European Film Academy
Encyclopedia
The European Film Academy is an initiative of a group of European filmmakers
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

 who came together in Berlin on the occasion of the first presentation of the European Film Awards in November 1988.

European Film Academy

In 1988, the Academy—under the name of European Cinema Society—was officially founded by its first President, the Swedish director Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...

, as well as 40 filmmakers from all over Europe in order to promote European film culture worldwide and to protect and to support the interests of the European film industry. Wim Wenders
Wim Wenders
Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders is a German film director, playwright, author, photographer and producer.-Early life:Wenders was born in Düsseldorf. He graduated from high school in Oberhausen in the Ruhr area. He then studied medicine and philosophy in Freiburg and Düsseldorf...

 was elected Chairman. Two years later, the European Cinema Society was renamed European Film Academy and was registered as a non-profit association.

In 1996, Wim Wenders
Wim Wenders
Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders is a German film director, playwright, author, photographer and producer.-Early life:Wenders was born in Düsseldorf. He graduated from high school in Oberhausen in the Ruhr area. He then studied medicine and philosophy in Freiburg and Düsseldorf...

 took over the presidency from Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...

, and the British producer Nik Powell
Nik Powell
Nik Powell is one of the co-founders of the Virgin Group with Richard Branson. After operating a mail-order company, a small record shop, and a recording studio, the partners established Virgin Records in 1972...

 was elected new Chairman. The decisions about political targets and contents are made by the 15 Board members of the Academy which has its seat in Berlin.

Due to a decision of the General Assembly, the number of members - originally limited to 99 - has been continuously increasing and has now reached 2,300 (as of October 2010). The Academy is thus working in close contact with the European film industry.

The European Film Academy (EFA) is located in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

European Film Academy e.V., Kurfürstendamm
Kurfürstendamm
The Kurfürstendamm, known locally as the Ku'damm, is one of the most famous avenues in Berlin. The street takes its name from the former Kurfürsten of Brandenburg. This very broad, long boulevard can be considered the Champs-Élysées of Berlin — full of shops, houses, hotels and restaurants...

 225, 10719 Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, Tel: +49-30-8871670

Staff and Structure

The President Wim Wenders
Wim Wenders
Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders is a German film director, playwright, author, photographer and producer.-Early life:Wenders was born in Düsseldorf. He graduated from high school in Oberhausen in the Ruhr area. He then studied medicine and philosophy in Freiburg and Düsseldorf...


The Board Chairman Yves Marmion
Deputy Chairmen Nik Powell
Nik Powell
Nik Powell is one of the co-founders of the Virgin Group with Richard Branson. After operating a mail-order company, a small record shop, and a recording studio, the partners established Virgin Records in 1972...

, Volker Schlöndorff
Volker Schlöndorff
Volker Schlöndorff is a Berlin-based German filmmaker who has worked in Germany, France and the United States...



Board Members Adriana Chiesa di Palma, Pierre-Henri Deleau, Mike Downey
Mike Downey
Mike Downey is an American newspaper columnist.From 2003 to 2008, Downey wrote the "In the Wake of the News" column for the Chicago Tribune originated by Ring Lardner in 1913...

, Per Holst, Stephan Hutter, László Kantór, Dunja Klemenc, Cedomir Kolar, Pawel Pawlikowski
Pawel Pawlikowski
Paweł Pawlikowski is a Polish-born, Oxford-based, BAFTA Award-winning filmmaker and academic. He garnered much acclaim for his BAFTA Award-winning Last Resort which he wrote and directed in 2000 and My Summer of Love, loosely based on Helen Cross' novel, which also won a BAFTA and a string of...

, Antonio Perez Perez, Antonio Saura
Antonio Saura
Antonio Saura was a Spanish artist and writer, one of the major post-war painters to emerge in Spain in the fifties whose work has marked several generations of artists and whose critical voice is often remembered.-Biography:He began painting and writing in 1947 in Madrid while suffering from...

, Ute Schneider, István Szabó
István Szabó
István Szabó is a Hungarian film director, screenwriter, and opera director.Szabó is the most internationally famous Hungarian filmmaker since the late 1960s. Working in the tradition of European, auteurist art cinema, he has made films that represent many of the psychological and political...

, Els Vandevorst

Honorary Members of the Board: Sir Ben Kingsley, Dušan Makavejev
Dušan Makavejev
Dušan Makavejev is a Serbian film director and screenwriter, famous for his groundbreaking films of Yugoslav cinema in the late 1960s and early 1970s...

, Jeanne Moreau
Jeanne Moreau
Jeanne Moreau is a French actress, singer, screenwriter and director.She made her theatrical debut in 1947, and established herself as one of the leading actresses of the Comédie-Française...



The Secretariat Marion Döring, Director / Gisela Corsten, Head of Finances / Maria von Hörsten, Co-ordination awarding procedures European Film Awards / Pascal Edelmann, Press/PR / Nikola Joetze, Junior Producer / Rainer Pyls, Accounting / Administration EFA Members / Bettina Schwarz, Co-ordination Prix UIP/Training projects / Viviane Gajewski, Assistance

Academy members per country

  • Germany 323
  • UK 251
  • France 245
  • Spain 166
  • Italy 144
  • Denmark 135
  • Poland 74
  • the Netherlands 64
  • Sweden 53
  • Belgium 46
  • Finland 37
  • Ireland 37
  • Switzerland 37
  • Hungary 36
  • Russia 34
  • Greece 33
  • Austria 31
  • Czech Republic 31
  • Norway 31
  • Israel 30


  • listed are all countries with more than 20 EFA members

    The Annual EFA Programme

    Throughout the year, the European Film Academy (EFA) initiates and participates in a series of activities dealing with film politics as well as economic, artistic, and training aspects. The programme includes conferences, seminars and workshops, and a common goal is to build a bridge between creativity and the industry. Some of EFA's events have already become an institution for encounters within the European film community:

    The Prix UIP is an initiative by UIP
    UIP
    Meanings of UIP:*United International Pictures film distributor*Universal Installer Project - An XML file format describing a product to be installed. It was developed by Macrovision for their InstallShield suite...

     and the European Film Academy in co-operation with fourteen festivals throughout Europe. The winning short film receives a financial donation of € 2,000 and an automatic nomination in the short film category of the European Film Awards.

    A Sunday in the Country is a special weekend encounter between appr. ten young European filmmakers and some established EFA members. The private atmosphere of these gatherings guarantees an exchange of ideas and experience which goes far beyond the results of usual workshops.

    Conferences and Seminars Every year, a series of conferences initiated and/or supported by the European Film Academy enhance a European debate on film, create platforms for a vivid exchange among film professionals and ensure that the discussion of what European film is, how it is changing and where it is going never expires.

    Master Classes offer valuable training opportunities for young talent, combining theoretical and practical training. The high-profile list of former masters includes renowned film professionals such as Jean-Jacques Annaud
    Jean-Jacques Annaud
    Jean-Jacques Annaud is a French film director, film producer and screenwriter.- Biography :Annaud was born in Juvisy-sur-Orge, Essonne...

    , Jan De Bont
    Jan de Bont
    Jan de Bont is a Dutch cinematographer, producer, and film director.-Early life and career:De Bont was born, one of 17 children, to a Roman Catholic family in Eindhoven, Netherlands. His earliest work after studying at the Amsterdam Film Academy was with the Dutch avant garde director Adriaan...

    , Henning Carlsen
    Henning Carlsen
    Henning Carlsen is a Danish film director, screenwriter, and producer most noted for his documentaries and his contributions to the style of Cinéma vérité. Carlsen's 1966 social-realistic drama Hunger was nominated for the Palme D'Or and won the Bodil Award for Best Danish Film...

    , André Delvaux, Bernd Eichinger
    Bernd Eichinger
    Bernd Eichinger was a German film producer and director.- Life and career :Eichinger was born in Neuburg an der Donau. He attended the University of Television and Film Munich in the 1970s, and bought a stake in the fledgling studio company Neue Constantin Film in 1979, becoming its executive...

