10/12/2022 - Ruben Östlund's film has won all the awards it was nominated for, including Film and Director, while Vicky Krieps won European Actress for her work in Corsage

“Tonight, it’s Triangle of Sadness [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ruben Östlund
interview: Ruben Östlund
film profile] night!” proclaimed Swedish director Ruben Östlund when collecting his second statuette of the night during the 35th European Film Awards, which took place as a physical event on Saturday 10 December at the Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavík, after two years of virtual ceremonies. The two-time Palme d'Or winner managed to replicate his feat from 2016 – when The Square [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ruben Östlund
film profile] scored five gongs at the 30th anniversary of the awards – stealing the show with his recent Cannes laureate, Triangle of Sadness. Östlund’s resounding triumph reinstates the trend briefly interrupted by the victory of Quo Vadis, Aida? [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jasmila Žbanić
film profile] last year, which used to see the main winner sweeping most of the awards, leaving very little space for other titles to shine.

In fact, the latest social satire penned by the Swedish filmmaker and provocateur won all of the awards it had been nominated for: Best European Film, Director, Screenwriter and Actor for Croatian thespian Zlatko Burić. “Cinema originated in Europe, and our industry is built around filmmakers. This film is exemplary in the sense that [...] we wanted to be limitless, to go as far as possible with the script and with the directing, but also to embrace the audience. We wanted to have an auteur film for the audience,” said producer Philippe Bober (who has been working with Östlund for over 20 years now) during his acceptance speech. On the other hand, some of the most highly acclaimed titles of the year, such as the endearing Alcarràs [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Carla Simón
interview: Carla Simón
interview: Giovanni Pompili
film profile], Carla Simón’s 2022 Golden Bear winner; Close [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Eden Dambrine
interview: Lukas Dhont
interview: Lukas Dhont
film profile], the heartbreaking second feature by Lukas Dhont; and Holy Spider [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ali Abbasi
interview: Ali Abbasi
interview: Zar Amir Ebrahimi
film profile], a harrowing tale by Iranian-born, Danish-based filmmaker Ali Abbasi (all of which were nominated in various categories), went home undeservingly empty-handed.

A visibly moved and surprised Vicky Krieps accepted her Award for Best European Actress remotely, which she garnered for her committed performance in the latest feature by Austrian director Marie Kreutzer, Corsage [+see also:
film review
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interview: Marie Kreutzer
interview: Marie Kreutzer
film profile], an unorthodox biopic about Empress Elisabeth of Austria, which was also in the running for Best European Film. It was definitely not the only emotional moment of the night, as President of the Academy Agnieszka Holland went on stage to hand the European Lifetime Achievement Award to Margarethe von Trotta, one of the most influential feminist filmmakers and the first female director to win the Golden Lion at Venice in 1981. It was a mutual and heartfelt recognition between two masters who managed to thrive and excel in a male-dominated industry. While accepting the award, von Trotta quoted her great inspiration and “role model”, Ingmar Bergman, the first recipient of this accolade, but didn’t pass up the opportunity to remind the audience that she is only the third woman to ever receive this award in 35 years. “But we are on the way. The time of women has just started,” in her words. As previously announced (see the news), the European Achievement in World Cinema Award went to Palestinian-born filmmaker Elia Suleiman, while the European Innovative Storytelling Award was bestowed upon 83-year-old Italian maestro Marco Bellocchio for his new series Exterior Night [+see also:
series review
trailer
interview: Marco Bellocchio
series profile] (see the news).

More touching moments during the otherwise refreshingly entertaining and playful ceremony, hosted by Icelandic artists Ilmur Kristjánsdóttir and Hugleikur Dagsson, were those featuring the Ukrainian film delegation, such as the standing ovation for Mantas Kvedaravičius's daughter, who collected the European Documentary Award for Mariupolis 2 [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] on his behalf (the Lithuanian filmmaker was killed during a Russian attack in the titular city, after spending years documenting the conflict), as well as the powerful speech given by the representatives of the Ukrainian production guild, honoured with the Eurimages Co-Production Award (see the news). “Nowadays, every award is first and foremost an expression of support and respect for all Ukrainians who defend their values and therefore the values of Europe. But we also accept this award as a symbol of the strong position that Ukrainian cinema holds in European culture and as a confirmation that we will continue to join forces to protect Ukraine’s filmmaking,” stated Darya Bassel.

