Before the glittering presentation of the “European Oscars” in Lucerne
Published: Thursday, Nov 28th 2024, 13:10
Updated At: Friday, Nov 29th 2024, 00:59
Zurück zu Live Feed
In just over a week, the European Film Awards will be presented in Switzerland for the first time. Celebrities from the world of film will be attending the 37th European Film Awards Gala in Lucerne, not least because the awards are regarded as the European Oscars.
In particular, the format of the award ceremony and voting for the European Film Awards is partly comparable to the American Oscars, said CEO and director Matthijs Wouter Knol in an interview with the Keystone-SDA news agency. "But unlike the more famous Oscars, which employ hundreds of people, we are a small organization of 25 people." The nominated films are voted for by around 5000 members of the European Film Academy.
European cinema is alive
Around 1,200 guests are expected at the Culture and Convention Center (KKL) in Lucerne on 7 December. In addition to the beauty of the "very European" city, the location, according to Knol, is also an "opportunity to bring the different parts and languages of Switzerland into the award ceremony". In addition, Switzerland is surrounded by nations with a great film culture, such as France, Italy and the German-speaking countries.
"Our challenge and our goal is to use the European Film Awards to make people more aware that European cinema is alive," explained Knol. In the coming years, the aim is to give it more visibility and make the diversity of Europe tangible at the award ceremony, "a great characteristic of Europeanness".
Celebrities from the film world in Lucerne
The internationally famous nominees include British actors: Daniel Craig is nominated for best actor for the film "Queer", Ralph Fiennes for "Conclave". Tilda Swinton ("The Room Next Door") is nominated for best actress.
Italian actress and director Isabella Rossellini, who will receive the prize for the best European contribution to world cinema, will also be traveling to Lucerne. German director Wim Wenders ("Der Himmel über Berlin", "Perfect Days") will be traveling to Lucerne. He will receive a lifetime achievement award: "We are proud to celebrate him, as he is one of the founding members of the European Film Academy in 1988 and was its President from 1996 to 2020," said Knol.
Today, French actress and Oscar winner Juliette Binoche is President of the Academy. She will also be coming to Lucerne for the European Film Awards.
"Sauvages" in the race for Switzerland
One Swiss film has been nominated for the main "Best Film" category: the stop-motion animation film "Sauvages" by Valais director Claude Barras. "I was lucky enough to discover Swiss cinema better last year," said Knol. Switzerland is also in the running for the award for best short film with "2720" by Swiss-Portuguese director Basil da Cunha.
A total of 22 prizes will be awarded at the European Film Awards. The films come from 52 countries. In mid-November, the Academy announced the winners of the Excellence Awards. These are the eight categories for filmmakers that only become visible in the end credits of films: Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Costume Design, Make-Up & Hair, Music, Sound and Visual Effects. "We want to recognize their work because they decide and influence the look and tone of a film," said Knol.
The Academy then announced that the prize for the best European co-producer would go to Labina Mitevska. In 2001, the North Macedonian actress and producer founded the production company Sisters and Brother Mitevski Production together with her sister Teona and her brother Vuk.
On the gala evening at the KKL on December 7, prizes will be awarded in a further eleven categories (film, documentary, animated film, short film, director, actor, actress, screenplay, European Discovery, European University Film Award, European Young Audience Award).
©Keystone/SDA
German 
English 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic