European Film Award for Best Film
Annual award
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
European Film Award for Best Film is one of the annual European Film Awards, presented by the European Film Academy to recognize the best in European filmmaking. It was first awarded in 1988 with Polish film A Short Film About Killing, directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski, being the first recipient of the award.
Awarded forBest European Film of the Year
Presented byEuropean Film Academy
First awardA Short Film About Killing (1988)
Currently held bySentimental Value (2025)
| European Film Award for Best Film | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Best European Film of the Year |
| Presented by | European Film Academy |
| First award | A Short Film About Killing (1988) |
| Currently held by | Sentimental Value (2025) |
| Website | europeanfilmacademy |
Directors Gianni Amelio, Lars von Trier and Michael Haneke have received the most wins in this category with three wins each, while Pedro Almodóvar is the most nominated director with seven nominations, winning twice. Maren Ade was the first female director to win the award, receiving it for Toni Erdmann in 2016.
Winners and nominees
1980s
| Year | English title | Original title | Director(s) | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 (1st) | ||||
| A Short Film About Killing | Krótki film o zabijaniu | Krzysztof Kieślowski | Poland | |
| Goodbye Children | Au revoir les enfants | Louis Malle | France, West Germany | |
| The Animated Forest | El bosque animado | José Luis Cuerda | Spain | |
| Distant Voices, Still Lives | Terence Davies | United Kingdom | ||
| Wings of Desire | Der Himmel über Berlin | Wim Wenders | West Germany, France | |
| Jacob | Iacob | Mircea Daneliuc | Romania | |
| Pelle the Conqueror | Pelle Erobreren / Pelle Erövraren | Bille August | Denmark, Sweden | |
| 1989 (2nd) | ||||
| Landscape in the Mist | Topio stin omichli | Theodoros Angelopoulos | Greece, France, Italy | |
| The Midas Touch | Eldorádó | Géza Bereményi | Hungary | |
| Magnus | Þráinn Bertelsson | Iceland | ||
| Recollections of the Yellow House | Recordações da Casa Amarela | João César Monteiro | Portugal | |
| High Hopes | Mike Leigh | United Kingdom | ||
| Little Vera | Malenkaya Vera | Vasili Pichul | Soviet Union | |
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
| Year | English title | Original title | Director(s) | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 (33rd) [1][2] | ||||
| Another Round | Druk | Thomas Vinterberg | Denmark | |
| Berlin Alexanderplatz | Burhan Qurbani | Germany, Netherlands | ||
| Corpus Christi | Boże Ciało | Jan Komasa | Poland, France | |
| Martin Eden | Pietro Marcello | Italy, France | ||
| The Painted Bird | Nabarvené ptáče | Václav Marhoul | Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine | |
| Undine | Christian Petzold | Germany, France | ||
| 2021 (34th) [3][4] | ||||
| Quo Vadis, Aida? | Jasmila Žbanić | Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, Netherlands, France, Poland, Norway, Germany, Romania, Turkey | ||
| Compartment No. 6 | Hytti nro 6 | Juho Kuosmanen | Finland, Estonia, Germany | |
| The Father | Florian Zeller | UK, France | ||
| The Hand of God | È stata la mano di Dio | Paolo Sorrentino | Italy | |
| Titane | Julia Ducournau | France, Belgium | ||
| 2022 (35th) [5] | ||||
| Triangle of Sadness | Ruben Östlund | Sweden, Germany, France, UK | ||
| Alcarràs | Carla Simón | Spain, Italy | ||
| Close | Lukas Dhont | Belgium, France, Netherlands | ||
| Corsage | Marie Kreutzer | Austria, Luxembourg, Germany, France | ||
| Holy Spider | Ankabut-e moqaddas | Ali Abbasi | Denmark, Germany, Sweden, France | |
| 2023 (36th) [6] |
Anatomy of a Fall | Anatomie d'une chute | Justine Triet | France |
| Fallen Leaves | Kuolleet lehdet | Aki Kaurismäki | Finland, Germany | |
| Green Border | Zielona granica | Agnieszka Holland | Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Poland | |
| Io Capitano | Matteo Garrone | Belgium, Italy | ||
| The Zone of Interest | Jonathan Glazer | Poland, UK | ||
| 2024 (37th) [7] |
Emilia Pérez | Jacques Audiard | France | |
| The Room Next Door | La habitación de al lado | Pedro Almodóvar | Spain | |
| The Seed of the Sacred Fig | Danaye Anjir-e Moabad | Mohammad Rasoulof | Germany, France | |
| The Substance | Coralie Fargeat | UK, France | ||
| Vermiglio | Maura Delpero | Italy, France, Belgium | ||
| 2025 (38th) [8] |
Sentimental Value | Affeksjonsverdi | Joachim Trier | Norway, France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, UK |
| It Was Just an Accident | Yek Tasadof-e Sadeh | Jafar Panahi | France, Luxembourg | |
| Sirāt | Óliver Laxe | Spain, France | ||
| Sound of Falling | In die Sonne schauen | Mascha Schilinski | Germany | |
| The Voice of Hind Rajab | Ṣawt Hind Rajab | Kaouther Ben Hania | France | |
Record holders
| Achievement | Holder | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Most wins (by country) | Italy (7) | 1990, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2008, 2013, 2015 |
| Most wins (by country) including co-productions | Germany (11) | 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2021 |
| Most nominations (by country) | France (38) | 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 |
| Most nominations (by country) including co-productions | France (63) | 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 |
| Most wins for Best Film (by director) | Gianni Amelio (3) Lars von Trier (3) Michael Haneke (3) |
1990, 1992, 1994 1996, 2000, 2011 2005, 2009, 2012 |
| Most nominations for Best Film (by director) | Pedro Almodóvar (8) |
1998, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2016, 2019, 2024 |