Apart from the Excellence Awards handed out in the technical categories, which were unveiled a few weeks ago (see the news), the remaining winners of the night were Small Body, the first feature by Italian filmmaker Laura Samani, who received the European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI; The Good Boss [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] by Spanish director Fernando León de Aranoa, named Best European Comedy after dominating this year’s Goya Awards; No Dogs or Italians Allowed [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Alain Ughetto
film profile] by Alain Ughetto, which emerged as Best European Animated Feature Film; and Granny's Sexual Life by Urška Djukič and Émilie Pigeard, winner of European Short Film. All of these categories were introduced during the ceremony through a series of amusing videos starring groups of local cinephiles sharing their honest opinions on the competing films.

Throughout the ceremony, the nominees for the 2023 LUX Audience Award were also announced, thus kicking off the third edition of the pan-European award presented by the European Parliament and the European Film Academy, with the collaboration of the European Commission and Europa Cinemas. For the first time, this year there will be five films in the running for the coveted award (instead of three), which represents an effort to better represent the diversity of European cinema. Shortlisted by a panel of experts and professionals working in the European film industry, the finalists are: Alcarràs by Carla Simón, Burning Days [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emin Alper
film profile] by Emin Alper, Close by Lukas Dhont, Triangle of Sadness by Ruben Östlund and Will-o’-the-Wisp [+see also:
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trailer
interview: João Pedro Rodrigues
film profile] by João Pedro Rodrigues. All five films will be subtitled in the 24 official languages of the European Union in order to facilitate their circulation across the Member States, around which the nominees will be touring over the next few months. European audiences will have the chance to watch and rate the titles together with the Members of the European Parliament. The winner will be decided based on the votes of both groups (each representing 50%) and will be announced during the Plenary Session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 14 June 2023.

Here is the full list of winners:

European Film
Triangle of Sadness [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ruben Östlund
interview: Ruben Östlund
film profile] - Ruben Östlund (Sweden/Germany/France/UK)

European Documentary
Mariupolis 2 [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Mantas Kvedaravičius (Lithuania/France/Germany)

European Director
Ruben Östlund - Triangle of Sadness

European Actress
Vicky Krieps - Corsage [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marie Kreutzer
interview: Marie Kreutzer
film profile] (Austria/Luxembourg/Germany/France)

European Actor
Zlatko Burić - Triangle of Sadness

European Screenwriter
Ruben Östlund - Triangle of Sadness

European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI
Small Body [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laura Samani
film profile] - Laura Samani (Italy/Slovenia/France)

European Comedy
The Good Boss [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Fernando León de Aranoa (Spain)

European Animated Feature Film
No Dogs or Italians Allowed [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alain Ughetto
film profile] - Alain Ughetto (France/Italy/Belgium/Switzerland/Portugal)

European Short Film
Granny's Sexual Life - Urška Djukič & Émilie Pigeard (Slovenia/France)

European Cinematography
Kate McCullough - The Quiet Girl [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Colm Bairéad
film profile] (Ireland)

European Editing
Özcan Vardar & Eytan İpeker - Burning Days [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emin Alper
film profile] (Turkey/France/Germany/Netherlands/Greece)

European Production Design
Jim Clay - Belfast [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] (UK)

European Costume Design
Charlotte Walter - Belfast

European Make-up & Hair
Heike Merker - All Quiet on the Western Front [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Edward Berger
film profile] (Germany/USA)

European Original Score
Paweł Mykietyn - EO [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] (Poland/Italy)

European Sound
Simone Paolo Olivero, Paolo Benvenuti, Benni Atria, Marco Saitta, Ansgar Frerich & Florian Holzner - Il buco [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Michelangelo Frammartino
film profile] (Italy/Germany/France)

European Visual Effects
Frank Petzold, Viktor Müller & Markus Frank - All Quiet on the Western Front

European Innovative Storytelling
Exterior Night [+see also:
series review
trailer
interview: Marco Bellocchio
series profile] - Marco Bellocchio (Italy/France)

European Sustainability Award – Prix Film4Climate
European Green Deal

European Achievement in World Cinema Award
Elia Suleiman

Lifetime Achievement Award
Margarethe von Trotta

Find our live coverage of the event before it started on our Facebook and our Twitter, and watch the ceremony's full video below: