European Film Awards 2026 winners: Sentimental Value leads the night

The 38th European Film Awards took place last weekend at Berlin’s Haus der Kulturen der Welt, in front of around 1,000 international guests. Broadcast and livestreamed through 49 partners across 29 countries, the ceremony marked the most visible step yet in the Academy’s decision to move the event from December to January, aligning it more closely with the global awards calendar.

Positioned just after the Golden Globes and during the Oscar nomination voting window, the shift reflects an ambition to strengthen the EFAs’ role not only as a celebration of European cinema but also as an active participant in the wider international conversation. The evening concluded the European Awards Season, which began in November, reaffirming Berlin as a key stop in the continent’s cinematic circuit.

Under the thematic banner “Why do we love cinema?”, the ceremony adopted an authored, reflective structure. The show was co-created by filmmaker Mark Cousins with the Academy’s creative team, alongside composer Dascha Dauenhauer and theatre director Robert Lehniger, favouring curated moments over conventional award-show spectacle.

Sentimental Value: a clear frontrunner

The night belonged to Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, which emerged as the most awarded film of the ceremony with six prizes, including European Film, European Director, European Screenwriter, and both leading acting awards.

Trier’s drama, centred on an ageing filmmaker attempting to reconnect with his estranged actor daughter, consolidated its status as one of the defining European films of the year. The wins for Renate Reinsve (European Actress) and Stellan Skarsgård (European Actor) extended a collaboration that has become central to Trier’s cinema, while the award for Hania Rani’s original score completed the film’s sweep across major creative categories.

As in previous editions, the concentration of top awards around a single title reinforced a recurring EFA dynamic: a dominant film shaping the narrative of the night, at the expense of a broader distribution of honours.

Craft recognition and parallel trajectories

While Sentimental Value prevailed in the headline categories, Oliver Laxe’s Sirāt defined the technical landscape of the ceremony. The film collected five awards, including cinematography, editing, sound, production design and casting, confirming its impact through craft rather than top-tier prizes.

Other notable outcomes included Igor Bezinović’s Fiume o Morte! winning European Documentary, and Ugo Bienvenu’s Arco taking European Animated Feature Film, in a category presented in cooperation with CARTOON. The European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI went to Laura Carreira’s On Falling, signalling the Academy’s continued investment in first features.

Politics, context and honorary awards

The ceremony maintained a politically attentive tone, with several speeches addressing current global tensions. Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, whose It Was Just an Accident left the night without awards, delivered one of the evening’s most direct statements, urging filmmakers to resist silence in times of violence: “If we are disappointed with politicians, we must at least refuse to remain silent. Because silence in a time of crime is not neutrality. Silence is a participation in darkness.”

Honorary awards had been announced ahead of the ceremony. Liv Ullmann received the European Lifetime Achievement Award, Alice Rohrwacher was honoured with the European Achievement in World Cinema Award, and the Eurimages International Co-Production Award went to Maren Ade, Jonas Dornbach and Janine Jackowski, recognising their sustained contribution to European independent production.

With its January repositioning now firmly in place, the European Film Awards continue to balance celebration, authorship and political awareness, while once again confirming how a single film can come to define an entire edition.

Full list of winners – European Film Awards 2026

European Film
SENTIMENTAL VALUE (AFFEKSJONSVERDI), directed by Joachim Trier

European Documentary
FIUME O MORTE!, directed by Igor Bezinović

European Animated Feature Film
ARCO, directed by Ugo Bienvenu

European Director
Joachim Trier – SENTIMENTAL VALUE (AFFEKSJONSVERDI)

European Actress
Renate Reinsve – SENTIMENTAL VALUE (AFFEKSJONSVERDI)

European Actor
Stellan Skarsgård – SENTIMENTAL VALUE (AFFEKSJONSVERDI)

European Screenwriter
Eskil Vogt & Joachim Trier – SENTIMENTAL VALUE (AFFEKSJONSVERDI)

European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI
ON FALLING, directed by Laura Carreira

European Young Audience Award
SIBLINGS (LA VITA DA GRANDI), directed by 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 (AFFEKSJONSVERDI)

European Costume Designer
Sabrina Krämer – SOUND OF FALLING (IN DIE SONNE SCHAUEN)

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, directed by Sara Rajaei

European Lifetime Achievement Award
Liv Ullmann

European Achievement in World Cinema Award
Alice Rohrwacher

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