Sentimental Value wins all at the European Film Awards 2026

The Frenchman Arco is honored with the trophy for Best Animated Film. Sirât leaves with technical prices.

Norwegian cinema has not created any sentiment.

Joachim Trier’s film won the main trophies at the 38th European Film Awards ceremony, organized on Saturday in Berlin.

Crowned Best European Film, the dramatic comedy Sentimental value also leaves with the awards for Best Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Original Music. An impressive flawless performance which confirms the major status of the Norwegian filmmaker on the European scene.

Placed under the sign of commitment, the ceremony first opened with a strong speech by Iranian director Jafar Panahi. In contention with A Simple Accidenthe spoke of the “terrible bloodbath and oppression” which are hitting his country, the filmmaker recalled the urgency of not remaining silent. “When the truth is crushed somewhere, freedom is suffocated everywhere. Then no one is safe, neither in Iran, nor in Europe, nor in America, nor anywhere on this planet”he declared. Before adding: “If we are disappointed by political leaders, we must at least refuse to remain silent. Because silence, in times of crime, is not neutrality. Silence is participation in darkness.”

Renate Reinsve, winner of the best actress award, visibly moved, repeated a line from the film by launching “Someone can slap me”. She then paid tribute to her family: “It’s a film about a father-daughter relationship and two sisters. I want to tell my two sisters, Helen and Cecilia, that even though I’m the eldest, it was you who took care of me growing up. Thank you so much, I wouldn’t be anywhere without you.”

Renate Reinsve wins best actress at the European Film Awards for ‘Sentimental Value’ ❤️ pic.twitter.com/iS5j9OSGpU

— Films to Films (@filmstofilms_) January 17, 2026

Joachim Trier also delivered a vibrant speech on the role of cinema: “We are living in a key moment where we must remember that the other is not our enemy, and that art can help us create empathy in the darkness. Together, with strangers, we can laugh and cry in a room. It is a plea to keep cinema alive, because it is a place where many of us grew up and learned what it means to be human.”

On the French side, we can note the victory of‘Arcoby Ugo Bienvenu, the very beautiful film that won an award at Annecy last year and which will certainly be nominated for the next Oscars.

‘Arco’ has won Best European Animated Feature Film at the 2026 European Film Awards. pic.twitter.com/AUeSdIdvIa

— ToonHive (@ToonHive) January 17, 2026

The entire list of European Film Awards 2026 below:

BEST EUROPEAN FILM

WINNER: Sentimental value – Joachim Trier (Norway, France, Denmark, Germany, Sweden)

• Soledad Tartes – Albert Serra (Spain, France, documentary)

• Arco – Ugo Bienvenu (France, animation)

• Dog of God – Raitis Ābele and Lauris Ābele (Latvia, United States, animation)

• Fiume o Morte! – Igor Bezinović (Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, documentary)

• A simple accident – Jafar Panahi (France, Iran, Luxembourg)

• Amélie and the metaphysics of tubes – Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han (France, animation)

• Olivia – Irene Iborra Rizo (Spain, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Chile, animation)

• Riefenstahl – Andres Veiel (Germany, documentary)

• Sirat – Oliver Laxe (Spain, France)

• Songs of Slow Burning Earth – Olha Zhurba (Ukraine, France, Denmark, Sweden, documentary)

• Sound of Falling – Mascha Schilinski (Germany)

• The tales of the apple tree – David Súkup, Patrik Pašš, Leon Vidmar and Jean-Claude Rozec (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, France, animation)

• Hind Rajab’s voice – Kaouther Ben Hania (France, Tunisia)

• With Hasan in Gaza – Kamal Aljafari (Germany, documentary)

BEST DOCUMENTARY

WINNER: Soledad Tartes –Albert Serra

• Fiume o Morte! – Igor Bezinovic

• Riefenstahl – Andres Veiel

• Songs of Slow Burning Earth –Olha Zhurba

• With Hasan in Gaza – Kamal Aljafari

BEST ANIMATED FILM

WINNER: Arco – Ugo Bienvenu

• Dog of God – Raitis Ābele and Lauris Ābele

• Amélie and the metaphysics of tubes – Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han

• Olivia – Irene Iborra Rizo

• The tales of the apple tree – David Súkup, Patrik Pašš, Leon Vidmar and Jean-Claude Rozec

BEST DIRECTOR

WINNER: Joachim Trier – Sentimental value

• Yorgos Lanthimos – Bugonia

• Oliver Laxe – Sirat

• Jafar Panahi – A simple accident

• Mascha Schilinski – Sound of Falling

BEST ACTRESS

WINNER: Renate Reinsve – Sentimental value

• Leonie Benesch – On the front line

• Valeria Bruni Tedeschi – Eleonora Duse

• Léa Drucker – File 137

• Vicky Krieps – Love Me Tender

BEST ACTOR

WINNER: Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental value

BEST SCENARIO

WINNERS: Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier – Sentimental value

• Santiago Fillol and Oliver Laxe – Sirat

• Jafar Panahi – A simple accident

• Mascha Schilinski and Louise Peter – Sound of Falling

• Paolo Sorrentino – Grazia

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC

WINNER: Hania Rani – Sentimental value

BEST PHOTOGRAPHY

WINNER: Mauro Herce – Sirat

BEST EDITING

WINNER: Yorgos Mavropsaridis – Bugonia

• Toni Froschhammer – Die, My Love

• Cristobal Fernández – Sirat

BEST DECORS

WINNER: Jørgen Stangebye Larsen – Sentimental value

• James Price – Bugonia

• Laia Ateca – Sirat

BEST SUITS

WINNER: Ursula Patzak – Eleonora Duse

BEST MAKEUP AND HAIR

WINNER: Torsten Witte – Bugonia

BEST SOUND DESIGN

WINNER: Johnnie Burn – Bugonia

• Laia Casanovas, Amanda Villavieja and Yasmina Praderas – Sirat

• Gwennolé Le Borgne, Marion Papinot, Lars Ginzel, Elias Boughedir and Amal Attia – Hind Rajab’s voice

BEST CASTING

WINNERS: Yngvill Kolset Haga and Avy Kaufman – Sentimental value

• Nadia Acimi, Luís Bértolo and María Rodrigo – Sirat

• Karimah El-Giamal and Jacqueline Rietz – Sound of Falling

BEST SHORT FILM

WINNER: Being John Smith –John Smith

• City of Poets – Sara Rajaei

• The Advance – Djiby Kebe

• Man Number 4 –Miranda Pennell

• The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing – Theo Panagopoulos

FIPRESCI PRIZE – DISCOVERY

WINNER: Little Trouble Girls – Urska Djukic (Slovenia, Italy, Croatia, Serbia)

• My Father’s Shadow – Akinola Davies Jr.

• On Falling –Laura Carreira

• One of Those Days When Hemme Dies – Murat Firatoğlu

• Sauna – Mathias Broe

• Under the Gray Sky –Mara Tamkovich

YOUTH PRIZE

WINNER: Arco – Ugo Bienvenu