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.
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00:00 After Reykjavik last year, it was once again Berlin`s turn, as it is every other year,
00:07 to host the European Film Awards.
00:10 Set up by the European Film Academy in the German capital in 1988, just before the fall
00:16 of the Berlin Wall, the event is a celebration of European cinema and its diversity.
00:22 This year the competition was fierce, but it was French director Justin Trie's Anatomy
00:26 of a Fall that came out on top, with awards for best screenplay, best director, best film
00:31 and best actress for Sandra Huller.
00:34 The story centers on a writer who finds herself suspected of her husband's death, and whose
00:39 trial will expose her relationship and her identity as a woman.
00:42 "I think there is a freedom in Europe that must be preserved, that must be protected,
00:49 which is magnificent.
00:50 A freedom of expression, a freedom to say what you really think, which is actually quite
00:52 rare, when you travel around the world, you realize that it is very precious."
00:58 Sandra Huller also stars in The Zone of Interest, a chilling film about the family life of the
01:03 commander-in-chief of Auschwitz, which shows humanity in all its horror, without showing
01:09 anything of the camp.
01:11 Despite the acclaim, the film just missed out on an award this time around.
01:15 Speaking to Euronews, the German actress heaped praise on the team behind the European Film
01:20 Academy.
01:21 "It's an extraordinary one, and I think everybody who's working behind the scenes, because it's
01:25 a very silent work, but an important work, has done a magnificent job to put us all together
01:31 here and to meet and to discuss interesting topics."
01:36 The awards also showcased European subject matter, with films portraying world and European
01:41 affairs.
01:43 Green Border by Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland is a realistic portrayal of the plight
01:48 of migrants trapped between Belarus and Poland.
01:52 The film has attracted criticism from conservatives and the Polish far right.
01:56 "They are the movies which are courageously facing the different issues, not only directly
02:03 political, but in the same time, you know, we are living in the reality which is political,
02:08 whatever you touch."
02:13 In Me, Captain, Italian filmmaker Matteo Garoni puts us in the shoes of two young men who
02:18 leave everything behind in Dakar to build a better future for themselves.
02:25 "Cinema is also this, trying to tell the story, to give an experience to the audience and
02:34 to create empathy with the audience, with the character, and give the possibility to
02:39 them to live in solidity the journey."
02:43 Finally nominated, but just falling short, was Fallen Leaves, an infinitely poetic love
02:49 film directed by one of Europe's leading authors, Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki.
02:55 ♪ You need ♪
02:57 (gentle music)