The 34th European Film Awards were presented in Berlin, Germany on 11 December 2021. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the awards went ahead without an in person audience, taking the form of a hybrid event, including pre-produced and live online.
Selection Feature Film The first part of the selection of feature films announced on August 24, 2021.
200 Meters – Ameen Nayfeh (, , ) A Chiara – Jonas Carpignano (, ) Ahed's Knee (Ha'berech) – Nadav Lapid (, , ) Ammonite – Francis Lee () And Tomorrow the Entire World (Und morgen die ganze Welt) – Julia von Heinz () Annette – Leos Carax (, , , , ) Apples (Μήλα / Mila) – Christos Nikou (, , ) Assandira – Salvatore Mereu () Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (Babardeală cu bucluc sau porno balamuc) – Radu Jude (, , , ) Beginning – Dea Kulumbegashvili (, ) Brother's Keeper (Okul Tıraşı) – Ferit Karahan (, ) Compartment No. 6 (Hytti nro 6) – Juho Kuosmanen (, , , ) Conference (Конференция / Konferentsiya) – Ivan Tverdovskiy (, , , ) Dear Comrades! (Dorogie tovarishchi!) – Andrei Konchalovsky () Fabian – Going to the Dogs (Fabian oder Der Gang vor die Hunde) – Dominik Graf () Forest – I See You Everywhere (Rengeteg – mindenhol látlak) – Bence Fliegauf () Gaza mon amour – Tarzan and Arab Nasser (, , , ) Good Mother (Bonne mère) – Hafsia Herzi () Great Freedom (Große Freiheit) – Sebastian Meise (, ) Happening (L'événement) – Audrey Diwan () Hammamet – Gianni Amelio () Here We Are (Hine Anachnu) – Nir Bergman (, ) Hive (Zgjoi) – Blerta Basholli (, , , ) I'm Your Man (Ich bin dein Mensch) – Maria Schrader () Luzzu – Alex Camilleri () Natural Light (Természetes fény) – Dénes Nagy (, , , ) Never Gonna Snow Again (Śniegu już nigdy nie będzie) – Małgorzata Szumowska, Michał Englert (, )
Night of the Kings (La Nuit des Rois) – Philippe Lacôte (, , , ) Nowhere Special – Uberto Pasolini (, , ) Oasis (Oaza) – Ivan Ikic (, , , ) Petite Maman – Céline Sciamma () Petrov's Flu (Petrovy v grippe) – Kirill Serebrennikov () Pleasure – Ninja Thyberg (, , ) Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time (Felkészülés meghatározatlan ideig tartó együttlétre) – Lili Horvát () Promising Young Woman – Emerald Fennell () Quo Vadis, Aida? – Jasmila Žbanić (, , , , , , , , ) Riders of Justice (Retfærdighedens Ryttere) – Anders Thomas Jensen (, ) Supernova – Harry Macqueen () The Belly of the Sea (El Ventre del Mar) – Agustí Villaronga () The Dig – Simon Stone () The Fam (Le Mif) – Fred Baillif () The Father – Florian Zeller (, ) The Girl and the Spider (Das Mädchen und die Spinne) – Ramon Zürcher, Silvan Zürcher () The Hand of God (È stata la mano di Dio) – Paolo Sorrentino () The Innocents (De uskyldige) – Eskil Vogt () The Macaluso Sisters (Le sorelle Macaluso) – Emma Dante () The Mauritanian – Kevin Macdonald (, , ) The Whaler Boy (Kitoboy) – Philipp Yuryev (, , ) The Worst Person in the World (Verdens verste menneske) – Joachim Trier (, , , ) Titane – Julia Ducournau (, ) Tove – Zaida Bergroth (, ) Unclenching the Fists (Razzhimaya kulaki) – Kira Kovalenko () What Do We See When We Look at the Sky? (რას ვხედავთ როდესაც ცას ვუყურებთ? / Ras vkhedavt, rodesac cas vukurebt?) – Alexandre Koberidze (, )
Documentary The selection of 15 documentary films was announced on August 24, 2021.
