European Film Award for Best Documentary

European Film Award
Prix Arte
Awarded forBest Documentary
Presented byEuropean Film Academy
First awarded1989 (to Recsk 1950-1953: The Story Of A Secret Concentration Camp In Communist Hungary)
Currently held byNo Other Land (2024)
Websitewww.europeanfilmawards.eu

The European Film Award for Best Documentary or Prix Arte has been awarded annually since 1989 by the European Film Academy. Special Mentions were presented alongside the winner of the award until 1993, since 1999 a set of nominees are presented out of which a winner is chosen.

Criteria

Documentary films taken into consideration must have a minimum length of 70 minutes. They must have either had a theatrical release in at least one European country, at a European competitive feature film festival accredited by FIAPF or been screened at one of the following documentary festivals:[citation needed]

Winners and nominees

The winners are in a yellow background and in bold.

1980s

Year English title Original title Director(s) Country
1989
(2nd)
Recsk 1950-1953: The Story Of A Secret Concentration Camp In Communist Hungary Recsk 1950–1953, egy titkos kényszermunkatábor története Géza Böszörményi, Lívia Gyarmathy  Hungary
A Story of the Wind [J] Een verhaal van de wind Joris Ivens & Marceline Loridan  Netherlands
The Road to God Knows Where [S] Alan Gilsenan  Ireland
Pictures of the Old World [S] Obrazy starého sveta Dušan Hanák  Czechoslovakia

1990s

Year English title Original title Director(s) Country
1990
(3rd)
The Crossroad Šķērsiela Ivars Seleckis  Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic
Step Across the Border [S] Nicholas Humbert & Werner Penzel   Switzerland
1991
(4th)
Hear My Cry Usłyszcie mój krzyk Maciej Drygas  Poland
Crimes and passions - the scar [S] Crimes et passions - la cicatrice Mireille Dumas  France
The Wall [S] Die Mauer Jürgen Böttcher  Germany
1992
(5th)
Earth of the Blind Neregiu zeme Audrius Stonys  Czech Republic
Dostoyevsky’s Travels [S] Paweł Pawlikowski  United Kingdom
Lovers on Trial [S] Les amants d'assises Manu Bonmariage  Belgium
1993
(6th)
Misfits To Yuppies Det sociala arvet Stefan Jarl  Sweden
The Man Who Loves Gary Lineker [S] Ylli Hasani, Steve Sklair  United Kingdom
89mm from Europe [S] 89 mm od Europy Marcel Łoziński  Poland
1994
(7th)
Angels of Sarajevo Anđeli u Sarajevu Saga-Group Sarajevo  Bosnia and Herzegovina
1995
(8th)
Viva Stalin Jens Meurer  Germany
1996
(9th)
Vendetta - Blood Revenge in Albania Vendetta - Blutrache in Albanien Jerzy Sladkowski, Stanislav Krzeminski  Germany
1997
(10th)
Gigi, Monica... and Bianca Gigi, Monica... et Bianca Yasmina Abdellaoui, Benoît Dervaux  Belgium,  Romania
1998
(11th)
Painting with Falls Tableau avec chutes Claudio Pazienza  Belgium,  France
1999
(12th)
Buena Vista Social Club[1] Wim Wenders  Germany,  United States,  United Kingdom,  Cuba,  France
Mr Zwilling und Mrs Zuckermann Herr Zwilling und Frau Zuckermann Volker Koepp  Germany
My Best Fiend Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski Werner Herzog
Bach in Auschwitz La chaconne d'Auschwitz Michel Daeron  France
The Truth Commission La commission de la vérité André van In  Belgium
Mobutu, king of Zaire Mobutu, roi du Zaïre Thierry Michel
Pripyat Nikolaus Geyrhalter  Austria
^[J] Jury Special Award
^[S] Special Mention

