Juliette Binoche Appointed New President Of European Film Academy As Agnieszka Holland Steps Down

French actress Juliette Binoche has been announced as the new president of the European Film Academy, replacing Polish director Agnieszka Holland.

The body said Binoche had been unanimously proposed by the members of the EFA board after Holland expressed her desire to step down in 2024.

The role of EFA President is an honorary one and holds a symbolic power for the Berlin-based body, representing more than 4,600 cinema professionals across Europe.

Ingmar Bergman served as the first President and was originally chosen by the 40 founding Academy members in 1989.  

He was followed by Wim Wenders in 1996, who held the post until 2020. His sucessor Holland was the Academy’s first female President.  

Binoche will formally take up the role on May 1 2024, after a majority of the 4,600 members of the European Film Academy have given their vote of approval until the end of April 2024.
 
Holland indicated her decision to step down this spring, expressing the wish to fully dedicate her time to making films.  

In a statement shared with all Academy members in 52 European countries, current chair of the Board Mike Downey and Academy CEO Matthijs Wouter Knol said: “We want to honour Agnieszka Holland’s wish and completely understand that responsibilities besides filmmaking, however inspiring and important, can sometimes stand in the way of creating art. A decision like this is also one that makes us realise how much we owe to Agnieszka Holland’s work for our institution.”

“On behalf of the European Film Academy, we would like to thank her for her tremendous support, strength and strong vision in all the functions she has fulfilled within the structure of the Academy. Without this, the work done in the past years would not have been the same – and it would certainly not have been as pleasant.”