French actor Juliette Binoche will be the new president of the European Film Academy (EFA) when Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland steps down on May 1.
The Academy board unanimously proposed The Taste Of Things actor. Members now have until the end of April to vote their approval – a majority needs to be reached for Binoche to succeed.
Holland has been president since 2021, after previously serving as chairwoman of the board until 2019. The Green Border director said she is stepping down to focus on filmmaking.
“I am not a person to easily step aside, but I have come to the conclusion that I am a filmmaker first and foremost. And this is what I want to focus on in the years to come,” said Holland in a statement.
Mike Downey, chair of the board, and Matthijs Wouter Knol, Academy CEO, 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.”
Before Holland, Wim Wenders was Academy president, having served since 1996 when he took over the role from founding president Ingmar Bergman.
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