| European Film Award for Best Film | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Best European Film of the Year |
| Presented by | European Film Academy |
| First award | A Short Film About Killing (1988) |
| Currently held by | Sentimental Value (2025) |
| Website | europeanfilmacademy |
European Film Award for Best Film is one of the annualEuropean Film Awards, presented by theEuropean Film Academy to recognize the best in European filmmaking. It was first awarded in 1988 with Polish filmA Short Film About Killing, directed byKrzysztof Kieślowski, being the first recipient of the award.
DirectorsGianni Amelio,Lars von Trier andMichael Haneke have received the most wins in this category with three wins each, whilePedro Almodóvar is the most nominated director with seven nominations, winning twice.Maren Ade was the first female director to win the award, receiving it forToni Erdmann in 2016.
| Year | English title | Original title | Director(s) | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 (1st) | ||||
| A Short Film About Killing | Krótki film o zabijaniu | Krzysztof Kieślowski | Poland | |
| Goodbye Children | Au revoir les enfants | Louis Malle | France, West Germany | |
| The Animated Forest | El bosque animado | José Luis Cuerda | Spain | |
| Distant Voices, Still Lives | Terence Davies | United Kingdom | ||
| Wings of Desire | Der Himmel über Berlin | Wim Wenders | West Germany, France | |
| Jacob | Iacob | Mircea Daneliuc | Romania | |
| Pelle the Conqueror | Pelle Erobreren /Pelle Erövraren | Bille August | Denmark, Sweden | |
| 1989 (2nd) | ||||
| Landscape in the Mist | Topio stin omichli | Theodoros Angelopoulos | Greece, France, Italy | |
| The Midas Touch | Eldorádó | Géza Bereményi | Hungary | |
| Magnus | Þráinn Bertelsson | Iceland | ||
| Recollections of the Yellow House | Recordações da Casa Amarela | João César Monteiro | Portugal | |
| High Hopes | Mike Leigh | United Kingdom | ||
| Little Vera | Malenkaya Vera | Vasili Pichul | Soviet Union | |
| Year | English title | Original title | Director(s) | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 (33rd) [1][2] | ||||
| Another Round | Druk | Thomas Vinterberg | Denmark | |
| Berlin Alexanderplatz | Burhan Qurbani | Germany, Netherlands | ||
| Corpus Christi | Boże Ciało | Jan Komasa | Poland, France | |
| Martin Eden | Pietro Marcello | Italy, France | ||
| The Painted Bird | Nabarvené ptáče | Václav Marhoul | Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine | |
| Undine | Christian Petzold | Germany, France | ||
| 2021 (34th) [3][4] | ||||
| Quo Vadis, Aida? | Jasmila Žbanić | Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, Netherlands, France, Poland, Norway, Germany, Romania, Turkey | ||
| Compartment No. 6 | Hytti nro 6 | Juho Kuosmanen | Finland, Estonia, Germany | |
| The Father | Florian Zeller | UK, France | ||
| The Hand of God | È stata la mano di Dio | Paolo Sorrentino | Italy | |
| Titane | Julia Ducournau | France, Belgium | ||
| 2022 (35th) [5] | ||||
| Triangle of Sadness | Ruben Östlund | Sweden, Germany, France, UK | ||
| Alcarràs | Carla Simón | Spain, Italy | ||
| Close | Lukas Dhont | Belgium, France, Netherlands | ||
| Corsage | Marie Kreutzer | Austria, Luxembourg, Germany, France | ||
| Holy Spider | Ankabut-e moqaddas | Ali Abbasi | Denmark, Germany, Sweden, France | |
| 2023 (36th) [6] | Anatomy of a Fall | Anatomie d'une chute | Justine Triet | France |
| Fallen Leaves | Kuolleet lehdet | Aki Kaurismäki | Finland, Germany | |
| Green Border | Zielona granica | Agnieszka Holland | Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Poland | |
| Io Capitano | Matteo Garrone | Belgium, Italy | ||
| The Zone of Interest | Jonathan Glazer | Poland, UK | ||
| 2024 (37th) [7] | Emilia Pérez | Jacques Audiard | France | |
| The Room Next Door | La habitación de al lado | Pedro Almodóvar | Spain | |
| The Seed of the Sacred Fig | Danaye Anjir-e Moabad | Mohammad Rasoulof | Germany, France | |
| The Substance | Coralie Fargeat | UK, France | ||
| Vermiglio | Maura Delpero | Italy, France, Belgium | ||
| 2025 (38th) [8] | Sentimental Value | Affeksjonsverdi | Joachim Trier | Norway, France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, UK |
| It Was Just an Accident | Yek Tasadof-e Sadeh | Jafar Panahi | France, Luxembourg | |
| Sirāt | Óliver Laxe | Spain, France | ||
| Sound of Falling | In die Sonne schauen | Mascha Schilinski | Germany | |
| The Voice of Hind Rajab | Ṣawt Hind Rajab | Kaouther Ben Hania | France | |
| Achievement | Holder | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Most wins (by country) | Italy (7) | 1990, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2008, 2013, 2015 |
| Most wins (by country) including co-productions | Germany (11) | 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2021 |
| Most nominations (by country) | France (38) | 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 |
| Most nominations (by country) including co-productions | France (63) | 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 |
| Most wins for Best Film (by director) | Gianni Amelio (3) Lars von Trier (3) Michael Haneke (3) | 1990, 1992, 1994 1996, 2000, 2011 2005, 2009, 2012 |
| Most nominations for Best Film (by director) | Pedro Almodóvar (8) | 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2016, 2019, 2024 |
