Stars of European cinema lined the red carpet in Berlin for this year's European Film Awards. The competition was fierce, but it was French director Justine Triet's Anatomy of a Fall that came out on top.
ADVERTISEMENTAfter Reykjavik last year, it was once again Berlin’s turn – as it is every other year – to host the European Film Awards.
Set up by the European Film Academy in the German capital in 1988, just before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the event celebrates European cinema and its diversity.
This year, the competition was fierce, but it was French director Justine Triet's Anatomy of a Fall that came out on top, with awards for Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Film and Best Actress for Sandra Hüller.
The story centres on a writer who finds herself suspected of her husband's death and whose trial will expose her relationship and her identity as a woman.
"I think there is a freedom in Europe that must be preserved, protected, that is magnificent," Justine Triet told Euronews.
"[It's] a freedom of expression, a freedom to really say what you think, which is actually quite rare when you travel around the world, you realise that it's very precious."
Sandra Hüller also stars in The Zone of Interest, a chilling film about the family life of the commander-in-chief of Auschwitz which shows humanity in all its horror, without showing anything of the camp.
Despite the acclaim, the film just missed out on an award this time around.
Speaking to Euronews, the German actress heaped praise on the team behind the European Film Academy.
"It's an extraordinary one, and I think everybody who works behind the scenes - because it's a very silent work, but an important work - has done a magnificent job to put us all together here and to meet, and to discuss interesting topics," Sandra Hüller said.
The awards also showcased European subject matter with films portraying world and European affairs.
The Green Border by Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland is a realistic portrayal of the plight of migrants trapped between Belarus and Poland. The film has attracted criticism from conservatives and the Polish far right.
"There are movies which are courageous and facing the different issues, not only directly political but in the same, we are living in a reality which is political, whatever you touch," Agnieszka Holland revealed.
In Me Captain, Italian filmmaker Matteo Garrone puts us in the shoes of two young men from Dakar who leave everything behind to head for Europe, in the hopes of building a better future for themselves.
"Cinema is also trying to tell the story, to give an experience to the audience and to create empathy with the audience and the characters and give the possibility to them to live the journey," Matteo Garrone told Euronews.
Finally, nominated but just falling short, was Fallen Leaves, an infinitely poetic love film directed by one of Europe's leading auteurs, Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki.