    , Krzysztof Kieslowski
    Krzysztof Kieslowski
    Krzysztof Kieślowski was an Academy Award nominated influential Polish film director and screenwriter, known internationally for The Double Life of Veronique and his film cycles The Decalogue and Three Colors.-Early life:...

    , Jiri Menzel
    Jirí Menzel
    Jiří Menzel is a Czech film director, theatre director, actor, and screenwriter. His films often combine a humanistic view of the world with sarcasm and provocative cinematography...

    , Tilda Swinton
    Tilda Swinton
    Katherine Mathilda "Tilda" Swinton is a British actress known for both arthouse and mainstream films. She has appeared in a number of films including The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Burn After Reading, The Beach, We Need to Talk About Kevin and was nominated for a Golden Globe for her...

    , István Szabó
    István Szabó
    István Szabó is a Hungarian film director, screenwriter, and opera director.Szabó is the most internationally famous Hungarian filmmaker since the late 1960s. Working in the tradition of European, auteurist art cinema, he has made films that represent many of the psychological and political...

    , Marc Weigert
    Marc Weigert
    Marc Weigert is a film producer and film/TV visual effects artist.-Early career:Weigert was born in Bad Harzburg, Germany. While in Christian-von-Dohm-Gymnasium, a grammar school in Goslar, Germany, he developed an interest in filmmaking. He moved on to study directing and producing from 1991-1994...

    , Mike Newell
    Mike Newell (director)
    Michael Cormac "Mike" Newell is an English director and producer of motion pictures for the screen and for television. After the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 2005, Newell became the third most commercially successful British director in recent years, behind Christopher Nolan...

    , Tsui Hark
    Tsui Hark
    Tsui Hark , born Tsui Man-kong, is a Hong Kong New Wave film director and producer. He is viewed as a major figure in the Golden Age of Hong Kong cinema .-Early life:...

    , Allan Starski and Anthony Dod Mantle
    Anthony Dod Mantle
    Anthony Dod Mantle BSC is a British cinematographer notable for his work in digital cinematography.-Career:Dod Mantle directed photography on three Dogme 95 films and the first two episodes of Wallander. He used the Red One digital camera on Wallander, the first British television production to do...

    .

    European Film Awards

    The annual European Film Awards ceremony (formerly known as FELIX) is the most visible activity of the European Film Academy. With the awards the Academy pursues the following aims: attracting the interest of the audience in European cinema, promoting its cultural and artistic qualities, and regaining the public’s confidence in its entertainment value. To put these ideas into practice, the People’s Choice Awards were added as a new category in 1997. They are accompanied by big advertising campaigns in European film magazines. In addition, screenings of the nominated films were in the past years organised for the public in several European cities (Berlin, Edinburgh, London, Stockholm, Strasbourg, Warsaw).

    In 2000, the Academy agreed a co-operation contract with United International Pictures (UIP
    UIP
    Meanings of UIP:*United International Pictures film distributor*Universal Installer Project - An XML file format describing a product to be installed. It was developed by Macrovision for their InstallShield suite...

    ) and ten festivals in Europe (Gent/Belgium, Valladolid/Spain, Edinburgh/UK, Angers/France, Berlin/Germany, Tampere/Finland, Vila do Conde/Portugal, Grimstad/Norway, Sarajevo/Bosnia and Herzegovina, Venice/Italy). According to this agreement, UIP and EFA jointly award a prize for a short film at each of these festivals; the recipient is automatically nominated for the European Film Awards in the category European Short Film – Prix UIP.

    In 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001, the awards ceremony was broadcast on TV in almost every European country as well as in the US, Latin America and New Zealand.

    The members of the European Film Academy actively participate in the selection, nomination and awarding procedure.

