The film, which was coproduced in by Romania’s Hi Film Productions, won the prizes for Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenwriter, Best Actor and Best Actress. It was the first time in the history of the awards that the top prize has been won by a woman director. Polish actor Daniel Olbrychski presented the award to Ade.
European star Pierce Brosnan lent glamour to the event as he picked up the award for Lifetime Achievement. But the most moving moment of the evening was when the audience rose to pay tribute to Polish director Andrzej Wajda, who passed away earlier this year. Wajda was honoured with a special award for Lifetime Achievement. Two former students of the Wajda School, Agnieszka Smoczyńska and Bodo Kox, accepted the award on Wajda’s behalf.
Poland was centre stage throughout most of the evening. The awards were coproduced and co-presented by the Polish Film Institute and opened with Magdalena Sroka, Head of PISF and Marion Doring, Head of the European Film Academy, sharing the opening speech. While Toni Erdmann undoubtedly dominated the evening, Polish filmmakers garnered awards in other categories with Body directed by Małgorzata Szumowska winning the People’s Choice Audience Award, while Radoslaw Ochnio received Best Sound Designer Award for Jerzy Skolimowski’s 11 Minutes.
THE 29TH EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS: WINNERS
EUROPEAN FILM 2016
Toni Erdmann (Germany, Austria, Romania)
Directed by Maren Ade
Coproduced by Hi Film Productions, (Romania)
EUROPEAN COMEDY 2016
A Man Called Ove / En man som heter Ove (Sweden, Norway)
Directed by Hannes Holm
EUROPEAN DISCOVERY 2016 – Prix FIPRESCI
The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki / Hy mylieva Mies (Finland, Germany, Sweden)
Directed by Juho Kuosmanen
EUROPEAN DOCUMENTARY 2016
Fire at Sea / Fuocoammare (Italy, France)
Directed by Gianfranco Rosi
EUROPEAN ANIMATED FEATURE FILM 2016
My Life as a Zucchini / Ma Vie de Courgette (Switzerland, France)
Directed by Claude Barras
EUROPEAN SHORT FILM 2016
9 Days – From My Window in Aleppo (Netherlands, Syria)
Directed by Thomas Vroege, Floor van der Meulen, Issa Touma
EUROPEAN DIRECTOR 2016
Maren Ade
for Toni Erdmann
EUROPEAN ACTRESS 2016
Sandra Hüller
for Toni Erdmann
EUROPEAN ACTOR 2016
Peter Simonischek
for Toni Erdmann
EUROPEAN SCREENWRITER 2016
Maren Ade
for Toni Erdmann
EUROPEAN CINEMATOGRAPHER 2016 – Prix CARLO DI PALMA
Camilla Hjelm Knudsen
for Land of Mine (Germany, Denmark)
Directed by Martin Zandvliet
EUROPEAN EDITOR 2016
Anne Østerud and Janus Billeskov Jansen
for The Commune (Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands)
Directed by Thomas Vinterberg
EUROPEAN PRODUCTION DESIGNER 2016
Alice Normington
for Suffragette (UK)
Directed by Sarah Gavron
EUROPEAN COSTUME DESIGNER 2016
Stefanie Bieker
for Land of Mine
EUROPEAN HAIR & MAKE-UP ARTIST 2016
Barbara Kreuzer
for Land of Mine
EUROPEAN COMPOSER 2016
Ilya Demutsky
for The Student (Russia)
Directed by Kirill Serebrennikov
EUROPEAN SOUND DESIGNER 2016
Radosław Ochnio
for 11 Minutes (Poland)
Directed by Jerzy Skolimowski
Produced by Skopia Film
Supported by the Polish Film Institute
EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Jean-Claude Carrière
EUROPEAN ACHIEVEMENT IN WORLD CINEMA
Pierce Brosnan
HONOURARY AWARD
Andrzej Wajda
EUROPEAN CO-PRODUCTION AWARD 2016 – Prix EURIMAGES
Leontine Petit
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD 201B6 for Best European Film
Body/ Cialo (Poland)
Directed by Małgorzata Szumowska
Produced by Nowhere Sp. z o.o.
Supported by the Polish Film Institute and HBO Poland
