The European Film Academy (EFA) was created in 1989 on the initiative of some of Europe’s top film-makers following the first European Film Awards ceremony held in November 1988.

The fact that the 25th edition of the awards will be held in Malta next year means that we want to start creating the vibe from Berlin- Film commissioner

The EFA was originally founded as the European Cinema Society by its first president, Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, and 40 film-makers with the aim of promoting the European film industry.

Two years later the association was renamed the European Film Academy, which has since gone from strength to strength. The current EFA president is acclaimed German director Wim Wenders.

The EFA now unites more than 2,300 European film professionals. Each year, the academy organises various activities including conferences, seminars and workshops which culminate in the annual presentation of the EFAs.

The aims of the awards are to celebrate the excellence and diversity of European cinema, to attract new audiences to European film and to draw attention to new European talent. This year marks the 24th edition of the European Film Awards, which will be presented by the European Film Academy and EFA Productions gGmbH during a ceremony in Berlin on December 3.

The Malta Film Commission, which is one of the patrons of the European Film Academy, will be sending a delegation to the awards, led by film commissioner Peter Busuttil.

Commenting on Malta’s presence at the awards, Busuttil said: “The fact that the 25th edition of the awards will be held in Malta next year means that we want to start creating the vibe for Malta from Berlin. The event in Malta will be the first of its kind in the short but eventful history of the Malta film industry.

“We want to make the most of the event in Berlin and the event in Malta to create a wider platform for Maltese film-makers and stakeholders in the local industry. These events will be attended by film-makers from different backgrounds and therefore are ideal venues to pitch Malta as a film-making destination.”

The nominations for this year’s awards are dominated by Danish director Lars Von Trier’s Melancholia, which leads the pack with eight nominations, including European Film 2011, European Director 2011 and nominations for its lead actresses Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg.

Dubbed “a beautiful movie about the end of the world”, the film obviously did not suffer any fallout from Von Trier’s controversial comments at last May’s Cannes Film Festival where he made comments – which he later retracted, saying he was joking – that he was a Nazi and sympathised with Hitler.

Controversy aside, Melancholia looks like the one to beat at this year’s European Film Awards.

With four nominations apiece are French entry The Artist; Belgian, French and Italian co-production Le Gamin au Velo; Danish film Hævnen; Le Havre co-produced by Finland, France and Germany; and, still going strong, The King’s Speech from the UK, including yet another nomination for Colin Firth as European Actor of the year.

The complete list of nominations

European Film 2011
The Artist, France
Le Gamin au Velo (The Kid with a Bike), Belgium/France/Italy
Hævnen (In a Better World), Denmark
The King’s Speech, UK
Le Havre, Finland/France/Germany
Melancholia, Denmark/Sweden/France/Germany

European Director 2011
Susanne Bier for Haevnen (In a Better World)
Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne for Le Gamin au Velo (The Kid with a Bike)
Aki Kaurismäki for Le Havre
Béla Tarr for A Torinoi Lo (The Turin Horse)
Lars von Trier for Melancholia

European Actress 2011
Kirsten Dunst in Melancholia
Cécile de France in Le Gamin au Velo (The Kid with a Bike)
Charlotte Gainsbourg in Melancholia
Nadezhda Markina in Elena
Tilda Swinton in We Need to Talk about Kevin

European Actor 2011
Jean Dujardin in The Artist
Colin Firth in The King’s Speech
Mikael Persbrandt in Hævnen (In a Better World)
Michel Piccoli in Habemus Papam
André Wilms in Le Havre

European Screenwriter 2011
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne for Le Gamin au Velo (The Kid with a Bike)
Anders Thomas Jensen for Hævnen (In a Better World)
Aki Kaurismäki for Le Havre
Lars von Trier for Melancholia

Carlo di Palma European Cinematographer Award 2011
Manuel Alberto Claro for Melancholia
Fred Kelemen for A Torinoi Lo (The Turin Horse)
Guillaume Schiffman for The Artist
Adam Sikora for Essential Killing

European Editor 2011
Tariq Anwar for The King’s Speech
Mathilde Bonnefoy for Drei (Three)
Molly Malene Stensgaard for Melancholia

European Production Designer 2011
Paola Bizzarri for Habemus Papam
Antxón Gómez for La Piel Que Habito (The Skin I Live in)
Jette Lehmann for Melancholia

European Composer 2011
Ludovic Bource for The Artist
Alexandre Desplat for The King’s Speech
Alberto Iglesias for La Piel Que Habito (The Skin I Live in)
Mihály Vig for A Torinoi Lo (The Turin Horse)

Prizes will also be awarded in the following categories:
European Discovery 2011 - Prix FIPRESCI; European Film Academy Documentary 2011 - Prix ARTE; European Film Academy Animated Feature Film 2011;
European Film Academy Short Film 2011