Only nine more days before European filmmakers, EFA Members, guests, nominees and winners will gather to celebrate European cinema at its finest at the 25th European Film Awards in Malta.

The venue for this year’s Silver Jubilee edition of the awards ceremony, traditionally opened by the President of the European Film Academy Wim Wenders, is the Mediterranean Conference Centre, a spectacular venue built on Valetta’s waterfront in 1574.

Announcing and presenting the winners of the European Film Awards in 17 categories will be EFA Ambassadors Moritz Bleibtreu (actor, Germany), Mads Mikkelsen (actor, Denmark), Kim Rossi Stuart (actor, Italy) and Danis Tanovic (director, Bosnia & Hercegovina), actresses Marama Carlett (Malta), Amira Casar (France), Carice van Houten (The Netherlands), Caterina Murino (Italy) and Marisa Paredes (Spain), their male colleagues Grigory Dobrygin (Russia), Sir Michael Gambon (UK), Thure Lindhardt (Denmark) and Sergi Lopez (Spain) together with directors Alexei Popogrebsky (Russia) and Jim Sheridan (Ireland). Helen Mirren will be honoured with the European Achievement in World Cinema award, Bernardo Bertolucci will receive this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award and Helena Danielsson will get the European Co-Production Award 2012 – Prix EURIMAGES. Among the guests of the ceremony will also be Austrian Minister for Arts and Culture, Claudia Schmied, German State Minister for Culture and the Media, Bernd Neumann, Cultural Minister Meli Kraniqi (Kosovo) and Zaneta Jaunzeme-Grende (Minister for Culture, Latvia).

The script for the show was written by Maria von Heland and Roland Slawik, Maltese architect and designer Carlo Schembri designed the set. German comedienne Anke Engelke, a familiar face at the European Film Awards, will be hosting the ceremony for the fourth time – introducing winners and presenters and guiding through an evening supported by Brikkuni, contributing a unique touch of Malta to the show with their music. The European Film Awards are produced by EFA Director Marion Döring and Jürgen Biesinger (executive producer).