European Film Academy

THE EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

AND THE EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The European Film Academy is the initiative of a group of European filmmakers who came together in Berlin on the occasion of the first presentation of the European Film Awards in November 1988. In 1989, the Academy ? under the name of European Cinema Society - was officially founded by its first President, the Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, as well as 40 filmmakers from all over Europe in order to promote European film culture world-wide and to protect and to support the interests of the European film industry. Wim Wenders was elected Chairman. Two years later, the European Cinema Society was renamed European Film Academy e. V. and was registered as a non-profit association.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1996, Wenders took over the presidency from Bergman, and the British producer Nik Powell 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 1,500 (as of January 2002). The Academy is thus working in close contact with the European film industry.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A PLATFORM FOR PROMOTION:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

THE ANNUAL 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 - which have been produced since 1997 by DDA Productions Ltd., London, ? 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) 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 Oscars. 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.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A FORUM OF REFLECTION:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

THE ANNUAL PROGRAMME OF THE EUROPEAN FILM ACADEMY

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Academy?s content work is marked by activities focussing on political, economic, artistic and training aspects of filmmaking. Some of these activities have become regular meeting points of the European film industry, such as:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A SUNDAY IN THE COUNTRY: Once a year, young European filmmakers are invited for a week-end encounter to an EFA member?s home and are thus given the opportunity to exchange their ideas and experiences in a very personal atmosphere with other EFA members and representatives of the local film industry regularly participating in these meetings. The efficiency of this exchange largely exceeds the results of regular workshops. With A SUNDAY IN THE COUNTRY (its modest budget is covered through co-operations with various national film institutions), EFA creates helpful networks for the participants beyond the known structures and support mechanisms. SUNDAYS IN THE COUNTRY have so far taken place in Laski/Poland, Bassano del Grappa/Italy, Ebeltoft/Denmark, Gmunden/Austria and Reykjavik/Iceland.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MASTER CLASSES: During one week each year, the European Film Academy organises a Master Class which gives young directors the rare opportunity to improve their skills and practical knowledge. The masters are among the world?s most outstanding filmmakers, such as Jean-Jacques Annaud, Jan de Bont, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Nikita Mikhalkov, Tilda Swinton, István Szabó, Mike Newell and Tsui Hark, the action director from Hong Kong who held the EFA Master Class 2001. These workshops include shootings and theoretical lessons.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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, Tom Tykwer, Dominik Moll, Pavel Longouine, Maria de Medeiros) as well as the EU commissioner Viviane Reding 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.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On the occasion of the Awards 2001, the European Film Academy organised a symposium on the future role of the film festivals which, at the same time, was a unique summit of the directors of some of the world?s most important festivals: Berlin, Venice, San Sebastian, Rotterdam, Karlovy Vary, Locarno, Pusan, Sundance, Toronto were represented as well as the European Film Festivals Coordination.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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, DaimlerChrysler, UIP and DAS WERK.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~