2000s

Year English title Original title Director(s) Country
2000
(12th)
[2]
The Gleaners and I[3] Les glaneurs et la glaneuse Agnès Varda  France
Calle 54 Fernando Trueba  Spain
Gulag Goulag Iossif Pasternak, Hélène Châtelain  France
Working Women of the World Ouvrières du monde Marie-France Collard
Home Game Heimspiel Pepe Danquart  Germany
One Day in September Kevin Macdonald  United Kingdom
2001
(13th)[4]
Black Box BRD Andres Veiel  Germany
2002
(14th)[5]
To Be and to Have Être et avoir Nicolas Philibert  France
2003
(16th)
[6]
S21: The Khmer Rouge Death Machine S-21, la machine de mort Khmère rouge Rithy Panh  France,  Cambodia
The Five Obstructions De fem benspænd Lars Von Trier, Jørgen Leth  Denmark,  Belgium,   Switzerland,  France
Whose Is This Song? Chia e tazi pesen? Adela Peeva  Bulgaria,  Belgium
Eat, Sleep, No Women Essen, schlafen, keine Frauen Heiner Stadler  Germany
A Species' Odyssey L'odyssée de l'espèce Jacques Malaterre, Javier G. Salanova  France,  Canada,  Italy,   Switzerland,  Belgium
The Day I Will Never Forget Kim Longinotto  United Kingdom
The Story of the Weeping Camel Die Geschichte vom weinenden Kamel Byambasuren Davaa, Luigi Falorni  Germany,  Mongolia
Hush! Tishe! Viktor Kossakovsky  Russia
2004
(17th)
[7]
Darwin's Nightmare[8] Hubert Sauper  Austria,  France,  Belgium
Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer Nick Broomfield, Joan Churchill  United Kingdom
Addicted to Acting Die Spielwütigen Andres Veiel  Germany
Basque Ball, Skin Against Stone La pelota vasca, la piel contra la piedra Julio Medem  Spain
The World According to Bush Le monde selon Bush William Karel  France
Checkpoint Mahssomim Yoav Shamir  Israel
The Last Victory John Appel  Netherlands
Touch the Sound Thomas Riedelsheimer  Germany,  United Kingdom,  Finland
2005
(18th)
[9]
The Pipeline Next Door Un dragon dans les eaux Nino Kirtadzé  France
Stroke Am seidenen Faden Katarina Peters  Germany
The Devil's Miner Berg des Teufels Richard Ladkani, Kief Davidson
Dreamland Leiputrija Laila Pakalnina  Latvia,  Germany
Raw Youth Ungdommens råskap Margreth Olin  Norway,  Denmark
Melodias François Bovy   Switzerland
Before Flying Back to the Earth Pries parskrendant i zeme Arunas Matelis  Lithuania,  Germany
Workingman's Death Michael Glawogger  Austria,  Germany
Rehearsals Repetitioner Michal Leszczylowsky, Gunnar Källström  Sweden
The Swenkas Jeppe Rønde  Denmark,  Sweden
Viva Zapatero! Sabina Guzzanti  Italy,  Denmark
2006
(19th)
[10]
Into Great Silence Die Grosse Stile Philip Gröning  Germany
37 Uses for a Dead Sheep Ben Hopkins  United Kingdom
Dreaming by Numbers Anna Bucchetti  Netherlands
Grandmother's House La casa de mi abuela Adán Aliaga  Spain
Maradona, the Golden Kid Maradona, un gamin en or Jean-Christophe Rosé  France
The Cemetery Club Moadon beit hakvarot Tali Shemesh  Israel
The Fisherman and the Dancing Girl Rybak i tantsovshitsa Valeriy Solomin  Russia
Our Daily Bread Unser täglich Brot Nikolaus Geyrhalter  Austria
2007
(20th)
[11]
Paper Cannot Wrap Up Embers Le papier ne peut pas envelopper la braise Rithy Panh  France
To the Limit Am Limit Pepe Danquart  Germany,  Austria
Belarusian Waltz Andrzej Fidyk  Norway
Forever Heddy Honigmann  Netherlands
Echoes of Home Heimatklänge Stefan Schwietert   Switzerland,  Germany
9 Star Hotel Malon 9 Kochavim Ido Haar  Israel
The Monastery Pernille Rose Grønkjær  Denmark
Divorce Albanian Style Razvod Po Albanski Adela Peeva  Bulgaria
The Champagne Spy Meragel Hashampaniya Nadav Schirman  Israel,  Germany
Where is the Love in the Palmgrove? Où est l'amour dans la palmeraie? Jérôme Le Maire  Belgium
2008
(21st)
[12]
René Helena Trestikova  Czech Republic
Durakovo – Village of Fools Durakovo – Le village des fous Nino Kirtadzé  France
Fados Carlos Saura  Portugal,  Spain
Children. As Time Flies. Kinder. Wie Zeit vergeht. Thomas Heise  Germany
The Mother La mère Antoine Cattin, Pavel Kostomarov   Switzerland
Man on Wire James Marsh  United Kingdom,  United States
Stranded: I've Come from a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains Naufragés des Andes Gonzalo Arijón  France
Citizen Havel Obcan Václav Havel Pavel Koutecký, Miroslav Janek  Czech Republic
Shadow of the Holy Book Pyhän kirjan varjo Arto Halonen  Finland
The Dictator Hunter Klaartje Quirijns  Netherlands
2009
(22nd)
[13]
The Sound of Insects – Records of a Mummy Das Summen der Insekten – Bericht einer Mumie Peter Liechti   Switzerland
Cooking History Ako sa varia dejiny Peter Kerekes  Slovakia,  Austria,  Czech Republic
Pianomania Lilian Franck, Robert Cibis  Germany,  Austria
Below Sea Level Gianfranco Rosi  Italy,  United States
Burma VJ Anders Østergaard  Denmark
The Heart of Jenin Das Herz von Jenin Leon Geller, Marcus Vetter  Germany
The Damned of the Sea Les damnes de la mer Jawad Rhalib  Belgium
Defamation Yoav Shamir  Denmark,  Austria,  Israel,  United States
The Woman with the 5 Elephants Die Frau mit den 5 Elefanten Vadim Jendreyko   Switzerland,  Germany
The Beaches of Agnès Les plages d'Agnès Agnès Varda  France

