Tempatures of -5°c couldn’t freeze the spirits of Europe’s cinema glitterati in Reykjavik, Iceland on the evening of December 9th 2022, as they descended on Iceland’s capital for the 35th annual European Film Awards. Lukas Dhont’s Close and Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or-winning Triangle of Sadness led the way in nominations, with four a piece, while Carla Simón’s Alcarràs, Marie Kreutzer’s Corsage and Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider joined them in the fight for Best Film.
German director Margarethe von Trotta was honoured with a European Lifetime Achievement award presented to her by European Film Academy president Agnieszka Holland, and Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman received the European Achievement in World Cinema Award. Suleiman joked about how the award would enable him to “enjoy doing nothing, as I have excelled at for many years of his life”.
The craft awards were unveiled at the end of November, with prizes going to The Quiet Girl (cinematography), Belfast (costume design and production design), Burning Days (editing), All Quiet on the Western Front (makeup and hair and visual effects), The Hole (sound design) and EO (score).
But it was a clean sweep for Triangle of Sadness, which scooped all four of its nominated categories: Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenwriter for Ruben Östlund. He dedicated his Best Director award to actress Charlbi Dean, who passed away in August. Croatian-Danish actor Zlatko Burić – who played fertiliser magnate Dimitry – also picked up Best Actor.
Best Actress went to Vicky Krieps for her widely-praised performance as Empress Elisabeth of Austria in Corsage and while she couldn’t attend due to illness she did tearfully accept the award via live video.
Other winners included Laura Samani’s Small Body (European Discovery), No Dogs or Italians Allowed (European Animated Film) and Urška Djukic and Émilie Pigeard’s short film Granny’s Sexual Life (European Short Film). Fernando León de Aranoa picked up Best European Comedy for The Good Boss, in which Javier Bardem plays a meddlesome factory owner. The Lithuanian documentarian Mantas Kvedaravičius, who was murdered by Russian forces in March, posthumously received Best European Documentary for his portrait of the Ukrainian war Mariupolis 2. His daughter collected his award on his behalf.
The European film awards are an annual celebration of the best in European cinema, and the next ceremony will take place in Berlin in December 2023.
Published 10 Dec 2022
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