European Capital of Culture 2016 to host 29th awards ceremony.

At a press conference at Wroclaw City Hall today, the European Film Academy announced its decision to hold the 2016 European Film Awards in Wroclaw.

The announcement was made on the 25th anniversary of the founding of the European Film Academy on 1 April 1989 in Berlin and ahead of Wroclaw’s tenure as the European Capital of Culture in 2016.

Wroclaw is the home to Poland’s biggest film festival, the T-Mobile New Horizons IFF, whose 14th edition runs July 24 to August 3 this year.

Rafał Dutkiewicz, Mayor of Wroclaw, said: “Wrocław has always been a very important place for Polish cinema. While remembering our heritage, we want to create a new image of Polish cinematography.

“We host the biggest film festival in Poland, we have the largest arthouse cinema in Europe, where not only we screen the most outstanding masterpieces of world cinema, but where we also educate and have discussions about films.

“Most of all, we have a very strong film community and remarkable audience, which is worth doing all we can to ensure that cinema still remains an important part of the city’s cultural and social life.”

To celebrate the announcement, Kino Nowe Horyzonty – the biggest arthouse cinema in Europe – is to screen a selection of EFA-awarded films.

Last year’s EFAs took place on Dec 7 in Berlin. This year’s 27th EFAs will take place in Riga, Latvia on Dec 13.