2010s

Year English title Original title Director(s) Country
2010
(23rd)
[14]
Nostalgia for the Light Nostalgia de la luz Patricio Guzmán  France,  Germany,  Chile
Armadillo Janus Metz  Denmark,  Sweden
Steam of Life Miesten vuoro Joonas Berghäll, Mika Hotakainen  Finland,  Sweden
2011
(24th)
[15]
Pina Wim Wenders  Germany
Position Among the Stars Stand van de sterren Leonard Retel Helmrich  Netherlands
¡Vivan las Antipodas! Viktor Kossakovsky  Germany,  Netherlands,  Argentina,  Chile
2012
(25th)
[16]
Winter Nomad Hiver Nomade Manuel von Stürler   Switzerland
London – The Modern Babylon Julien Temple  United Kingdom
Tea or Electricity Le thé ou l'électricité Jerome Lemaire  Belgium,  France,  Morocco
2013
(26th)
[17]
The Act of Killing Jagal Joshua Oppenheimer  Denmark,  Norway,  United Kingdom
Stop-Over L'escale Kaveh Bakhtiari   Switzerland,  France
The Missing Picture L'image manquante Rithy Panh  France,  Cambodia
2014
(27th)
[18][19]
Master of the Universe Marc Bauder  Germany,  Austria
Just the Right Amount of Violence Jon Bang Carlsen  Denmark
Of Men and War Des hommes et de la guerre Laurent Bécue-Renard  France,   Switzerland
Sacro GRA Gianfranco Rosi  Italy,  France
Waiting For August Teodora Ana Mihai  Belgium,  Romania
We Come as Friends Hubert Sauper  Austria,  France
2015
(28th)
[20][21]
Amy Asif Kapadia  United Kingdom
Dancing with Maria Ivan Gergolet  Italy,  Argentina,  Slovenia
A Syrian Love Story Sean McAllister  United Kingdom,  France
The Look of Silence Senyap Joshua Oppenheimer  Denmark,  Finland,  Indonesia,  Norway,  United Kingdom
Toto and His Sisters Alexander Nanau  Romania
2016
(29th)
[22]
Fire at Sea[23] Fuocoammare Gianfranco Rosi  Italy,  France
21 x New York 21 x Nowy Jork Piotr Stasik  Poland
A Family Affair Tom Fassaertr  Netherlands,  Belgium
Mr. Gaga Tomer Heymann  Israel,  Sweden,  Germany,  Netherlands
S Is for Stanley Trent'anni dietro al volante per Stanley Kubrick Alex Infascelli  Italy
The Land of the Enlightened Pieter-Jan De Pue  Belgium,  Ireland,  Netherlands,  Germany
2017
(30th)
[24]
Communion Komunia Anna Zamecka  Poland
Austerlitz Sergei Loznitsa  Germany
La Chana Lucija Stojevic  Spain,  Iceland,  United States
Stranger in Paradise Guido Hendrikx  Netherlands
The Good Postman Hyvä postimies Tonislav Hristov  Finland,  Bulgaria
2018
(31st)
[25]
Bergman: A Year in a Life[26] Bergman - ett år, ett liv Jane Magnusson  Sweden,  Norway
A Woman Captured Egy nő fogságban Tuza-Ritter  Romania,  Germany
The Distant Barking of Dogs Simon Lering Wilmont  Denmark,  Finland,  Sweden
Of Fathers and Sons Kinder des Kalifats Talal Derki  Germany,  Syria,  Lebanon,  Qatar
The Silence of Others El silencio de otros Almudena Carracedo & Robert Bahar  Spain,  United States
2019
(32nd)
[27][28]
For Sama Waad al-Kateab, Edward Wat  United Kingdom,  United States
Honeyland Медена земја Ljubomir Stefanov, Tamara Kotevska  North Macedonia
Selfie Agostino Ferrente  France,  Italy
Putin's Witnesses Vitaly Mansky  Latvia,   Switzerland,  Czech Republic
The Disappearance of my Mother Beniamino Barrese  Italy,  United States

