“Triangle of Sadness” Best European Film

This has never happened before either: a president of the European Commission can be seen at the European Film Awards – and not as a praiser, but as an award winner. On Saturday evening in Reykjavík, Iceland, Ursula von der Leyen collected the sustainability trophy, awarded for the first time at the 35th gala, with which the Film Academy honored the European Green Deal promoted by the politician. The Prix Film4Climate applies to the increasingly important fight for climate compatibility in the film industry.

In front of 600 guests, von der Leyen conveyed his message via video: “We must all act for our climate.” Politicians can only set goals, every individual must act. Three young people from Romania, Sweden and Iceland announced the decision on stage. A tree will now be planted on behalf of the Commission on Iceland’s barren soil.

This award alone shows what distinguishes the approximately 4,500-strong European Film Academy from its much larger and much older Oscar association in the United States: political statements, especially in times of crisis like these, are taken seriously. here as the shower of awards for the Swedish satire “Triangle of sadness”.

What she lacks in glamor on the red carpet, she makes up for with clear positioning. It is no coincidence that the co-producer award went to all Ukrainian film producers. Some reported on stage on behalf of their work on the front of European values. Some are out with cameras, some with guns.

The award for best documentary went to Lithuanian director Mantas Kvedaravicius. He was killed by Russian soldiers while filming “Mariupolis 2” about everyday life in the bombed-out Ukrainian city of Mariupol. His daughter received the award.

Shipwreck with the luxury yacht

The big winner of the night, however, was Ruben Östlund’s abundant satire “Triangle of Sadness” on the decadence of the super-rich, which had already received the Palme d’Or at Cannes. The Swedish director won the most important trophies, those for screenplay, direction, best film 2022. In addition to this, there was the actor award for Zlatko Burić (in the female category, Vicky Krieps won as of Empress Sisi in “Corsage”, the Cologne comedian Meltem Kaptan went with “Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush” (blank).

The cruise on a luxury yacht ends in “Triangle of Sadness” with a shipwreck. Social conditions are turned upside down on a lonely island. The cleaning lady, skilled both at making fire and catching octopuses, assumes command, and the ruling class, in turn, must serve her. Does this concentration of prices with respectable competition (including the Berlinale-winning film “Alcarràs” and the Iranian drama “Holy Spider”) also express anger at the ever-widening gap between rich and poor, not just in Europe?

The audience rose from their seats for Margarethe von Trotta, honored for her life’s work. The German director, known for her female portraits of her (“Rosa Luxemburg”, “Hannah Arendt”, a film about Ingeborg Bachmann will follow shortly) stressed that she is only the third woman to receive this accolade. “But I think the time of women has just begun.” Von Trotta then invoked the future of cinema against “all this digital stuff”.

The evening, designed with a lot of Icelandic spirit but clearly too long, cast an illuminating glimpse into the richness and diversity of European cinema, which is currently struggling. It wasn’t much different when the European Film Academy was founded in Berlin in 1988, but now the situation is downright life-threatening.

The public has not (yet) returned to cinemas after the Corona pandemic, but the subsidies are running out. And when viewers take their seats in the darkened hall, Hollywood films like “James Bond” top the list of favourites.

The film academy proclaimed a month for European cinema as a promotional event. Cinemas from 35 countries, including those in Germany, attended to honor the works of their neighbours. The winner “Triangle of Sadness” has been shown in regular cinema programs in Germany for a few weeks now.