AWARDS 2011 Behind the glamour
Marion Döring, executive producer of the European Film Awards and director of the European Film Academy, on making the EFA ceremony cool and creating a new perspective on European cinema
stated some months ago in the run-up to the German Television Awards. As organisers of an awards ceremony we
know that there are not many events that are slaughtered with more delight than awards ceremonies — but would one have ever thought that attending an awards ceremony would provoke such pain and torture? On behalf of all my colleagues around the world, sorry for that!
Awards ceremonies are
somehow unpredictable because you see human beings in a very emotional moment
10 n European Film Awards 2011
Tonight we celebrate the 24th European Film Awards. Do you still like attending awards ceremonies after all these years? I always enjoy awards ceremonies. Unlike other shows where you see people who were cast and paid to perform, awards ceremonies are some- how unpredictable because you see human beings on stage in an unrehearsed and very emotional moment of their lives.
What is the best compliment you get as an organiser of an awards show? A simple “thank you” is always nice. “Thank you for making it short” — even if meant as a compli- ment — sounds less nice because an awards cere- mony should take the time it needs to give a platform to the people that are being honoured.
And the worst comment you have ever heard? “Awards ceremonies can be the most up-to- date variation of torture.” Luckily this statement by a Berlin daily was not addressed to us but
When you listen to conversations about awards ceremonies you sometimes get the feeling there is almost no activity people seem to dislike more than attending them… Unless they aren’t invited! But it’s true: awards ceremonies seem to be ambiguous events. They should be as much a gala event as they should be unconventional and surprising. At the same time, they should be as glamorous as they should be cool. They should not present too many awards because, as we have heard, people like ceremonies to be short although they should satisfy all the film-making crafts who wish to see themselves represented on stage.
Glamour plays a major role when it comes to attracting the media. How glamorous are the European Film Awards? Awards ceremonies are in the first place media events. This means if you don’t succeed in attracting the media, awards are not relevant. Television and the media expect stars, without these they won’t cover the event. And public supporters as well as sponsors expect public awareness. If this expectation is not met sufficiently, their support will decline. Even politicians have similar expectations when they support or attend awards ceremonies nowadays. However, I think as far as European cinema
is concerned we are somehow on the wrong track with this attitude. Many people still believe that the glamour they are relating to
© Stas Moshkov
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