual affair in 2020 and a hybrid event in 2021, the 35th European Film Awards ceremony will take place as an in-person celebration of filmmaking in Reykjavík, Iceland, with nominated titles being announced on 8 November 2022.

2. Bringing the best European cinema to the people.

This year, Academy has partnered with flagship cinemas and venues across 35 countries – from Iceland to Greece, Portugal to Romania, Latvia to the UK – to celebrate an eclectic and diverse selection of European films throughout the Month of European Film. Instead of presenting a uniform catalogue across all regions, each participating venue has had the freedom to explore and curate their own unique programme, combining screenings, talks, seminars, workshops and dedicated retrospectives. The celebration runs between 13 November and 10 December, and details of all titles and venues can be found at monthofeuropeanfilm.eu

3. Building cinematic monuments

The Academy’s pan-European film heritage network has been steadily connecting film archives, cinematheques and institutions across the continent in order to increase public access to culturally diverse film histories and make them widely available to new audiences. On the occasion of the 35th Awards ceremony, 22 additional heritage locations have been unveiled, bringing the total number of Film Culture Treasure locations up to 35.

Sites such as the Parisian Café des Deux Moulins (AKA Amélie’s café), the marble-paved street of Stradun in Dubrovnik and The Notting Hill Bookshop join an ever-growing list of symbolic spaces including the Moulin d’Andé (a temple of Nouvelle Vague artistic creation), the Tabernas Desert (home turf of the Spaghetti Western) and the infamous Odessa steps, where Sergei Eisenstein’s pioneering use of dialectical montage left its indelible mark.

4. Paying homage to the masters

The great Palestinian auteur Elia Suleiman (Introduction to the End of an Argument, Divine Intervention, It Must Be Heaven) will be presented with the European Achievement in World Cinema Award for his outstanding and subversive and body of work. Suleiman – whose absurdist sensibilities draw frequent comparisons to Jacques Tati – has built a body of work that is distinctively and irrevocably charged with a Palestinian political fervour, and often displays the complexities that lie at the intersection of cultural politics, aesthetics and affect through the condition of Palestinian statelessness.

A Lifetime Achievement Award will be awarded to the revered filmmaker and central figure of New German Cinema, Margarethe von Trotta (The Second Awakening of Christa Klages, Marianne and Julianne, Rosa Luxemburg). Foregrounding female subjectivities and a nuanced political agency, von Trotta’s work as a filmmaker refracts history through fiction, and is imbued with poeticism, compassion, and incisive feminism. Italian master Marco Bellocchio will be honoured for his groundbreaking work and receive the award for Innovative Storytelling, for his drama series Exterior Night. These awards will be presented during the ceremony and all awardees will be present.

To explore further, head to europeanfilmacademy.org 

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