The European Film Awards Ceremony took place in Berlin.

The European Film Awards ceremony took place in Berlin. The undisputed favorite was the French forensic psychological drama Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Trieu: it was awarded for best screenplay, direction and editing, for best actress played by Sandra Hüller, and for best film. Comments Andrey Plakhov.

“Anatomy of a Fall,” in addition to its intriguing plot, excellent acting and catchy cinematic form, attracted academics because it was an ideal pan-European film. Its action takes place in France, the characters are German and French, the characters speak not only their native language, but also English. However, even without this picture, European cinema this year looked very solid.

As a result of a complex selection and nomination process, members of the European Film Academy formed a representative shortlist for the award, which, however, was missing several important films that had already been screened at this year’s festivals. Neither “Ideal Days,” shot by Wim Wenders in Japan, nor “A Recipe for Love” by Tran Anh Hung, nominated for an Oscar by France, nor the film by Romanian Radu Jude “Don’t Expect Too Much from the End of the World” were on this list. But what was included in the nominations could well compete with the Oscars. And even the Spanish “Snow Society” or the Italian “Chimera” (best scenery) awarded with so-called technical prizes (best visual effects, as well as makeup and hairstyles) are also high professional achievements, it is not for nothing that they are combined into the Excellence Award category.

The level of films in other categories was also high. The Estonian “Sisterhood of the Black Bathhouse” was recognized as the best documentary – about how women in the bathhouse share their secrets. Although the Danish-Polish-French “Apolonia, Apolonia” competed with it – and one can argue which of them is stronger. The FIPRESCI prize in the debut category “Discovery” went to the British film “How to Have Sex.” Prize for best animation – Spanish “Robot Dreams”.

Five excellent films competed for the main awards – best film and best director. In addition to Justine Trieu’s Anatomy of a Fall, these were Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves, Jonathan Glaser’s Zone of Interest, Agnieszka Holland’s Green Border and Matteo Garrone’s I Am Captain. At the ceremony, the nominees were presented in an original way: the actor or actress who starred in him spoke very heartfeltly and informally about each director. The audience in the Berlin Arena might have gotten the impression that all of these films had a chance to win, but only Zone of Interest took home the prize for best sound design; “Anatomy of a Fall” took all the main awards.

It started with the script. Justine Trieu wrote Anatomy of a Fall with her husband Arthur Harari during the pandemic, when both were quarantined indoors. Trieu, receiving the prize, not without humor, described in her speech this situation, which is refracted in its own way in the film (its heroes, husband and wife, are writers, and the husband dies under mysterious circumstances). And she added that, fortunately, she and Arthur survived. And then there was a triumph at the Cannes Film Festival, and now – at the European Oscar, as the prize awarded by the EuroAcademy is called on the sidelines.

It seems that no one doubted that the acting prize would go to Sandra Hüller; she was even nominated twice in the same category, the second time for her role as the wife of the commandant of Auschwitz in “Zone of Interest.” The German Hüller, until recently a promising young actress, has grown into a big international star. Accepting the award, she asked the audience for a moment of silence to listen to the tragedies of the modern world. This was not the only “sacred” moment of the ceremony. Another was the awarding of the honorary Bela Tarr prize. Mike Downey, one of the leaders of the EuroAcademy, gave an inspired speech about the Hungarian classic, who explores in his uncompromising films the nature of evil, and it is “not only social, but ontological.”

Another prize for total services to cinema was given to Spanish director Isabel Coixet. And one more – the legendary Vanessa Redgrave. At almost 87 years old, she was unable to come to Berlin, but together with her daughter, also actress Joely Richardson, she recorded a video message and talked about her late husband Tony Richardson, who taught her to understand what directing is. Redgrave is not only a great actress, she is also known for remaining true to her beliefs and political leanings, no matter how controversial they may be. Unlike many other representatives of the acting industry who are more likely to engage in self-promotion, like Susan Sarandon – under the guise of supporting Palestine, she made an anti-Semitic statement, but when a large company terminated a long-term contract with her, she immediately apologized and took back her statements, Redgrave never apologized and paid for my views.

The political context, wittingly or unwittingly, affected the prizes of European cinema. The ceremony was opened by the head of the film academy, Agnieszka Holland. She recalled the areas of ongoing military conflicts and humanitarian disasters with large casualties. And she said that the European Academy resolutely opposes anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, that it unites in its ranks filmmakers from Ukraine, Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Israel and strives to make cinema a zone of peace. Not only on the evening of the prize ceremony, but also.