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By:
Besarte Elshani
- 17 January 2026 23:39
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Praised for its emotional authenticity, Sentimental Value took home not one but five trophies at the European Film Awards on Saturday night. Described as an “intimate exploration of family, memory and the reconciling power of art,” the film’s messages of power were echoed at the ceremony.
The film “Sentimental Value,” which explores family dynamics and intergenerational trauma and directed by Danish-Norwegian Joachim Trier, is the Best Film of the 38th edition of the European Film Awards. It is a five-time winner of the event, which is considered the European “Oscar”. The film was praised for its emotional authenticity, at the ceremony held on Saturday night in Berlin.
“Sentimental Value” tells the story of Nora, a successful theater actress who reunites with her father, a film director named Gustav Borg, who plans a comeback with a script based on their family. The film’s synopsis explains that when Gustav offers Nora the lead role, which she immediately rejects, he turns his attention to a Hollywood star.
Director Trier addressed the audience shortly after the film was announced as the winner.
"It's been an amazing evening for us. We want to tell you that this group behind me has made me feel very good. We are blessed," he said.
And after accepting the Best Director Award, he called for free cinematic expression.
"When cinema is in danger, many filmmakers must defend it for free expression in a country where polarization is spreading on a large scale. It is time to understand that the other is not our enemy, cinema is the place where we learn that we are human," he said, noting that he inherited the profession from his grandfather. "My grandfather was a filmmaker and was in prison during the war in Norway because of the resistance. There was not much infrastructure so he only made one feature-length film," he said.
In the evening where homage was paid to films of all time and the cinematic heritage over the years, as well as filmmakers, the award for Trier was presented by Italian actor Toni Servillo.
The film also won the Best Screenplay Award for Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier, Best Actor for Stellan Skarsgård, and Best Actress for Renate Reinsve. The film also won the Best Music Award.
Other contenders for this award were Oliver Laxe's "Sirāt", director Mascha Schilinski's debut film - "Sound of Falling", and Jafar Panahi's "It Was Just An Accident".
The latter, last year, at the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, received the "Palme d'Or".
“Sirāt” dominated the awards for its film work, taking home the Best Production Design Award, Best Sound Design, Best Editing, Best Casting Director, an award that was awarded for the first time this year at the European Film Awards, as well as the Best Cinematography Award.
Ugo Bienvenu's film "Arco" received the "Best European Animated Film" award.
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann, while the Achievement in the World of Cinema award went to Italian director and screenwriter Alice Rohrwacher. After receiving the award, she addressed young filmmakers.
"I like to live in one place and go on other roads. It is natural and logical to enter this road from the north and go south. We often feel alone and on the wrong path on this journey. But we are often comforted when we see that many others are in the same direction as us," she said.
The Eurimages International Co-Production Award was awarded to Maren Ade, Jonas Dornbach and Janine Jackowski from Komplizen Film in Berlin.
"We don't see co-production just as a financial tool, but as a philosophical tool," Dornbach said, among other things.
Iranian director Jafar Panahi opened the ceremony. He spoke about the situation in his country, condemning the regime's violence in Tehran and the attack on anti-government protesters. He called on the world to speak out and take action.
"Unanswered violence becomes normalized, and when it becomes normalized, it spreads and becomes contagious. When truth is suppressed in one place, freedom is stifled everywhere. Then no one is safe. Anywhere in the world, not in Iran, not in Europe, not in America… this is precisely why today as filmmakers and artists, more than ever, if we are disappointed with politicians, we must at least refuse to be silent because silence in a time of crime is not the silence of neutrality, silence is participation in the darkness," he declared.
His speech comes ten days after the brutal suppression of nationwide protests. At least three thousand protesters are believed to have been killed and another 18 thousand arrested. In his speech, Panahi speaks of 12 thousand reported killings.
Politics was also present when Liv Ullman, a two-time Oscar nominee, received the lifetime achievement award. She said that Norway has a rule that if the Nobel Prize is misused, it is taken away from that individual.
"Someone in power in the United States could be disappointed. He will lose it," she said, referring to the decision of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who was criticized after deciding to give President Donald Trump her Nobel Peace Prize medal that she received last year.
The 38th Academy Awards ceremony opened with a spectacle of classic films that evoked nostalgia among filmmakers. A winter-set scene from Jacques Demy's "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" included them in the magic of the film with the spectacle of snow. Homage was paid to the genocide in Ukraine, Syria and Palestine.
In 2021, a milestone for Kosovo cinematography was the nomination of the film "Pa vend", directed by Samir Karahoda, for the Best Short Film Award.
The international documentary and short film festival "DokuFest" has also been granted the right to broadcast the event live. According to the festival, this is a result of the long-standing cooperation between them and the Academy. Also present in the hall where the ceremony was held was Eroll Bilibani from "DokuFest", a member of the European Film Academy since 2023.
The 39th edition of the European Film Awards will be held in Athens.