Founding Members FACE_copyright_FACE_Marie de Decker

Source: Marie de Decker/FACE

The FACE founding members

Film academies from 20 countries have united for the Federation of Film Academies Europe (FACE), an organisation for sharing insights across national film bodies that is a relaunch of Film Academy Network Europe.

The 20 academies include the national film academies of Germany, Italy and Spain, and the European Film Academy.

Scroll down for the full list of founding members

UK film academy Bafta is not a member having previously been part of Film Academy Network Europe. Internal discussions at Bafta are ongoing regarding its membership of FACE, and Screen understands the relationship between the two bodies is positive.

FACE’s mission statement says its activities will include lobbying with European and national policy makers, and defending and supporting European film through education, membership engagement and film heritage projects, with sustainability, diversity and inclusion as key elements.

“The new structure will allow the academies joint and more concerted actions on the European and international stage,” said a FACE statement.

Headquartered in Luxembourg, the Federation unites around 20,000 people from the memberships of the respective academies.

This work was previously carried out by Film Academy Network Europe, launched in 2006 by the European Film Academy. Bafta is the only one of the 19 Film Academy Network Europe members to not yet have joined FACE; while new members of FACE not in the previous iteration are the film academies from Belgium and Norway.

“The Federation is a circle of cultural solidarity, stretching across the continent, uniting our diverse and unique voices in cinema, to be heard and seen wherever needed,” said Yann Tonnar, president of the Luxembourg Film Academy and chair of the FACE board.

Alongside Tonnar on the seven-person board are deputy chair Katharina Albrecht, CEO at the Austrian Film Academy; secretary Laia Aubia, director of the Catalan Film Academy; Jenny Booms, director of the Dutch Academy for Film; Diogo Camoes, director general of the Portuguese Academy of Cinema; treasurer Jacob Neiiendam of the Danish Film Academy; and Matthijs Wouter Knol, CEO and director of the European Film Academy.

FACE founding members

Austrian Film Academy

Belarusian Independent Film Academy

Andre Delvaux Academy

Catalan Film Academy

Czech Film and Television Academy

Danish Film Academy

European Film Academy

German Film Academy

Hellenic Film Academy

Icelandic Film and Television Academy

Israel Academy of Film and Television

Italian Academy of Cinema

Luxembourg Film Academy

Dutch Academy for Film

Norwegian Film Academy

Polish Film Academy

Portuguese Academy of Cinema

Slovak Film and Television Academy

Spanish Academy of Cinematic Arts and Sciences

Swiss Film Academy

Ukrainian Film Academy