European Film Awards 2026: SENTIMENTAL VALUE Dominates

The European Film Awards 2026 concluded in Berlin with Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value sweeping the ceremony, despite Oliver Laxe’s Sirāt leading with the most nominations. The evening ultimately belonged to Joachim Trier and the team behind Sentimental Value, which emerged as the clear winner with six major awards, including European Film, Director, Screenwriter, Actress, Actor and Original Score.

Held at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in front of approximately 1,000 international guests, the 38th edition of the European Film Awards marked a deliberate repositioning within the global awards calendar, taking place shortly after the Golden Globes and during Oscar nomination voting. The ceremony was opened by Jafar Panahi and his heartfelt plea to help Iranian people amid the crisis. Framed under the topical question “Why do we love cinema?”, the ceremony, artistically shaped by the filmmaker Mark Cousins, composer Dascha Dauenhauer and theatre director Robert Lehniger, became a cinephile event, with many references to European cinema.

Trier’s Sentimental Value confirmed the Academy’s enduring affinity for films that combine emotional accessibility with formal assurance. Less radical than some of its competitors but meticulously calibrated in tone and performance, the film swept the top categories with striking consistency. Trier was awarded European Director, while the screenplay prize went to Trier and his long-time collaborator Eskil Vogt. Renate Reinsve and Stellan Skarsgård both took acting honours. The sixth award, for Original Score, went to Hania Rani, whose music subtly amplifies the film’s emotional architecture.

Although it did not secure the top prize, Sirāt remained one of the night’s most visible films, translating its extensive nominations into a strong showing in the craft categories. Oliver Laxe’s film won awards for Casting, Cinematography (Mauro Herce), Editing (Cristóbal Fernández), Production Design (Laia Ateca) and Sound Design (Laia Casanovas), confirming its status as a formally rigorous and technically assured work.

The documentary category delivered one of the evening’s surprising moments, with Igor Bezinović’s Fiume o morte! taking the European Documentary Award. The film’s interrogation of national mythmaking and historical memory resonated strongly with the Academy, standing out among a field that included formally radical and politically urgent works such as Albert Serra’s Afternoons of Solitude and Olha Zhurba’s Songs of Slow Burning Earth.

In animation, Ugo Bienvenu’s Arco confirmed its frontrunner status by winning European Animated Feature Film. The film’s success reflects the Academy’s growing recognition of animation as a space where visual experimentation and accessible storytelling for children and adults can productively intersect.

The full list of winners:

European Film
Sentimental Value – Joachim Trier

European Documentary
Fiume o morte! – Igor Bezinović

European Animated Feature Film
Arco – Ugo Bienvenu

European Director
Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value

European Actress
Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value

European Actor
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value

European Screenwriter
Eskil Vogt & Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value

European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI
On Falling – Laura Carreira

European Young Audience Award
Siblings – Greta Scarano

European Casting Director
Nadia Acimi, Luís Bértolo & María Rodrigo – Sirāt

European Cinematographer
Mauro Herce – Sirāt

European Composer (Original Score)
Hania Rani – Sentimental Value

European Costume Designer
Sabrina Krämer – Sound of Falling

European Editor
Cristóbal Fernández – Sirāt

European Make-up & Hair Artist
Torsten Witte – Bugonia

European Production Designer
Laia Ateca – Sirāt

European Sound Designer
Laia Casanovas – Sirāt

European Short Film – Prix Vimeo
City of Poets – Sara Rajaei

Eurimages International Co-Production Award
Maren Ade, Jonas Dornbach & Janine Jackowski

European Achievement in World Cinema Award
Alice Rohrwacher

European Lifetime Achievement Award
Liv Ullmann