2020s

Year English title Original title Director(s) Country
2020
(33rd)
[29][30]
Collective Colectiv Alexander Nanau  Romania,  Luxembourg
Acasă, My Home Acasă Radu Ciorniciuc  Romania,  Germany,  Finland
The Cave Feras Fayyad  Syria,  Denmark
Gunda Viktor Kossakovsky  Norway,  Russia
Little Girl Petite fille Sébastien Lifshitz  France
Saudi Runaway Susanne Regina Meures   Switzerland
2021
(34th)
[31][32]
Flee Flugt Jonas Poher Rasmussen  Denmark,  France,  Sweden,  Norway
Babi Yar. Context Sergei Loznitsa  Netherlands,  Ukraine
Mr Bachmann and His Class Herr Bachmann und Seine Klasse Maria Speth  Germany
Taming the Garden Salomé Jashi   Switzerland,  Germany,  Georgia
The Most Beautiful Boy in the World Kristina Lindström and Kristian Petri  Sweden
2023
(36th)
[33]
Smoke Sauna Sisterhood Savvusanna sõsarad Anna Hints  Estonia
Apolonia, Apolonia Lea Glob  Denmark
Four Daughters Les Filles d'Olfa Kaouther Ben Hania  Tunisia
Motherland Alexander Mihalkovich  Belarus Hanna Badziaka
 Belarus
On the Adamant Sur l’Adamant Nicolas Philibert  France
2024
(37th)
[34] 		No Other Land Israel Yuval Abraham
Israel Rachel Szor
State of Palestine Basel Adra
State of Palestine Hamdan Ballal 		Palestine, Norway
Bye Bye Tiberias باي باي طبريا France Lina Soualem France, Belgium, Palestine, Qatar
Dahomey France Mati Diop France, Senegal
In Limbo W zawieszeniu Ukraine Alina Maksimenko Poland
Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat Belgium Johan Grimonprez France, Belgium, Netherlands

