Filmmaker Mark Cousins has joined the creative team preparing the 38th edition of the European Film Awards, which will take place on 17 January 2026 at the House of World Cultures in Berlin.
In close collaboration with film composer Dascha Dauenhauer and stage director Robert Lehniger, Cousins will curate the ceremony of the 38th European Film Awards, turning it into “a live film-essay”.
The Belfast-born director, known for the likes of My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock and Women Make Film, revealed: “I love playing with the form of film events, so I jumped at the chance to be part of the European Film Awards’ evening.
“We hope to have some surprises. We’ll try to conjure cinematic images, emotions and ideas. I’m honoured to work with Robert, Dascha and the Academy team, in a building I’ve long admired.”
Cousins is joined by German film composer Dauenhauer (Islands), who will be responsible for the musical concept of the event, and theatre director Lehniger (Corpus Delicti), who acts as stage director and oversees the award ceremony.
These appointments follow the wish of the European Film Academy to “create more impact with its annual ceremony, and steer away from generic scripts dominated by award categories and acceptance speeches”, the EFA revealed.
Instead, the annual award show for European cinema, now taking place just after the Golden Globes and during the Oscar nomination voting period, will ask “why do we love cinema?” and be an “artistic experience in itself”.
The European Film Awards is a joined production of the European Film Academy and its in-house production arm, European Film Academy Productions – with Jürgen Biesinger as the show’s leading producer.
In a reaction, Academy director Matthijs Wouter Knol said: “Together with Academy president Juliette Binoche and outgoing chairman Mike Downey, we have worked in the past year to fulfil our shared wish to create a more idiosyncratic form to celebrate European cinema.
“Cinema has been born in Europe. And Europe continuously forms the source of new international talent, daring storytelling and technical innovation, that all impact the images we see.
“Being able to work now with Robert, Dascha and Mark is an important step to create an event that can’t be missed. Every year, we want the European Film Awards ceremony to be a true celebratory highlight for everyone loving European films.
“And yes, we believe that European cinema deserves a bold, mesmerising and inspiring celebration that may well last three hours once per year.”
More information is available on the EFA website.
