Sentimental Value sweeps European Film Awards, shifts season spotlight

Joachim Trier’s family drama Sentimental Value emerged as the dominant force at the 38th European Film Awards in Berlin, taking six of the ceremony’s most prestigious honors and underscoring a deliberate shift in Europe’s awards timing to better court international attention. The film won best European film, best director for Trier, best screenwriter for Trier and Eskil Vogt, best actor for Stellan Skarsgård, best actress for Renate Reinsve, and original score for Hania Rani.

The sweep placed Sentimental Value at the center of conversation as awards season intensified. The ceremony was moved from December to January this year in a strategic bid to boost European titles’ visibility during the U.S. awards calendar and to nudge Oscar voters toward continental productions. The timing paid immediate dividends: among the five films nominated for best European film, all had also reached the Academy Awards shortlist for best international feature, linking European acclaim more directly to potential Oscar outcomes. The nominees included Sentimental Value, Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident, Oliver Laxe’s Sirāt, Germany’s Sound of Falling, and Tunisia’s The Voice of Hind Rajab.

Sentimental Value’s acting victories reinforced its cross-border momentum. Skarsgård had taken a Golden Globe the prior weekend for the same performance and told reporters he considered his Oscar chances "slim." Renate Reinsve, who won best actress, quipped "Somebody give me a slap" in an onstage echo of a line from the film and thanked her sisters Helen and Cecilia during her acceptance remarks.

While Sentimental Value dominated the headline categories, Oliver Laxe’s Sirāt captured much of the craft recognition, signaling the awards’ dual role of honoring both auteurs and technical achievement. Sirāt won for cinematography, editing, production design, sound, and casting, rewarding the film’s stark visual language and meticulous technical work. These craft prizes underscore how European festivals and academies continue to champion films that marry rigorous formal innovation with narrative ambition.

The evening also acknowledged animation and documentary voices, with France’s Arco winning best animated feature and the Croatia-Slovenia-Italy co-production Fiume o Morte! taking best documentary. Honorary awards went to actress Liv Ullmann and director Alice Rohrwacher, while Komplizen Film producers Maren Ade, Jonas Dornbach and Janine Jackowski received a producing honor, gestures that recognized long careers shaping European cinema’s infrastructure and global reach.

Industry observers say the January move reflects broader trends: a crowded international awards calendar, intensified Oscar campaigning, and a desire by European institutions to convert continental prestige into transatlantic recognition. The results in Berlin suggest the strategy can elevate smaller national cinemas, as Norway’s Sentimental Value now stands as Europe’s most prominent awards winner of the moment. At the same time, the split between headline trophies and craft awards demonstrated the continent’s layered tastes, celebrating both established names and the technical teams whose work often determines a film’s sensory impact.

As the awards season continues toward the Oscars, Sentimental Value’s haul in Berlin is likely to sharpen conversations about how timing, visibility and cross-border campaigning can reshape which European films break through on the global stage.