    The European Film Awards are the first in the annual international awards calendar. Most of the nominees and winners of the European Film Awards are found in the following months among the nominees and winners of the Golden Globes or the Oscar
    Academy Awards
    An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...

    s. In the past years, European producers and distributors repeatedly stressed that a nomination or receipt of the European Film Award had a positive impact on the destiny of their films with regard to the Golden Globe or the Oscar.

    European-American film talk

    Every year in the autumn, EFA and Freundeskreis der Villa Aurora e.V. organise a meeting in the former villa of German-Jewish writer Lion Feuchtwanger
    Lion Feuchtwanger
    Lion Feuchtwanger was a German-Jewish novelist and playwright. A prominent figure in the literary world of Weimar Germany, he influenced contemporaries including playwright Bertolt Brecht....

     in Los Angeles. At the round table, European and American filmmakers are invited during one day to explore concrete ways for transatlantic co-operation.

    European film awards sidebar events

    Every year, the European Film Academy organises a sidebar programme on the occasion of the European Film Awards week-end with panel discussions and conferences. Thus, innovative production methods for the new millennium were discussed at the conference which took place in Berlin in 1999, whereas in 2000, nine European filmmakers of international reputation (among them, Wim Wenders, Liv Ullmann
    Liv Ullmann
    Liv Johanne Ullmann is a Norwegian actress and film director, as well as one of the "muses" of the Swedish director Ingmar Bergman...

    , Tom Tykwer
    Tom Tykwer
    Tom Tykwer is a German film director, screenwriter, and composer. He is best known internationally for directing Run Lola Run , Heaven , Perfume: The Story of a Murderer , and The International ....

    , Dominik Moll
    Dominik Moll
    Dominik Moll is a German born French film director and screenwriter. He wrote and directed Harry, un ami qui vous veut du bien and Lemming. He was born in Bühl, West Germany....

    , Pavel Longouine, Maria de Medeiros
    Maria de Medeiros
    Maria de Medeiros Esteves Vitorino de Almeida, DamSE , better known as Maria de Medeiros , is a Portuguese actress, director, and singer who has been involved in both European and American film productions.-Personal life:...

    ) as well as the EU commissioner Viviane Reding
    Viviane Reding
    Viviane Reding is a Luxembourgian politician, currently serving as European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship. Before starting a professional career as a journalist for the leading newspaper in Luxembourg, the Luxemburger Wort, she obtained a doctorate in human sciences...

     made very personal and visionary speeches on the artistic, cultural, and social role of cinema in front of 800 guests at Theâtre de l’Odéon in Paris, where the conference E LA NAVE VA - For a New Energy in European Cinema was held.

    The status quo

    The European Film Academy is mainly funded by the Stiftung Deutsche Klassenlotterie Berlin (German National Lottery), the German State Minister for Culture and the Media, and Filmboard Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH.

    The European Film Awards are taking place every second year in Berlin, where the Academy is based, while they are presented every other year in another European film capital.

    The presentation of the European Film Awards are financed independently from the Academy. Since 1997, EFA has contracted DDA Productions Ltd., London, as exclusive producers of the awards ceremony and their international broadcast on TV.

    For five years now, the European Film Awards have been supported by patrons from the international film industry with an annual amount of $10,000 each. Their commitment proves the importance that the international film industry attaches to the European Film Awards. In addition, the Academy has established co-operations with a number of sponsors from the private sector who are supporting the European Film Awards on a long-term basis: courier service TNT (express logistics mail)(since 1997), DaimlerChrysler
    DaimlerChrysler
    Daimler AG is a German car corporation. By unit sales, it is the thirteenth-largest car manufacturer and second-largest truck manufacturer in the world. In addition to automobiles, Daimler manufactures buses and provides financial services through its Daimler Financial Services arm...

    , UIP United International Pictures
    United International Pictures
    United International Pictures is a joint venture of Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios , to distribute some of the two studios' films theatrically outside the United States , Canada, and the Anglophone...

     and DAS WERK
    Das Werk
    Das Werk is a play by Elfriede Jelinek. It was first published in 2003....

    .

    External links

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