09/12/2024 - The film by Jacques Audiard has dominated proceedings with five wins; other winners include No Other Land, Flow, Armand and Souleymane's Story

The presenters and winners of the 2024 European Film Awards (© Sebastian Gabsch/European Film Academy)

There were no major surprises at the 37th edition of the European Film Awards, held on 7 December at the Culture and Congress Centre (KKL) in Lucerne (Switzerland). Following the resounding success of Anatomy of a Fall [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Justine Triet
film profile] by Justine Triet last year, another French film dominated the evening this time. Emilia Pérez [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], the latest effort by Palme d'Or winner Jacques Audiard (Dheepan [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Jacques Audiard
film profile]), emerged as the undisputed winner of the proceedings, scooping all of the awards it had been nominated for: European Film, Director, Screenwriter and Actress, recognising Karla Sofia Gascón’s entrancing performance. In addition to the previously announced Excellence Award for European Editing, presented to Juliette Welfling, Audiard's musical crime comedy-drama walked away with a total of five prizes. The film had its world premiere in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, where it won the Jury Prize and the Best Actress Award for its female ensemble, and has been selected as France’s official entry for the 2025 Oscars (see the news).

For the first time, films nominated in the European Documentary and Animated Feature Film categories were also eligible to compete in the main European Film category, which amounted to a total of 15 movies vying for the top honour. Astoundingly, the other leading nominee, the Golden Lion winner The Room Next Door [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] by Spanish maestro Pedro Almodóvar – also competing in four categories – went home empty-handed, as did The Seed of the Sacred Fig [+see also:
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interview: Mohammad Rasoulof
film profile], the latest feature by Iran’s Mohammad Rasoulof, which had three nominations but no wins. The Substance [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Coralie Fargeat
film profile] by Coralie Fargeat, arguably one of the film sensations of the year, received two Excellence Awards for European Cinematography (thanks to the work of Benjamin Kračun) and European Visual Effects (for the collective efforts of Bryan Jones, Pierre Procoudine-Gorsky, Chervin Shafaghi and Guillaume Le Gouez), but failed to secure any of the major awards during the ceremony. Similarly, the period horror-drama The Girl with the Needle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Magnus von Horn
film profile] by Magnus von Horn picked up some technical awards – European Production Design for Jagna Dobeszon and European Original Score for Frederikke Hoffmeier – but did not claim any of the other accolades it had been nominated for.

The 21st Century Orchestra, together with Swiss singer Nubya and the 21st Century Chorus, provided the musical accompaniment for the event, which welcomed over 1,000 international guests, nominees and presenters to Lucerne. Swiss voice actor Fernando Tiberini served as the master of ceremonies at a “multilingual gala”, paying homage to the linguistic diversity of the host country, and encouraging winners and presenters to say a few words in their mother tongues when on stage. The gala was live-streamed and broadcast by 30 partners from 18 countries across Europe.

“All of us here in this room are so lucky to be making films in Europe. I particularly, as a Frenchman, would like our country to serve as an example for all other countries in Europe which are not as lucky to benefit from indispensable national support,” said Audiard when collecting the top prize, before acknowledging the work of the whole crew behind the film. “As we all know, cinema is a collective sport. Therefore, I would like to thank my wonderful actresses and cast. I would also like to thank my dear composers, Camille and Clément Ducol, who created the specific character and another actress in the film, which is this beautiful music. I would also like to take a moment to give a warm thank you to the talented Damien Jalet, who should be awarded a prize for best choreography. […] This award is an encouragement; everything still remains to be done,” said the French director.

As mentioned above, Spanish actress Karla Sofía Gascón made history by becoming the first trans woman ever to win European Actress for her role as a dangerous Mexican mobster who undergoes gender-affirming surgery to realise her dream of becoming a woman. During her powerful acceptance speech, she said: “I deeply believe in our European values, in what we are. […] All of us, together, can do great things and maybe help other countries that are going through tough times.” She also had words of gratitude for the “small distributors that have believed in us and have been distributing our film all over Europe”. Breaking down with emotion, she added: “I would like to dedicate this prize to my mother and all mothers in the world because their worth and their function are sometimes undervalued […], as well as to all families who love and accept their children.” Meanwhile, in the European Actor category, newcomer Abou Sangaré triumphed over renowned thespians and international stars such as Daniel Craig (Queer [+see also:
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film profile]) and Ralph Fiennes (Conclave [+see also:
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trailer
film profile]) for his breakthrough performance in Souleymane's Story [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Boris Lojkine
film profile], a movie that also received the technical gong for European Sound (for Marc-Olivier Brullé, Pierre Bariaud, Charlotte Butrak, Samuel Aïchoun and Rodrigo Diaz).

