The virtual European Film Awards in 2020 will be celebrated over five nights
As a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic the 33rd European Film Awards will take place as a series of virtual events produced from the European Film Academy's seat Berlin without an audience in the room. Every evening will see a livestream of “The EFAs at Eight”, celebrating the nominees and winners of the various categories of the 2020 European Film Awards.
The EFAs at Eight events will kick off on Tuesday, December 8, at 20:00 CET with a high-profile group discussion about the future of European filmmaking after Covid-19 and close with the grand finale on Saturday, December 12, at 20.00 CET.
EFA Chairman Mike Downey: "the times we live in call for innovation and extra creativity. In this unusual year, this will be an unusual, and, we hope an exceptional, awards ceremony – one with a different approach, that will allow us to give more attention to the various awards presented. Necessity being the mother of invention, we have chosen to try out this different format, and will use it to see how we will further develop the EFAs in the years to come."
The entire programme will be streamed live at www.europeanfilmawards.eu and through an international network of streaming and broadcasting partners, with the nominees & winners joining via live video conference.
And here is the list of all online events leading up to the EFAs 2020:
TUESDAY, NOV 10, 12.00 noon CET
EFAs Nominations Announcement 2020
From the Seville European Film Festival (Spain)
moderated by Concha Ortiz
TUESDAY, DEC 8, 20.00 CET
The EFAs at Eight: From Survival to Revival: Building the Post-Covid Future
Re-structuring, re-engineering and re-aligning the European film industry
with Mark Cousins, Agnieszka Holland, Kirsten Niehuus and Thomas Vinterberg
moderated by Wendy Mitchell
WEDNESDAY, DEC 9, 20.00 CET
The EFAs at Eight: The EFA Excellence Awards
Presenting the winners in the categories European Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Costume Design, Make-up & Hair, Original Score, Sound, and Visual Effects
moderated by Wim Wenders & Agnieszka Holland
THURSDAY, DEC 10, 20.00 CET
The EFAs at Eight: EURIMAGES, Short Film & EUFA
Presenting the winners in the categories EURIMAGES Co-Production Award, European Short Film and European University Film Award (EUFA)
moderated by Mike Goodridge
FRIDAY, DEC 11, 20.00 CET
The EFAs at Eight: Comedy & Animation
Presenting the winners in the categories European Comedy & European Animated Feature Film
moderated by Mike Goodridge
SATURDAY, DEC 12, 20.00 CET
The EFAs 2020 Grand Finale from the Futurium in Berlin:
Presenting the EFA Award for Innovative Storytelling, as well as the Awards for European Documentary, European Discovery, European Actress, European Actor, European Screenwriter, European Director and European Film.
Announcing – for the first time – the nominations for the LUX European Audience Film Award by the European Parliament and the European Film Academy and in partnership with the European Commission and Europa Cinemas
hosted by Wim Wenders, Agnieszka Holland Mike Downey & Marion Döring
moderated by Steven Gätjen
The award ceremony was set to take place in Iceland this year but the European Film Academy (EFA), the Mayor of Reykjavík and the Icelandic Minister of Education, Science and Culture, decided to cancel the event, and announced that instead the 35th European Film Awards Ceremony will be presented in Reykjavik in December 2022.
The Icelandic film Echo by Rúnar Rúnarsson has been long-listed for the European Film Awards' Feature Film Selection. Echo premiered at the Locarno Film Festival in 2019 and has since won six awards internationally. This unique film is set in Iceland around Christmas time and includes 56 distinct vignettes full of joy, sorrow, and various slices of life that evoke the holiday season.
Najwa Najjar's Between Heaven and Earth, a Palestine/Iceland/Luxembourg coproduction, has also been long-listed for the award. The film's cinematographer is Tómas Tómasson and the Icelandic producers are Eggert Ketilsson, Fahad Falur Jabali and Elísabet Rónaldsdóttir.