European Film Awards: Actors and filmmakers weigh in on what makes European cinema special

euronews (in English)

Euronews Culture attended the European Film Awards, where we asked actors and filmmakers, including Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, and Coralie Fargeat, what makes European cinema stand out on the global stage.

Transcript

00:00In your opinion, what makes European cinema stand out and so special?

00:05I don't know if I know how to answer that.

00:08Okay, this is just my theory, okay.

00:10I think that European cinema takes more risks,

00:13that it's prepared to go to challenging places

00:18that potentially aren't commercial,

00:20but that's an important part of filmmaking.

00:23Clearly, Europe produces its own particular brand of filmmaking.

00:26It doesn't have the commercial pressures

00:29which the studio system and the streaming system exerts.

00:32So I think it's true, you're right.

00:34There is, especially I think of France, comes to mind.

00:36It's very proud of the artistic tradition behind its filmmaking.

00:41For me, the European Union and Europe

00:45make wonderful cinema.

00:48A long time ago, a director told me

00:53that there were two ways to make cinema to make money

00:56or to win prizes or awards.

00:59And I think that in Europe, both are mixed.

01:27I think European cinema has this powerful vision and singularity

01:34that it allows each author, each filmmaker

01:37to really stand for something,

01:39to really present a very strong and singular vision.

01:43For me, it's that the director is so strong in the production.

01:48So I feel as an actress,

01:51my job is also to support the vision of the director

01:54and then it becomes a really sharp and clear path for the movie.

01:59So that's my theory.

02:02What makes European cinema so special and stand out

02:05compared to, say, Hollywood or other industries around the world?

02:09Would you say it stands out?

02:11I think it does, yes.

02:15I'm not sure.

02:17In the film industry, Germany, for example, is not very competitive.

02:21But in theatre, I would say,

02:24in theatre, the Germans are world-leading, maybe in Europe.

02:29We have maybe not so much money as the American film industry,

02:34but we have...

02:37I hope we still have more independence and more freedom.

02:42And I hope we can keep it.

02:44I think that everyone in the world needs to come together

02:47and go to the cinemas and support filmmakers.

02:51Are we in danger? We are in change.

02:54I don't know where we're heading.

02:56I love change, but we need to push it in the right direction.

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