Apart from the remaining Excellence Awards, other laureates of the 37th European Film Awards included Armand [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel
interview: Renate Reinsve
film profile] by Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel, which received the European Discovery - Prix FIPRESCI – and was also nominated in the European Actress category thanks to the remarkable performance of Norway’s Renate Reinsve – and the European Young Audience Award for The Remarkable Life of Ibelin [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Benjamin Ree
film profile] by Benjamin Ree, handed out by the teenage representatives of the European Film Club in one of the most touching moments of the evening. As expected, European Animated Feature Film went to the endearing environmental allegory Flow [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gints Zilbalodis
film profile] by Latvian filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis – one of this year’s LUX Audience Award nominees (see the news). No Other Land [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
film profile] by Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Basel Adra and Hamdan Ballal won European Documentary, beating out Mati Diop’s recent Golden Bear winner Dahomey [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] (also a 2025 LUX finalist). Lastly, The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent by Nebojša Slijepčević emerged as the winner of the rebranded European Short Film – Prix Vimeo (see the news).

As previously announced (see the news), the European Achievement in World Cinema Award was bestowed upon Italian-born legend Isabella Rossellini, who received the longest standing ovation of the evening. In her acceptance speech, the actress and filmmaker (who has worked with directors of the likes of the Taviani brothers, David Lynch, Robert Zemeckis and Alice Rohrwacher, among many others) said “curiosity” had been the driving force of her career: “When I reached an age where there was less work as a model and as an actress, curiosity also saved me from depression.” Rossellini also seized the chance to thank the babysitters who helped her raise her children when she was working: “If it weren’t for the wonderful work of other women who helped me, I couldn't possibly have had the career I have had.” Her latest role was in Edward Berger’s Conclave, where she worked alongside Ralph Fiennes, who presented her with the award at the ceremony.

German master Wim Wenders, one of the founding members of the European Film Academy and its president from 1996-2020, was honoured with the European Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding body of work (including masterpieces such as Paris, Texas and Wings of Desire), presented by the new president of the Academy, French actress Juliette Binoche. Wenders emphasised: “It took me a whole career to realise filmmaking is not about being a genius […]; it's about knowing that the film is bigger than you. And that is what I wanted to tell you as an Academy. This institution is bigger than each and every one of us, but we can all serve it. […] Europe needs the film community to produce a more positive and more emotional image of a continent that is a bit lost in translation,” he claimed.

Finally, the Eurimages Co-Production Award was given to Macedonian producer and actress Labina Mitevska, one of the founders of the family-run production company Sisters and Brother Mitevski Production, for her remarkable record of successful and impactful European co-productions.

Here is the full list of award winners:

European Film
Emilia Pérez [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Jacques Audiard (France)

European Documentary
No Other Land [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
film profile] - Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Basel Adra & Hamdan Ballal (Palestine/Norway)

European Animated Feature Film
Flow [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gints Zilbalodis
film profile] - Gints Zilbalodis (Latvia/France/Belgium)

European Short Film – Prix Vimeo
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent - Nebojša Slijepčević (Croatia/France/Bulgaria/Slovenia)

European Director
Jacques Audiard - Emilia Pérez

European Actress
Karla Sofía Gascón - Emilia Pérez

European Actor
Abou Sangare - Souleymane's Story [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Boris Lojkine
film profile] (France)

European Screenwriter
Jacques Audiard - Emilia Pérez

European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI
Armand [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel
interview: Renate Reinsve
film profile] - Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel (Norway/Netherlands/Germany/Sweden)

European Young Audience Award
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Benjamin Ree
film profile] - Benjamin Ree (Norway)

European Cinematography
Benjamin Kračun - The Substance [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Coralie Fargeat
film profile] (UK/USA/France)

European Editing
Juliette Welfling - Emilia Pérez

European Production Design
Jagna Dobesz - The Girl With The Needle [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Magnus von Horn
film profile] (Denmark/Poland/Sweden)

European Costume Design
Tanja Hausner - The Devil’s Bath [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala
film profile] (Austria/Germany)

European Make-Up & Hair
Evalotte Oosterop - When The Light Breaks [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Rúnar Rúnarsson
film profile] (Iceland/Netherlands/Croatia/France)

European Original Score
Frederikke Hoffmeier - The Girl With The Needle

European Sound
Marc-Olivier Brullé, Pierre Bariaud, Charlotte Butrak, Samuel Aïchoun & Rodrigo Diaz - Souleymane’s Story (France)

European Visual Effects
Bryan Jones, Pierre Procoudine-Gorsky, Chervin Shafaghi & Guillaume Le Gouez - The Substance

European University Film Award
Three Kilometres to the End of the World [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emanuel Pârvu
film profile] - Emanuel Pârvu (Romania)

Eurimages Co-Production Award
Labina Mitevska

European Achievement in World Cinema Award
Isabella Rossellini

European Lifetime Achievement Award
Wim Wenders