Thomas Vinterberg’s “Another Round,” about a group of high school teachers who decide to live their lives in a perpetual state of inebriation, has been named the best European Film of 2020 at the European Film Awards.
The film also won awards for Vinterberg’s direction, Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm’s screenplay and Mads Mikkelsen’s lead performance. The film is Denmark’s entry in the Oscar race for Best International Feature Film.
Paula Beer won the best actress award for Christian Petzold’s German ghost story “Undine.”
French director Emmanuel Courcol’s “The Big Hit” was named European Comedy of the year, in a category that only had three nominees rather than the usual six. The hand-drawn French film “Josep” won the award for animated feature, while “Collective” won the documentary award.
Nonfiction director Mark Cousins was given the first EFA Award for Innovative Storytelling for his 14-hour, 40-chapter documentary “Women Make Film: A New Road Movie Through Cinema.”
The ceremony took place as a series of virtual events from Tuesday through Saturday, including a finale broadcast live from Berlin on Saturday, but without a live audience and with nominees watching from remote locations. Unlike the Oscars and most other 2020 awards shows, the EFA did not delay its show or extend eligibility into January and February of 2021.
The winners:
European Film: “Another Round”
European Comedy: “The Big Hit”
European Discovery: Carlo Sironi, “Sole”
European Actress: Paula Beer, “Undine”
European Actor: Mads Mikkelsen, “Another Round”
European Director: Thomas Vinterberg, “Another Round”
European Documentary: “Collective”
European Screenwriter: Thomas Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm, “Another Round”
European Animated Feature Film: “Josep”
European Short Film: “All Cats Are Grey in the Dark”
European University Film Award: “Saudi Runaway”
Eurimages Co-Production Award: Luis Urbano
EFA Award for Innovative Storytelling: Mark Cousins
EFA Excellence Awards:
Cinematography: Matteo Cocco, “Hidden Away”
Editing: Maria Fantastica Valmori, “Once More Unto the Breach”
Production Design: Cristina Casali, “The Personal History of David Copperfield”
Costume Design: Ursula Patzak, “Hidden Away”
Make-Up & Hair: Yolanda Pina, Felix Terrero & Nacho Diaz, “The Endless Trench”
Original Score: Dascha Dauenhauer, “Berlin Alexanderplatz”
Sound: Yolande Decarsin, “Little Girl”
Visual Effects: Inaki Madariaga, “The Platform”