References

  1. ^ PBS presents Buena Vista Social Club
  2. ^ "2000 - The Winners". European Film Academy. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  3. ^ The Gleaners And I/Les Glaneurs et la glaneuse - Film - European Film Awards
  4. ^ Blaney, Martin (2 December 2001). "Amelie walks off with European film academy crown". Screendaily. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  5. ^ Frater, Patrick (7 December 2002). "Talk To Her triumphs at European Film Awards". Screendaily. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  6. ^ Hernandez, Eugene (8 December 2003). "Germany's "Lenin" Wins Top Prizes at European Film Awards". Indiewire. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  7. ^ Hernandez, Eugene (13 December 2004). "German Film "Head-On' Tops 2004 European Film Awards". Indiewire. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  8. ^ Darwin's Nightmare|Film Reviews|Film|Spirituality & Practice
  9. ^ Hernandez, Eugene (4 December 2005). ""Cache" and "Sophie Scholl" Top European Film Awards". Indiewire. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  10. ^ Hernandez, Eugene (3 December 2006). "AWARDS WATCH: "Volver" and "The Lives of Others" Top European Film Awards". Indiewire. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  11. ^ "2007 - The Winners". European Film Academy. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  12. ^ Roxborough, Scott (6 December 2008). "'Gomorra' tops European Film Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  13. ^ Brooks, Brian (12 December 2009). ""White Ribbon" Reigns at European Film Awards". Indiewire. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  14. ^ Lyttelton, Oliver (6 December 2010). "'The Ghost Writer' Inexplicably Wins Six At 2010 European Film Academy Awards". Indiewire. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  15. ^ Roxborough, Scott (3 December 2011). "Lars Von Trier's 'Melancholia' Wins Best Film at European Film Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  16. ^ Knegt, Peter (1 December 2012). "'Amour' Sweeps European Film Awards". Indiewire. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  17. ^ Barraclough, Leo (7 December 2013). "Paolo Sorrentino's 'The Great Beauty' Wins Top Prize at European Film Awards". Variety. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  18. ^ Hopewell, John (8 November 2014). "'Ida,' 'Leviathan' Top European Film Awards Nominations". Variety. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  19. ^ Jagernauth, Kevin (15 December 2014). "Pawel Pawlikowski's 'Ida' Wins Big At European Film Awards". Indiewire. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  20. ^ Lodge, Guy (7 November 2015). "'Youth,' 'The Lobster' Lead European Film Award Nominations". Variety. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  21. ^ Heath, Paul (14 December 2015). "European Film Awards winners: Youth, Amy, The Lobster lead field". The Hollywood News. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  22. ^ Roxborough, Scott (10 December 2016). "'Toni Erdmann' Wins European Film Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  23. ^ Fire at Sea/Fuocoammare - Film - European Film Awards
  24. ^ Pond, Steve (9 December 2017). "Swedish Comedy 'The Square' Dominates European Film Awards". TheWrap. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  25. ^ Nordine, Michael (15 December 2018). "'Cold War' Is the Big Winner at the European Film Awards, Picking Up Oscar Momentum". Indiewire. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  26. ^ European Film Awards (2018)- IMDb
  27. ^ ‘For Sama’, ‘Honeyland’ among 12-strong European Film Awards documentary longlist|News|Screen
  28. ^ Roxborough, Scott (7 December 2019). "'The Favourite' Wins Big at European Film Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  29. ^ Grater, Tom (10 November 2020). "European Film Award Nominations: 'Another Round', 'Corpus Christi', 'Martin Eden' Lead The Way". Deadline. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  30. ^ Roxborough, Scott (12 December 2020). "'Another Round' Wins 2020 European Film Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  31. ^ "European Film Award Nominations 2021".
  32. ^ Blaney, Martin (11 December 2021). "'Quo Vadis, Aida?' wins top prize at 2021 European Film Awards". ScreenDaily.
  33. ^ Melanie Goodfellow (9 December 2023). "Justine Triet's 'Anatomy Of A Fall' Sweeps European Film Awards Winning Best Film, Director, Screenplay & Actress For Sandra Hüller – Full Winners List". Deadline. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  34. ^ Richlin, Harrison (7 December 2024). "2024 European Film Awards: See Full List of Winners". IndieWire. Retrieved 8 December 2024.