A New Shift (Nová šichta) – Jindřich Andrš () A Song Called Hate – Anna Hildur Hildibrandsdóttir () All-In – Volkan Üce (, , ) Babi Yar. Context – Sergei Loznitsa (, ) Flee (Flugt) – Jonas Poher Rasmussen (, , , ) Gorbachev. Heaven (Gorbačovs. Paradīze) – Vitaly Manskiy (, ) Les Enfants Terribles – Ahmet Necdet Cupur (, , ) Mr Bachmann and His Class (Herr Bachmann und seine Klasse) – Maria Speth ()
Taming the Garden – Salomé Jashi (, , ) The Banality of Grief – Jon Bang Carlsen () The First 54 Years: An Abbreviated Manual for Military Occupation – Avi Mograbi (, , , ) The Most Beautiful Boy in the World – Kristina Lindström, Kristian Petri () The Other Side of the River – Antonia Kilian (, ) The Rain Will Never Stop – Alina Gorlova (, , , ) We (Nous) – Alice Diop ()
Short film The European Short Film 2021 is presented in co-operation with the following European film festivals (due to the COVID-19 pandemic the list of festivals as well as the dates of the festivals are subject to change – festivals might also be held online). The participating festival choose one candidate each and later nominate five short films for the main prize.
10–16 October 2020: International Short Film Festival of Cyprus () - The News (dir. Lorin Terezi) 15–25 October 2020: Riga International Film Festival () - Push This Button If You Begin to Panic (dir. Gabriel Böhmer) 19–25 October 2020: Uppsala Short Film Festival () - Maalbeek (dir. Ismaël Joffroy Chandoutis) 24–31 October 2020: Valladolid International Film Festival () - The Martyr (dir. Fernando Pomares) 3–8 November 2020: Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur () - Dustin (dir. Naïla Guiguet) 4–15 November 2020: Cork International Film Festival () - Blue Fear (dir. Marie Jacotey & Lola Halifa-Legrand) 17–25 November 2020: Black Nights Film Festival – PÖFF Shorts () - Precious (dir. Paul Mas) 5–12 December 2020: Leuven International Short Film Festival () - Marlon Brando (dir. Vincent Tilanus) 29 January - 6 February 2021: Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival () - Beyond is the Day (dir. Damian Kocur) 1–7 February 2021: International Film Festival Rotterdam () - Flowers Blooming in Our Throats (dir. Eva Giolo) 1–5 March 2021: Berlin International Film Festival () - Easter Eggs (dir. Nicolas Keppens) 10–14 March 2021: Tampere Film Festival () - Mission: Hebron (dir. Rona Segal) 14–18 April 2021: Go Short – International Short Film Festival Nijmegen () - The Natural Death of a Mouse (dir. Katharina Huber) 27 May - 6 June 2021: VIENNA SHORTS – International Short Film Festival () - Bella (dir. Thelyia Petraki) 30 May - 6 June 2021: Krakow Film Festival () - Hide (dir. Daniel Gray) 1–7 June 2021: Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg () - Minnen (dir. Kristin Johannessen) 6–17 July 2021: Festival de Cannes () - Displaced (dir. Samir Karahoda) 16–25 July 2021: Curtas Vila do Conde – International Film Festival () - Vo (dir. Nicolas Gourault) 27–31 July 2021: Motovun Film Festival () - Armadila (dir. Gorana Jovanović) 4–14 August 2021: Locarno Film Festival () - In Flow of Words (dir. Eliane Esther Bots) 13–20 August 2021: Sarajevo Film Festival () - My Uncle Tudor (dir. Olga Lucovnicova) 30 August - 5 September 2021: OFF – Odense International () - The Long Goodbye (dir. Aneil Karia) 1–11 September 2021: Venice Film Festival () - Fall of the Ibis King (dir. Mikai Geronimo & Josh O'Caoimh) 18–25 September 2021: Encounters Film Festival () - Zonder Meer (dir. Meltse Van Coillie) 19 - 25 September 2021: Drama International Short Film Festival () - Nha Sunhu (dir. José Magro)
Feature Films Awards Nominations were announced on November 9, 2021.
