The European Film Awards ceremony will reach Estonian audiences this year through the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF).

The live broadcast begins on Saturday, 17 January at 7:00 pm, bringing viewers the very best of European filmmaking.

The gala will take place at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin and is expected to welcome Juliette Binoche, Liv Ullmann, Wim Wenders, Mads Mikkelsen, Agnieszka Holland, Volker Schlöndorff, Oliver Laxe, Jafar Panahi, Toni Servillo, Joachim Trier, and many other renowned filmmakers.

The Academy has already announced that this year’s ceremony will differ from previous editions — more playful in tone. Its concept, “Why We Love Cinema,” sets the theme. The idea was conceived by documentarian and film historian Mark Cousins, with direction by Robert Lehniger and music by Dascha Dauenhauer.

“We hope to surprise,” says Cousins.

Europe’s best films and filmmakers will be honoured across 22 categories. The most nominations — nine — went to Oliver Laxe’s Sirât, followed by Mascha Schilinski’s Looking Into the Sun with eight nominations. Both films screened at the most recent PÖFF.

In total, seven films that screened at PÖFF are nominated this year, including The Voice of Hind Rajab, God’s Dog, Fiume o morte!, Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake, and Christy. Two nominees — Riefenstahl and I Accidentally Wrote a Book — were part of the PÖFF 2024 programme.

The short film Let Me Drift by Irish director Ruairi Bradley, submitted by PÖFF Shorts — a qualifying festival for the European Short Film category — did not make the final nominations. Next year, PÖFF Shorts will submit With Tapes and Toasts in the Car by German director Kiana Naghshinehi for the same award.

This year, the European Film Awards ceremony will be broadcast to audiences in 27 European countries, with PÖFF among the European Film Academy’s 46 partner organisations making the broadcast possible.

Watch the live broadcast on Saturday, 17 January at 7:00 pm here: