Inside the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, one of the most significant theatre buildings of post-war Germany, the 900 guests at the 26th European Film Awards Ceremony were once again welcomed by German comedienne Anke Engelke. This was the fifth time she led through the ceremony. Joining her on stage was a series of familiar faces from the world of film who presented the awards in a total of 21 categories - among them actresses Alicja Bachleda-Curus from Poland (ONDINE), Arta Dobroshi from Kosovo (LORNA’S SILENCE), Karoline Herfurth from Germany (THE READER), Carice van Houten from the Netherlands (BLACK BOOK), Diane Kruger from Germany (TROY), Noomi Rapace from Sweden (THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO), Kristin Scott Thomas from UK (THE ENGLISH PATIENT) and Jasmine Trinca from Italy (MIELE), actor Christophe Lambert from France (HIGHLANDER), and directors Agnieszka Holland (EFA Chairwoman from 2014 on), Volker Schlöndorff (deputy chairman, EFA Board), and Wim Wenders (EFA President), as well as Dieter Kosslick, director of the Berlin IFF.

A true Spanish fiesta saw Elena Anaya, Carlos Areces, Raúl Arévalo, Javier Cámara, Rossy de Palma, Hugo Silva, Miguel Ángel Silvestre, Blanca Suárez, Paz Vega and Leonor Watling gather onstage for a special tribute to Pedro Almodóvar, recipient of the award European Achievement in World Cinema.

The films nominated in the category ‘European Film’ were introduced by the following patrons: Adèle Exarchopoulos (BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOUR), Iaia Forte (THE GREAT BEAUTY), Johan Heldenbergh (THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN), Sylvia Hoeks (THE BEST OFFER), Friederike Kempter (OH BOY) and Angela Molina (BLANCANIEVES).

The ceremony also included the members of the jury for the crafts awards Tuomas Kantelinen (composer, Finland), Francesco Ranieri Martinotti (director/producer, Italy), Karel Och (festival organiser Karlovy Vary IFF, Czech Republic), Simón de Santiago Aréizaga (producer, Spain), Hervé Schneid (editor, France), Marek Septimus Wieser (cinematographer, Sweden) and Jasmila Žbaniĉ (director, Bosnia & Herzegovina).

Carice van Houten performed live with her band and Hans Nieswandt provided the acoustic backdrop for the evening. Together with Eric D. Clark, with whom he made the unforgettable no. 1 hit “From: Disco To Disco”, he also got the dance-floor packed at the party while DJ TripleGym filled the lounge with music.

Among the guests were also the German actors and actresses Hannelore Elsner, Hanna Herzsprung, Ulrich Matthes, Katja Riemann and Maria Schrader, as well as the EU Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, Androulla Vassiliou, and the recipients of the honorary awards Catherine Deneuve and Pedro Almodóvar.

The script was written by Maria von Heland and Roland Slawik, German art director Bode Brodmüller designed the set. The European Film Awards are produced by EFA Director Marion Döring and Jürgen Biesinger (executive producer).