37th European Film Award Winners

Update December 8, 2024. In general, it was a nice-to-watch awards ceremony, very-European -as always-, with an agreeable polyglot host Fernando Tiberini, and a nice venue KKL Luzern on the shores of Lake Lucerne in Switzerland. Sigh.

BUT, it was too long. Mainly due to too-long speeches and since it was broadcasted, TV audience could see attendees falling asleep after the more acceptable 2 hours for a non-dynamic show.

Still there were some very exciting, quite funny, and short speeches -mainly by Jacques Audiard- and some serious but impactful speeches -Juliette Binoche, Karla Sofía Gascón and othe presenters or award winners-.

But the most exciting event of the night for me was Emilia Pérez by Jacques Audiard swept the board by triumphing in almost all top categories. Yes, I know film is divisive with many liking it (perhaps European?) the film and other many not-liking the film (mainly American). First let me explain or remain loyal readers, Jacque Audiard is one of my very favorite film directors and believe this film is as good as his first film I saw: A Prophet. I simply loved the film and stayed in my head for days trying to assimilate the many film layers and most of all, the experience! It's a fantastic and complete cinematic experience and yes, is the very first time I could say those words for a musical film!

So, it is no surprise that film fist award I jumped from my seat and kept -very surprised- jumping until the very last award of the night. Emilia Pérez won Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenwriter, Best Actress, and Best European Editing.  Five awards, incredible but well-deserved according to European Academy members and I.

Haven't done a mini-review in a long time but Emilia Pérez deserves a few words from me. Go watch but do not expect what misleading film marketing might say as NO this is not about a narco man who becomes a woman and all sing songs. Could be the story BUT there is so much more to experience and the key word is experience. Not a film to rationalize but to let go and experience, forget where you are and submerge into the film, feel inside the film and bet you will see a total diffent film as you will be experiencing all the details in the visuals, the amazing performances, the words in the songs, the movement in the dances, the darkeness, the silences, the use of light is oustanding, all these and more felt as one. Hope you ENJOY!!! it as much as I did.

Going back to the European Awards that when you check news from American industry magazines articles tend to list only the awards with no commentary, not positive nor negative, tend to attach Netflix to film and tend to make big news out of the first transgrender winning top European award -last two are good and not-good at the same time. All are facts, are truth; but no one seems to care about the movies or Emilia Pérez the movie in particular. Sigh.

As we know current edition is the last to be held in December with the annaual ceremony movint to January from 2026 as the sometimes pitched Europe's answer to Academy Awards and bellwether to Oscars will be then more close to Oscars which will allow the building up of more intense buzz around the selecte European titles.

The List

European Film: Emilia Pérez, Jacques Audiard, France

European Animated Feature Film: Straume (Flow), Gints Zilbalodis, Latvia, France and Belgium
European Documentary: No Other Land, Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, and Rachel Szor, Palestine and Norway

European Director:  Jacques Audiard for Emilia Pérez, Jacques Audiard, France
European Discovery - Prix FIPRESCI (to director of first full-length feature film):  Armand, Halfdan Ullman Tøndel, Norway, Netherlands, Germany and Sweden

European Screenwriter:  Jacques Audiard for Emilia Pérez, Jacques Audiard, France

European Actress: Karla Sofía Gascón in Emilia Pérez, Jacques Audiard, France
European Actor: Abou Sangare in L'Histoire de Souleymane (Souleymane's Story), Boris Lojkine, France

European Cinematography: Benjamin Kračun for The Substance, Coralie Fargeat, UK, France and USA
European Editing: Juliette Welfling for Emilia Pérez, Jacques Audiard, France and Belgium
European Production Design: Jagna Dobesz for Pigen med nålen (The Girl with the Needle), Magnus von Horn, Denmark, Poland and Sweden
European Costume Design: Tanja Hausner for  Des Teufels Bad (The Devil's Bath), Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz, Austria and Germany
European Hair and Make-up Artist: Evalotte Oosterop for Ljósbrot (When the Light Breaks), Rúnar Rúnarsson, Iceland, Netherlands, Croatia and France
European Original Score: Frederikke Hoffmeier for Pigen med nålen (The Girl with the Needle), Magnus von Horn, Denmark, Poland and Sweden
European Sound: Marc-Olivier Brullé, Pierre Bariaud, Charlotte Butrak, Samuel Aïchoun & Rodrigo Diaz for L'histoire de Souleymane (Souleymane Story), Boris Lojkine, France
European Visual Effects: Bryan Jones, Pierre Procoudine-Gorsky, Chervin Shafaghi & Guillaume Le Gouez for The Substance, Coralie Fargeat, UK, France and USA

European University Film Award: Trei kilometri până la capătul lumii (Three Kilometers to the End of the World), Emanuel Pârvu, Romania
European Young Audience Award: Iberlin (The Remarkable Life of Ibelin), Benjamin Ree, Norway

European Short Film: Covjek koji nije mogao sutjeti (The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent, Nebojša Slijepčević, Croatia, France, Bulgaria and Slovenia

European Lifetime Achievement: Wim Wenders
European Achievement in World Cinema: Isabella Rossellini
Euroimages International Co-Production : Labina Mitevska

To check award winners at official site go here.



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December 7, 2024
As some award winners have been announced decided to start the post with known winners and tomorrow, after tonight's award ceremony, will finish post with all winners plus comments about the ceremony and the award winning films.

The first edition of the European Film Awards was in Berlin in 1988. The aim of the awards is to promote and support the European film industry. They take place every other year in Berlin and move around Europe in the other years: London, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Warsaw, Copenhagen, Tallinn, Malta, Riga, Wroclaw, Seville and Reykjavík in 2022.

About 1,200 guests are expected to attend the awards ceremony in Lucerne tonight. The awards will be broadcast live in Switzerland and throughout Europe in cooperation with media partner SRG SSR. The European Film Awards Lucerne 2024 are organized by the European Film Academy in cooperation with Swiss partners the city and canton of Lucerne, the Federal Office of Culture and SRG SSR.

What am I looking forward during the ceremony? Well, the new Academy President, Madame la Présidente Juliette Binoche. I'll be watching on TV but award ceremony will have live streaming at their official site here.