The 39th edition of the European Film Awards will be held in Athens, Greece, in January 2027, the European Film Academy and the Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Centre (HFAC) - Creative Greece have announced.
For the first time in Southeast Europe, the ceremony will take place at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre (SNFCC) on Saturday 16 January 2027, preceded by the traditional Mayor's Night reception on the eve of the awards ceremony at the Zappeion Megaron.
Around 1,300 guests are expected to attend the Awards Ceremony in 2027. Media partner ERT, the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation, supported by the European Broadcasting Union, will broadcast the show live in Greece and across Europe, enabling European partners to livestream the event simultaneously.
According to the organisers, the event is a great opportunity for Greece to promote Greek art, culture and design, and to focus on Greece as a high quality filming destination and an attractive partner for co-productions, thanks to a recently improved support cash rebate scheme.
The choice of Athens is also a recognition of the Greek film industry, presenting the country as an interesting filming destination and an integral part of European film culture.
"Today's vibrant Greek film industry will undoubtedly inspire a celebration of European cinema, also during the annual European Film Month that precedes the awards ceremony," said Matthijs Wouter Knol, CEO of the European Film Academy, adding that "we look forward to honoring the best of European filmmaking in such an exceptional setting".
HFAC-Creative Greece, as leader of the Greek consortium supporting the event, will organise a year-long promotion of Greek and European cinema in the 12 months leading up to the awards ceremony.
As part of the promotion programme, other key events in Greece, such as the Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival and the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, will also serve as important networking and discussion platforms for the film industry.
For her part, Dr Lina Mendoni, Minister of Culture of the Hellenic Republic, said that "Athens welcomes one of the most iconic events in European cinema... The selection of Athens confirms its dynamism as an international cultural centre, hosting events of global significance, serving as a vibrant nucleus of the contemporary creative industry and boosting the extroversion of domestic audiovisual production".
The European Film Awards were first presented in Berlin in 1988 to promote and support the European film industry. They are held every two years in Berlin and travel around Europe in the other years: London, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Warsaw, Copenhagen, Tallinn, Malta, Riga, Wroclaw, Seville, Reykjavík. The 37th edition was held on 7 December 2024 in Lucerne – Switzerland.
“We feel ready, with the support of the European Film Academy, to welcome this grand celebration of European cinema that will honour art, creativity, talent and the innovative spirit of filmmakers from across Europe” said Leonidas Christopoulos, CEO of the Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Center – Creative Greece.
Wherever they go, the Awards attract many international guests, ranging from esteemed Academy members and representatives of the European film community, to nominees and pre-announced winners, as well as international press and media representatives who come to the host country.
On the occasion of Athens' hosting of the European Film Awards, the Mayor of the Greek capital, Harris Doukas, referred to the Athens Film Office, through which, he said, "we facilitate international and domestic film productions, which find in our magnificent monuments, unique neighbourhoods and incomparable atmosphere the ideal setting to shoot their films".
A large number of Greek talents (158) are members of the European Film Academy. Several Greek films have won the prestigious European Film Award: Legendary Greek director Theo Angelopoulos received three European Film Awards - for LANDSCAPE IN THE MIST (1989), ULYSSES' GAZE (1995) and THE WEEPING MEADOW (2004). Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou were named European Screenwriters of the Year 2015 for THE LOBSTER. Yorgos Lanthimos also received the European Director Award for THE FAVOURITE, for which Yorgos Mavropsaridis won the European Editing Award (both 2019). Finally, the Eurimages International Co-Production Award 2018 went to Greek producers Konstantinos Kontovrakis and Giorgos Karnavas, the latter a member of the Academy Board since 2024.
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) was designed by leading Italian architect Renzo Piano and his firm Renzo Piano Building Workshop in 2016, thanks to the vision and donation of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. The SNFCC houses the Greek National Opera and the National Library of Greece, and at the heart of this public space is the Stavros Niarchos Park, the largest public Mediterranean garden in the world.
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Photo credit: Sebastian Gabsch
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