‘Triangle of Sadness’ Wins Top Prize at 2022 European Film Awards

triangle of sadnessRuben Östlund’s scathing One Percent takedown, was the big winner at the 35th European Film Awards, clinching four trophies, including first prize for Best European Film at the awards ceremony in Reykjavik, Iceland , Saturday.

Östlund also won Best Screenplay and Best Director, and dedicated his award to triangle of sadness star Charlbi Dean, who died after a sudden illness this summer, just months after the film premiered at Cannes, where it won the Palme d’Or. Croatian actor Zlatko Burić, who plays Dimitry, a Russian fertilizer magnate in triangle of sadnesswas the surprise winner of the best actor award, beating out contenders like Paul Mescal for After the sun Y Close Eden Dambrine escape.

Vicky Krieps took actress honors for Corseta feminist period drama from director Marie Kreutzer, in which she plays an Austrian empress fighting against the patriarchal structures of her day.

“I want to dedicate this to all the women around the world who need to be seen and heard,” Krieps said in an acceptance speech via video link, “who need to be healed from these deep wounds. [of history] so that men and women can come together again.

The 35th edition of the European Film Awards marked the event’s first in-person gala since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The European Film Academy, which organized the ceremony, celebrated in style at the Harpa concert hall in Reykjavik, with guests entering through a unique art installation created by local Icelandic artists Tanja Levý, Lilý Erla Adamsdóttir and Sean O’ Brien.

presenters included game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, German actress Nina Hoss (Deposit), Borat Later Movie break Maria Bakalova and the Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur (Beast). The awards were presented by Icelandic actress, screenwriter and politician Ilmur Kristjánsdóttir, who caused one of the first big laughs of the night when she introduced the EFAs as “just like the Oscars: all films are foreign!” — and local artist, author and comedian Hugleikur Dagsson. Musical accompaniment came from the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, the music collective INNI and the Icelandic electronic band GusGus.

The nominated films of the night, from Lukas Dhont’s intimate story of friendship and loss in Close to Carla Simon’s alcarràs, a moving portrait of a group of Catalan peach growers; from Ali Abassi’s Iran-set serial killer thriller sacred spider to Marie Kreutzer’s feminist period drama Corset to Östlund’s capitalist satire triangle of sadness — were the best advertisement for the diversity and quality of European cinema that you are likely to find.

But the evening’s celebrations come during a crisis point for the European film industry. Arthouse and specialty cinema of the kind honored by the EFAs is heavily reliant on theatrical performance, and European audiences have not returned to cinemas post-COVID. The box office in several major territories, including France, Germany and Italy, remains well below its pre-pandemic figures for 2019. Of this year’s best picture nominees, only Östlund’s wildly entertaining triangle of sadness, which is a sleeper contender in the Oscar race, can rightly be called a hit. The film, a co-production of Sweden, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, has grossed over $16 million worldwide and has been playing strongly across Europe.

As is often the case in EFAs, politics took center stage.

In a sign of solidarity with filmmakers in Ukraine, whose film industry has been decimated since the Russian invasion of the country on February 24, this year’s Eurimages Co-Production Award, honoring excellence in European co-production, was presented to all Ukrainian film producers.

Several Ukrainian producers, including some currently fighting on the front lines of the war, sent video messages to the EFA thanking them for their support. An unidentified man then stood up in the crowd, raised a Ukrainian flag and called for the release of Maksym Butkevych, the Ukrainian journalist and human rights activist captured by Russian forces in Luhansk Oblast in June.

One of Europe’s leading politicians, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, addressed the EFA audience via video link, accepting the inaugural European Sustainability Award, the Prix Film4Climate, an award intended for to celebrate a “European institution, company or film” that provides an outstanding contribution to promoting sustainability in the film industry. Von der Leyen accepted on behalf of the European Commission, which was awarded for its European Green Deal, a set of policy initiatives aimed at making the European Union climate neutral by 2050.

“We need all people, all communities and all industries to change,” von der Leyen said, encouraging those in the room to do more to help transition Europe’s economy to a green future. “You have the power to change hearts and minds and you can make people see that everyone can make a difference for the planet.” The Prix Film4Climate award took the form of an Icelandic birch, planted in a “European film forest” near Reykjavik.

The European Discovery — Prix Fipresci, awarded for the best debut feature, went to Italian director Laura Samani for Small body, a dark period drama set in the early 1900s about a woman suffering from trauma after the death of her first child. The award for best short film went to the Slovenian animated drama granny’s sex lifeco-directed by Urška Djukic and Émilie Pigeard.

