Welcome to Berlin, and welcome to the 34th European Film Awards!
I am delighted that Berlin is hosting this very special event again. Our city has become a true center of attraction for the film industry and an extremely popular shooting location, which makes the European Film Awards ceremony a highlight on our cultural calendar.
This year’s nominations for awards in 26 different categories illustrate the enormous creativity, high quality, and diversity of our continent’s filmmaking landscape. The awards ceremony in Berlin is an excellent opportunity to make all of that more visible and to celebrate it.
The event comes at a time in which the coronavirus pandemic is still pushing us to the limit. The pandemic brought huge challenges and hardships for cultural life, creatives, and cultural professionals; at the same time, it has made vividly clear how vital culture is to society as a whole. The European Film Awards send strong messages supporting cinema, encouraging filmmakers and creating networks, and promoting the European idea. That makes them especially valuable this year, too. We’re also celebrating an anniversary: it has now been 30 years since European film funding was launched, which has since become the program Creative Europe MEDIA. Supporting Europe’s cinematic landscape will remain a priority in the years to come.
My special thanks go to the European Film Academy for organizing this 34th edition of the European Film Awards and for the important work they do for film culture.
I wish all the nominees and protagonists a wonderful time at this year’s European Film Awards ceremony.