“Emilia Pérez” is best European film of the year
Published: Sunday, Dec 8th 2024, 02:20
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"Emilia Pérez" is the clear winner at the 37th European Film Awards in Lucerne. At the gala on Saturday evening, the film was honored as the best European film of the year - among other awards.
The musical comedy "Emilia Pérez" by French director Jacques Audiard was not only named best European film of the year on Saturday evening. The film also received an award for the screenplay and direction. This was announced by the European Film Academy at the gala in the Culture and Convention Center Lucerne (KKL).
Spanish actress Karla Sofía Gascón was also awarded Best Actress for her leading role in the dramatic musical comedy. The film also received a trophy for best editing. However, this award was announced before the gala.
"Emilia Pérez" is about a Mexican cartel boss who has his gender changed to female in order to go into hiding. The cast includes pop star Selena Gomez.
Surprise for the actor
Abou Sangare won Best European Actor for his performance in the film "L'Histoire de Souleymane". In the film, Sangare plays an asylum seeker in Paris who works as a food delivery man. As he cycles through the streets, he reviews his story. The plot is similar to the actor's life story. The 23-year-old lives in France as a refugee from Guinea and was unable to travel to the gala.
His award was a surprise. Alongside him, nominated for the award for best actor of the year were stars such as Daniel Craig ("Queer"), Ralph Fiennes ("Conclave"), Lars Eidinger ("Dying") and Franz Rogowski ("Bird").
The award for best documentary film for "No Other Land" by a Palestinian-Israeli team, on the other hand, was to be expected. The film was considered the favorite for the category. It deals with the displacement of Palestinians in the villages of Masafer Jatta south of Hebron in the West Bank. The makers of this film were also connected via video call.
Wim Wenders with political thanks
German director Wim Wenders was honored for his life's work. Actors such as Willem Dafoe or the actor of the Japanese toilet cleaner Hirayama from Wenders' film "Perfect Days" (2023) honored Wenders via video message.
In his acceptance speech, the director said that French actress Juliette Binoche could make European cinema shine as President of the European Film Academy. This is important, he said, because Europe is currently lost and needs the Film Academy. Cinema is able to create an emotional connection between people, said Wenders.
Wenders told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Saturday afternoon that culture needed to be strengthened. He criticized the fact that in Germany, but also in other countries, funding for culture is often cut in the first place.
Actress Isabella Rossellini was honored for her services to the worldwide influence of European cinema.
Swiss film without a prize
This year, the European Film Academy decided that, in addition to feature films, documentaries and animated films can now also be selected as the best European film. As a result, there were 15 instead of 5 titles to choose from this year. Director Claude Barras from Valais entered the race for the award for the best European film of the year with his animated film "Sauvages". However, the film came away empty-handed.
Before the gala at the KKL, prominent guests walked the blue carpet in elegant and sometimes pompous attire. Juliette Binoche, in her function as President of the European Film Academy, said encouragingly at the beginning of the gala that joy is necessary to be able to withstand the darkness.
However, the mood at the award ceremony was not only cheerful, but also marked by the current world situation. The war in Gaza was mentioned several times. The award-winning filmmakers of "No Other Land", who were connected via video, appealed to Europe to support an immediate ceasefire. The French actress Hiam Abbas, who has Palestinian roots, also drew attention to the situation in Gaza.
While Wim Wenders made a negative allusion to Donald Trump, the topic of flight and the question of what constitutes Europe also came up. The actress Zar Amir, who emigrated from Iran to France, critically remarked that it is a long way to become a European.
The European Film Awards are among the most important awards in the industry and are regarded as the European equivalent of the American Oscars. The approximately 5,000 members of the European Film Academy vote for many of the award winners.
In 2023, the judicial thriller "Anatomie d'une chute" by Justine Triet was named the best European film of the year.
After this year's award ceremony took place in Switzerland for the first time, the 38th European Film Awards will be presented in Berlin next year.
©Keystone/SDA
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