Eight people have been voted onto the board of the European Film Academy following a restructure to improve representation from across Europe.
They include Giorgos Karnavas, co-founder of Athens- based production company and sales firm Heretic; Tine Klint, founder of Copenhagen sales company LevelK; and Hanka Kastelicová, HBO Max’s VP documentaries for EMEA, from the Czech Republic.
Also joining the board are Lithuanian producer Marija Razgutė, whose most recent film Slow world premiered at Karlovy Vary this year; Turkish producer and festival director Başak Emre; Spain’s Paz Lázaro, content director at Exile Studios and Berlinale programmer; Mira Staleva, the managing director of Sofia International Film Festival and of Sofia Meetings; Slovenian producer Daniel Hočevar; and Anne Lajla Utsi, CEO of the International Sami Film Institute (ISFI).
EFA is aiming to give greater representation to voices from across Europe. Previously all 29 northeastern and southeastern countries were often represented by just three board members, whereas western countries were represented by 12 board members.
The EFA board is now made up of 19 individuals. There are 16 members representing 15 regions and one seat representing transnational populations in Europe, such as Sámi and Roma filmmakers. In addition, Irish / UK producer Mike Downey will continue as chair of the board for the next two years, with Poland’s Joanna Szymańska joining Romania’s Ada Solomon as deputy chair. The chair and deputy chairs do not represent a region.
On the new board, northwestern Europe is represented with six members and southwestern Europe by two. Northeastern and southeastern European regions are now represented by six.
The seat representing members from transnational populations has been dedicated to Sámi filmmakers in 2024-2025, followed by Romani filmmakers for 2026-2027.
Eight incumbent members of the board will serve until the end of 2024.
The board members took up their mandate at the start of 2024.
“The new board of the European Film Academy is the most representative board in our history,” said Downey. “The defined regions, each comprising different countries, reflect the realities of modern Europe and give a fairer and more equal distribution of voices from all over Europe within the board. These changes will make for a more diverse and more democratically representative board to serve the European Film Academy.”
New EFA board members
Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia
Daniel Hočevar (Slovenia)
Andorra, Portugal, Spain
Paz Lázaro Barquilla (Spain)
Armenia, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Israel
Giorgos Karnavas (Greece)
Azerbaijan, Palestine, Turkey
Başak Emre (Turkey)
Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania
Mira Staleva (Bulgaria)
Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia
Hanka Kastelicová (Czech Republic)
Denmark, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden
Tine Klint (Denmark)
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
Marija Razgutė (Lithuania)
Transnational ethnic representation (Sámi and Roma populations of Europe)
Anne-Lajla Utsi (Sápmi/Norway)
Incumbent EFA board members
Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland
Bettina Brokemper (Germany) and Nina Hoss (Germany)
(only one seat for this region will be available as of 1 January 2025)
Poland, Ukraine
Denis Ivanov (Ukraine)
France, Monaco
Christophe Leparc (France)
Italy, San Marino, Vatican City
Maria Nevina Satta (Italy)
Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands
Leontine Petit (Netherlands)
Ireland, United Kingdom
Jim Sheridan (Ireland)
Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia
Board member will be elected before 1 January 2025
The honorary members of the Board are István Szabó (Hungary) and Sir Ben Kingsley (UK). Agnieszka Holland remains president of the European Film Academy, an honorary and symbolic role. The president of the Academy is not a member of the board.
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