Best Film English titleDirector(s)Producer(s)CountryLanguageCompartment No. 6Juho KuosmanenJussi Rantamäki, Riina Sildos, Jamila Wenske, Melanie Blocksdorf, Natalia Drozd-Makan, Sergey Selyanov / / / Russian, FinnishThe FatherFlorian ZellerPhilippe Carcassonne, Jean-Louis Livi, David Parfitt / EnglishThe Hand of GodPaolo SorrentinoPaolo Sorrentino, Lorenzo MieliItalianQuo Vadis, Aida?Jasmila ŽbanićDamir Ibrahimović, Jasmila Žbanić / / / / / / / / Bosnian, English, Dutch, SerbianTitaneJulia DucournauJean-Christophe Reymond, Amaury Ovise, Jean-Yves Roubin, Cassandre Warnauts / French
Best Director Director(s)English title Radu JudeBad Luck Banging or Loony Porn Florian ZellerThe Father Paolo SorrentinoThe Hand of God Jasmila ŽbanićQuo Vadis, Aida? Julia DucournauTitane
Best Screenwriter Director(s)English title Radu JudeBad Luck Banging or Loony Porn Florian Zeller Christopher HamptonThe Father Paolo SorrentinoThe Hand of God Jasmila ŽbanićQuo Vadis, Aida? / Joachim Trier Eskil VogtThe Worst Person in the World
Best Actor Actor English title Role Yuriy Borisov Compartment No. 6 Vadim Anthony Hopkins The Father Anthony Vincent Lindon Titane Vincent Tahar Rahim The Mauritanian Mohamedou Ould Salahi Franz Rogowski Great Freedom Hans Hoffmann
Best Actress Actor English title Role Jasna Đuričić Quo Vadis, Aida? Aida Selmanagic Seidi Haarla Compartment No. 6 Laura Carey Mulligan Promising Young Woman Cassandra Renate Reinsve The Worst Person in the World Julie Agathe Rousselle Titane Alexia / Adrien
EFA Excellence Awards The winners were announced on November 16, 2021. The members of the jury were Camilla Hjelm, Matt Kasmir, Jelena Maksimovic, Ursula Patzak, Célia Sayaphoum, Francis "Kiko" Soeder, Başar Ünder and Leendert van Nimwegen.
Best Composer Winner(s) English title Nils Petter Molvær Peter Brötzmann Great Freedom
Best Production Designer Winner(s) English title Márton Ágh Natural Light
Best Makeup and Hairstyling Winner(s) English title Flore Masson Olivier Afonso Antoine Mancini Titane
Best Sound Designer Winner(s) English title Gisle Tveito Gustaf Berger The Innocents
Best Cinematographer Winner(s) English title Crystel Fournier Great Freedom
Best Costume Designer Winner(s) English title Michael O'Connor Ammonite
Best Editor Winner(s) English title Mukharam Kabulova Unclenching the Fists
Best Visual Effects Winner(s) English title Peter Hjorth Fredrik Nord Lamb
Film Awards Not Based on a Feature Film Selection Source:
European Comedy The award is presented to the director of a feature-length European comedy intended for theatrical release. English titleDirector(s)CountryLanguageThe Morning After Méliane MarcaggiFrenchNinjababyYngvild Sve FlikkeNorwegianThe People UpstairsCesc GaySpanish
European Discovery - Prix FIPRESCI In co-operation with FIPRESCI, the International Federation of Film Critics, the award is presented to a director for his/her first full-length European feature film intended for theatrical release. The nominees were announced on 12 October 2021. The 2021 nominations were determined by a committee consisting of European Film Academy Board Members Anita Juka (Croatia) and Joanna Szymańska (Poland), producer/screenwriter Paula Alvarez Vaccaro (UK, Italy), producer Vladimer Katcharava (Georgia) as well as film critics Marta Bałaga (Finland, Poland), Janet Baris (Turkey), Andrei Plakhov (Russia), Frédéric Ponsard (France) and Britt Sørensen (Norway) as representatives of FIPRESCI, the International Federation of Film Critics. Director(s)English title Dea Kulumbegashvili Beginning Valdimar JóhannssonLamb Laura WandelPlayground Ninja ThybergPleasure Emerald FennellPromising Young Woman Philipp YuryevThe Whaler Boy
European Documentary The award is presented to the director of a European documentary film intended for theatrical release. English titleDirector(s)CountryLanguageBabi Yar. ContextSergei Loznitsa / Ukrainian, Russian, German, PolishFleeJonas Poher Rasmussen / / / Danish, English, Dari, Russian, SwedishThe Most Beautiful Boy in the WorldKristina Lindström & Kristian PetriEnglish, French, Italian, Japanese, SwedishMr Bachmann and His ClassMaria SpethGermanTaming the GardenSalomé Jashi / / Georgian
European Animated Feature Film In co-operation with CARTOON, the European Association of Animation Film, the award is presented to the director of a European animated feature film intended for theatrical release. English titleDirector(s)CountryLanguageThe Ape StarLinda Hambäck / / SwedishEven Mice Belong in HeavenDenisa Grimmová & Jan Bubenícek / / / CzechFleeJonas Poher Rasmussen / / / Danish, English, Dari, Russian, SwedishWhere Is Anne FrankAri Folman / / / / EnglishWolfwalkersTomm Moore & Ross Stewart / / English
European Short Film The award is presented to the director of a European short film. The final five short films were nominated from the final list by the participating festivals.