Quo Vadis, Aida? Is The Best European Film Of The Year

Last Friday night Berlin Arena hosted the 34th European Film Awards. More than 4,200 members of the European Film Academy - filmmakers from across Europe - have voted for this year’s winners in more than eighteen categories.

The Best European film award was handed to Quo Vadis, Aida? directed by Jasmila Žbanić. The film plot circles around Bosnia in 1995 where in a small town of Srebrenica Aida, a translator for the United Nations, seeks shelter at the UN camps when the Serbian army attacks the locals. As an interpreter in the negotiations, she's got access to crucial information, which might decide the destiny of her family and the people of the town. The film has also been nominated for the Oscars 2021 in the Best Foreign Feature Film category.

Jasmila Žbanić, the director of Quo Vadis, Aida?, was announced the best European director and Jasna Đuričić, the main actress of the film who played the interpreter Aida, received the best European actress award. Anthony Hopkins who this year has been already honoured with the Oscar for the same role, was awarded the best European Actor award for the farther's role in Florian Zeller's The Father.

Ninjababy directed by a Norwegian director Yngvild Sve Flikke snatched the best European comedy award. It is a moving and fun film about growing up and the paradox of how unprepared one can be when experiencing something as natural as pregnancy in ones most fertile age. Meanwhile the best European Documentary Award was handed to Flee (Flugt) by Jonas Poher Rasmussen who is listening to a story of Amin and his extraordinary journey as a child refugee from Afghanistan. As the story is mostly recounted through animation, the film was also awarded the prize of the Best European Animation Feature Film.

See the full list of winners here.

The European Film Awards also included the announcement of the nominations for the LUX European Audience Film Award, presented by the European Parliament and the European Film Academy and in partnership with the European Commission and Europa Cinemas. The three nominees are the following: Quo Vadis, Aida?, Flee and Great Freedom.

These films will be subtitled in all the 24 EU languages to be accessible to the widest audience possible. After a “watch & vote” period (from mid-December to the end of May) during which the nominated films will be screened and rated online at www.luxaward.eu, the recipient of the new award will be determined by the general public and the Members of the European Parliament (each holding 50% of the vote). The winner will be announced in a ceremony in the European Parliament on 8 June 2022.