Fernando Leon de Aranoa the good boss, starring Javier Bardem, won the award for best European comedy, although the film’s producer, Jaume Roures, protested the category. “It’s a mistake: the movie is a drama, not a comedy!” he insisted.

“We tried to make a drama but it didn’t work”, jokes De Aranoa.

Best Animated Feature went to Dogs and Italians are not allowed by director Alain Ughetto, while Mariupol 2 from director Mantas Kvedaravičius took home the award for best European documentary of 2022. Kvedaravičius was assassinated during the making of the film, which documents events in Mariupol, Ukraine, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. His daughter accepted the award on his behalf.

The EFA craft honours, called the European Excellence Awards, were announced ahead of Saturday’s ceremony. Winners included Kenneth Branagh Belfast, which won Best European Production Design for Jim Clay and Best Costume Design for Charlotte Walter; Kate McCullough, who won Best European Cinematography for her shooting of Colm Bairéad’s Irish drama the quiet girl; and Edward Berger’s German World War I drama All calm on the west frontwhich won Best European Visual Effects for Frank Petzold, Viktor Müller and Markus Frank, and Best European Makeup and Hairstyling for Heike Merker.

The Cyril Dion documentary Animalwhich follows two French teenagers as they meet with scientists and activists from around the world in search of a new way to cohabit with other species, won the 2022 Young Audience Award, voted for by young moviegoers across Europe.

The European University Film Award (EUFA) went to EO by Jerzy Skolimowski.

Also announced ahead of Saturday’s ceremony was the award for Innovation in European Narrative, which went to veteran Italian director Marco Bellocchio (The traitor, the director of the wedding) for his limited series Outside NightMade for RAI, which narrates the kidnapping and assassination of former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro by the Red Brigades in 1978.

Director Elia Suleiman (divine intervention, must be heaven) won this year’s European Achievement in World Cinema award, the first Palestinian filmmaker to receive such an honour, while groundbreaking German feminist director Margarethe von Trotta (Hanna Arendt, the german sisters) received the 2022 European Lifetime Achievement Award.

Below is the full list of winners for the 2022 European Film Awards.

EUROPEAN CINEMA

triangle of sadness, mister. ruben ostlund

EUROPEAN DIRECTOR

Rubén Östlund by triangle of sadness

EUROPEAN ACTRESS

Vicky Krieps by Corset

EUROPEAN ACTOR

Zlatko Buric by triangle of sadness

EUROPEAN SCREENWRITER

Rubén Östlund by triangle of sadness

EUROPEAN COMEDY

the good bossdir. Fernando Leon De Aranoa

EUROPEAN ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Dogs and Italians are not alloweddirector Alain Ugueto

EUROPEAN DOCUMENTARY

Mariupol 2director Mantas Kvedaravičius

EUROPEAN DISCOVERY — FIPRESCI AWARD

Small bodydirector Laura Samani

EUROPEAN SHORT FILM

granny’s sex lifedirectories Urska Djukic, Emilie Pigard

INNOVATIVE EUROPEAN NARRATIVE

Outside Nightdirector Marcos Bellocchio

EUROPEAN YOUNG AUDIENCE AWARD

Animaldirector cyril dion

EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY AWARD

EOdirector Jerzy Skolimowski.

EUROPEAN CINEMATOGRAPHY
Kate McCullough by the quiet girl

EUROPEAN EDITION
Ozcan Vardar and Eytan İpeker for burning days

EUROPEAN PRODUCTION DESIGN
jim clay for Belfast

EUROPEAN COSTUME DESIGN
Charlotte Walter by Belfast

EUROPEAN MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
Heike Merker by All calm on the west front

ORIGINAL EUROPEAN SHEET
Pawel Mykietyn by EO

EUROPEAN SOUND
Simone Paolo Olivero, Paolo Benvenuti, Benni Atria, Marco Saitta, Ansgar Frerich and Florian Holzner for The hole

EUROPEAN VISUAL EFFECTS
Frank Petzold, Viktor Müller and Markus Frank for All calm on the west front

EURIMAGES CO-PRODUCTION AWARD

Delivered to all Ukrainian film producers.

EUROPEAN SUSTAINABILITY AWARD — PRIX FILM4CLIMATE

The European Commission for its European Green Deal

EUROPEAN AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN WORLD CINEMA

Elias Suleiman

EUROPEAN AWARD FOR LIFETIME CAREER

margaret vontrotta