The European Film Awards are presented annually by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in over ten categories of which the most important is the Film of the year. They are restricted to European cinema and European producers, directors, and actors.

The awards were originally called the Felix Awards but the name was changed to the European Film Awards.

The host cities alternate, as Berlin hosts them every other year while other European cities get the chance in between.

Feature films participating in the European Film Awards must be European feature-length fiction films intended for normal theatrical release which must have had their first official screening (be it at a festival or at a regular cinema) after 1 July of the year before. Based on a selection of app 40 films recommended for a nomination, the members of the European Film Academy vote for the nominations in the main categories, which are announced in early November at the Seville European Film Festival. Based on the nominations, the members of the European Film Academy then vote for the winners which are announced at the European Film Awards Ceremony in early December.

This is a list of groups, organizations and festivals that recognize achievements in cinema, usually by awarding various prizes. The awards sometimes also have popular unofficial names (such as the 'Oscar' for Hollywood's Academy Awards), which are mentioned if applicable. Many awards are simply identified by the name of the group presenting the award.

Awards have been divided into three major categories: critics' awards, voted on (usually annually) by a group of critics; festival awards, awards presented to the best film shown in a particular film festival; and industry awards, which are selected by professionals working in some branch of the movie industry.

FIPRESCI (Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique) or International Film Critics Award given by the International Federation of Film Critics at various film festivals

(This is not intended to be a complete list of film festivals, but to showcase the distinctively named awards given at some festivals.)

Laurence Olivier Awards

 Mads Dittmann Mikkelsen (help·info) (born 22 November 1965) is a Danish actor. In May 2012, he won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival for his role in the film The Hunt.

Mikkelsen was born in the Østerbro area of Copenhagen, the son of Bente Christiansen and Henning Mikkelsen, a cab driver. He is the brother of actor Lars Mikkelsen. After attending Århus Theatre School, he made his film debut in the movie Pusher. He has starred in popular Danish movies such as Flickering Lights (Danish: Blinkende lygter), The Green Butchers (Danish: De grønne slagtere), Adam's Apples (Danish: Adams æbler), Valhalla Rising, his film debut Pusher, and Pusher II. Mikkelsen's longest running role was as a policeman in the Danish television series Unit One (Danish: Rejseholdet). He also starred as Tristan in the Jerry Bruckheimer production of King Arthur, as well as playing the villain Le Chiffre in the 2006 James Bond film, Casino Royale. Also in 2006 he took the lead role in the Oscar nominated After the Wedding (Danish: Efter brylluppet).

Stellan John Skarsgård (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈstɛlː.ˈan ˈskɒːʂɡoːɖ] ( listen); born 13 June 1951) is a Swedish actor, though he is best known internationally for his roles in English-language films.

Skarsgård was born in Gothenburg, Sweden; the son of Gudrun (née Larsson) and Jan Skarsgård. He moved often in his childhood and lived, amongst other places, in Helsingborg, Totebo, Kalmar, Marielund and Uppsala.

Skarsgård started his acting career early. At the age of 21 he already had a great deal of experience in film, TV and stage. Most of his early roles were in Swedish TV (such as Bombi Bitt) and movies. Of Skarsgård’s Swedish film work, he is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who worked to save Holocaust victims. The movie was filmed in Budapest, in the only Jewish ghetto to survive World War II.

Skarsgård is particularly associated with director Lars von Trier. He appeared in four of the Danish auteur's features – The Kingdom, Breaking the Waves, Dogville and Melancholia. His most personal working relationship, however, is with Norwegian director Hans Petter Moland. Relevant films here are Kjærlighetens kjøtere, Aberdeen and A Somewhat Gentle Man (2010). Skarsgård considers Moland a close friend. Before shooting their next project in 2009, he said of their relationship: "We're like an old married couple and I get separation anxiety." Aside from these, his best-known Scandinavian work is probably his leading role in another Norwegian film as the guilt-ridden policeman Jonas Engström in the original Insomnia.

Marlene Dietrich (German pronunciation: [maɐˈleːnə ˈdiːtʁɪç]; 27 December 1901 – 6 May 1992) was a German-American actress and singer.

Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films. Her performance as "Lola-Lola" in The Blue Angel, directed by Josef von Sternberg, brought her international fame and provided her a contract with Paramount Pictures in the US. Hollywood films such as Shanghai Express and Desire capitalised on her glamour and exotic looks, cementing her stardom and making her one of the highest-paid actresses of the era. Dietrich became a US citizen in 1939, and throughout World War II she was a high-profile frontline entertainer. Although she still made occasional films in the post-war years, Dietrich spent most of the 1950s to the 1970s touring the world as a successful show performer.

In 1999, the American Film Institute named Dietrich the ninth-greatest female star of all time.