Iceland Hoping To Host European Film Awards In 2020

Reykjavík Mayor Dagur B. Eggertsson told reporters in Seville, where the European Film Awards were held this year, that Iceland hopes to host the EFA in 2020, RÚV reports. Iceland secured a nomination this year, in the category of Best Actress, although the win went to Joanna Kulig for her performance in ‘Cold War’.

The EFA was held this year in Seville, Spain, and is held in Berlin every other year. Dagur is “cautiously optimistic” that Iceland could host the awards in 2020. The City of Reykjavík and the Icelandic government are currently working in cooperation to help make that happen.

“We have simply put ourselves forward, and offered Reykjavík as an interesting location,” Dagur told reporters. “We’re competing with other cities but I hope the talks bear results.”

When asked if he felt Iceland was ready to host an awards ceremony of this scale, Dagur replied that such events can yield greater returns. He also believes that hosting could give attendees a window into Reykjavík and Icelandic filmmaking.

“We’ve of course seen that it is possible to work on films for the global stage here at home,” he said. “I look at this as a joint effort to show what we can do.”

Iceland has been nominated for or won awards at the EFA three times in the past. This year, Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir was nominated in the category of Best Actress for her performance in Woman At War. In 1991, Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson won Best Composer for his work on the film Children of Nature, and in 2000 Björk Guðmundsdóttir won Best Actress for her role in Dancer in the Dark.