The European Film Academy, which presents the EFA awards, also selected Polish director Agnieszka Holland as chairman of the board for a term beginning in January 2014. Solomon was also elected to the EFA board, the first Romanian to hold that position.
The Congress, a coproduction between Israel, Poland, Luxembourg, France and Belgium won over Alain Ughetto’s Jasmine (France) and Enzo d’Alò’s Pinocchio (Italy/Luxembourg/France/Belgium).
“This award is important for me because it opens doors and gives hope to people from this part of the world. I see it also as a political statement,” Ada Solomon told FNE. She added that she sees this prize as a reward more for “setting up a network and developing a penetration strategy onto the European market” rather than a recognition of Romanian cinema.
The 2014 edition of the awards will be held in Riga.
A complete list of the awards follows:
European Film:
La grande bellezza (Italy/France) by Paolo Sorrentino
European Comedy: Den skaldede frisør/Love Is All You Need (Denmark) by Susanne Bier
European Discovery - Prix FIPRESCI: Oh Boy (Germany) by Jan Ole Gerster
European Documentary: The Art of Killing (Denmark/Norway/UK) by Joshua Oppenheimer
European Animated Feature Film: The Congress by Ari Folman, produced in Poland by Opus Film in coproduction with Bridgit Folman Film Gang (Israel), Pandora Film (Germany), Entre Chien et Loup (Belgium), Paul Thiltges Distribution (Luxembourg) and ARP (France).
Supported by the Polish Film Institute (PISF)
European Short Film: Dood van een Schaduw/Death of a Shadow (Belgium/France) by Tom Van Avermaet
European Director: Paolo Sorrentino for La grande bellezza (Italy/France)
European Actress: Veerle Baetens for The Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium)
European Actor: Toni Servillo for La grande bellezza
European Screenwriter: François Ozon for Dans la maison/In the House (France)
European Cinematographer – Prix Carlo di Palma: Asaf Sudry for Lemale et ha’halal/Fill the Void (Israel)
European Editor: Cristiano Travaglioli for La grande bellezza
European Production Designer: Sarah Greenwood for Anna Karenina (UK)
European Costume Designer: Paco Delgado for Blancanieves/Snow White (Spain/France)
European Composer: Ennio Morricone for The Best Offer (Italy)
European Sound Designer: Matz Müller &Erik Mischijew for Paradies: Glaube/Paradise: Faith (Austria/Germany/France)
European Film Academy Lifetime Achievement Award: Catherine Deneuve
European Achievement in World Cinema: Pedro Almodóvar
European Co-production Award – Prix Eurimages: Ada Solomon (Romania)
People’s Choice Award for Best European Film: La cage dorée/The Gilded Cage (Portugal/France) by Ruben Alves
European Film Academy Young Audience Award: The Zigzag Kid (Netherlands) by Vincent Bal
