European Film Award for Best Documentary
Award for documentary films
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
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
References
^ PBS presents Buena Vista Social Club
^ "2000 - The Winners" . European Film Academy . Retrieved 7 August 2021 .
^ The Gleaners And I/Les Glaneurs et la glaneuse - Film - European Film Awards
^ Blaney, Martin (2 December 2001). "Amelie walks off with European film academy crown" . Screendaily . Retrieved 7 August 2021 .
^ Frater, Patrick (7 December 2002). "Talk To Her triumphs at European Film Awards" . Screendaily . Retrieved 7 August 2021 .
^ Hernandez, Eugene (8 December 2003). "Germany's "Lenin" Wins Top Prizes at European Film Awards" . Indiewire . Retrieved 7 August 2021 .
^ Hernandez, Eugene (13 December 2004). "German Film "Head-On' Tops 2004 European Film Awards" . Indiewire . Retrieved 7 August 2021 .
^ Darwin's Nightmare|Film Reviews|Film|Spirituality & Practice
^ Hernandez, Eugene (4 December 2005). " "Cache" and "Sophie Scholl" Top European Film Awards" . Indiewire . Retrieved 7 August 2021 .
^ Hernandez, Eugene (3 December 2006). "AWARDS WATCH: "Volver" and "The Lives of Others" Top European Film Awards" . Indiewire . Retrieved 7 August 2021 .
^ "2007 - The Winners" . European Film Academy . Retrieved 7 August 2021 .
^ Roxborough, Scott (6 December 2008). " 'Gomorra' tops European Film Awards" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 7 August 2021 .
^ Brooks, Brian (12 December 2009). " "White Ribbon" Reigns at European Film Awards" . Indiewire . Retrieved 7 August 2021 .
^ Lyttelton, Oliver (6 December 2010). " 'The Ghost Writer' Inexplicably Wins Six At 2010 European Film Academy Awards" . Indiewire . Retrieved 7 August 2021 .
^ Roxborough, Scott (3 December 2011). "Lars Von Trier's 'Melancholia' Wins Best Film at European Film Awards" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 7 August 2021 .
^ Knegt, Peter (1 December 2012). " 'Amour' Sweeps European Film Awards" . Indiewire . Retrieved 7 August 2021 .
^ Barraclough, Leo (7 December 2013). "Paolo Sorrentino's 'The Great Beauty' Wins Top Prize at European Film Awards" . Variety . Retrieved 7 August 2021 .
^ Hopewell, John (8 November 2014). " 'Ida,' 'Leviathan' Top European Film Awards Nominations" . Variety . Retrieved 7 August 2021 .
^ Jagernauth, Kevin (15 December 2014). "Pawel Pawlikowski's 'Ida' Wins Big At European Film Awards" . Indiewire . Retrieved 7 August 2021 .
^ Lodge, Guy (7 November 2015). " 'Youth,' 'The Lobster' Lead European Film Award Nominations" . Variety . Retrieved 7 August 2021 .
^ Heath, Paul (14 December 2015). "European Film Awards winners: Youth, Amy, The Lobster lead field" . The Hollywood News . Retrieved 7 August 2021 .
^ Roxborough, Scott (10 December 2016). " 'Toni Erdmann' Wins European Film Awards" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 7 August 2021 .
^ Fire at Sea/Fuocoammare - Film - European Film Awards
^ Pond, Steve (9 December 2017). "Swedish Comedy 'The Square' Dominates European Film Awards" . TheWrap . Retrieved 7 August 2021 .
^ 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 .
^ European Film Awards (2018)- IMDb
^ ‘For Sama’, ‘Honeyland’ among 12-strong European Film Awards documentary longlist|News|Screen
^ Roxborough, Scott (7 December 2019). " 'The Favourite' Wins Big at European Film Awards" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 7 August 2021 .
^ Grater, Tom (10 November 2020). "European Film Award Nominations: 'Another Round', 'Corpus Christi', 'Martin Eden' Lead The Way" . Deadline . Retrieved 7 August 2021 .
^ Roxborough, Scott (12 December 2020). " 'Another Round' Wins 2020 European Film Awards" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 7 August 2021 .
^ "European Film Award Nominations 2021" .
^ Blaney, Martin (11 December 2021). " 'Quo Vadis, Aida?' wins top prize at 2021 European Film Awards" . ScreenDaily .
^ 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 .
External links
Ceremonies Merit awards Special awards Defunct awards Countries of the nominees