Ambassadors of European Film

The European Film Academy (EFA) is proud to announce a new group of selected, distinguished personalities from the world of European film to promote European cinema and the European Film Awards. In close co-ordination with the European Film Academy, these renowned filmmakers will represent EFA and the European Film Awards at various prestigious events.

The European Film Academy takes great pleasure in welcoming as EFA Ambassadors:

Moritz Bleibtreu, Actor, Germany
One of the best-known German faces in international cinema, Moritz Bleibtreu first shot to international attention as Manni in Tom Tykwer's Run Lola Run (1998). He was nominated in 2001 for the EFA People's Choice Award for The Experiment by Oliver Hirschbiegel and is now nominated for European Actor for his role as Andreas Baader in The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008)by Uli Edel.

Stephen Daldry, Director, UK
Ever since the nomination of Billy Elliot for the 2000 European Film Awards, Stephen Daldry has worked closely with the European Film Academy. His film The Reader is nominated for the 2009 European Film Awards in three categories (European Film, Actress, and Actor).

Maria de Medeiros, Actress/Director, Portugal
The Portuguese actress director is a true, multilingual European artist. Together with her Catalan colleague Juanjó Puigcorbé, she hosted the European Film Awards 2004 in Barcelona.

Mads Mikkelsen, Actor, Denmark
Be it as a nominee (in 2006 for After The Wedding by Susanne Bier, 2008 for Flame And Citron by Ole Christian Madsen) or as a presenter (2007 in Berlin, 2008 in Copenhagen), the Danish star (known from The Green Butchers (2003) by Anders Thomas Jensen, and the James Bond film Casino Royale (2006)) very much enjoys the company of his European fellows every time he attends the European Film Awards.

Cristian Mungiu, Director, Romania
Follwoing several short films and the feature Occident (2002), Cristian Mungiu was the great Romanian discovery of international audiences when his film 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days won the Palme d'Or in Cannes two years ago and the award for European Film 2007 at the European Film Awards.

Kim Rossi Stuart, Actor, Italy
Having started his acting career at the age of five, among Kim Rossi Stuart's latest performances have been in Gianni Amelio's The Keys to the House (2004) and Michele Placido's Crime Novel (2005). In 2006 he wrote, directed and acted in Along The Ridge.

Belén Rueda, Actress, Spain
The Spanish actress received her first Goya for her role as Julia in The Sea Inside (2004) by Alejandro Amenábar and has been a friend of the European Film Academy since her nomination for The Orphanage by Juan Antonio Bayona last year. With Spain, she represents a country where the Academy experiences great enthusiasm and interest in the European Film Awards.

Johanna ter Steege, Actress, the Netherlands
After her dream debut in The Vanishing, for which she was rewarded with the Best Supporting Actress award in the very first EFA in 1988, Johanna ter Steege has prospered in films by internationally renowned directors such as Robert Altman and István Szabó - the Dutch actress has been a very faithful ally of the European Film Academy since its beginnings.

Maciej Stuhr, Actor, Poland
The popular Polish actor and comedian Maciej Stuhr has had roles in films by renowned directors such as Andrzej Wajda, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Agnieszka Holland and Krzysztof Warlikowski to name but a few. Together with French actress Sophie Marceau, he hosted the 2006 European Film Awards Ceremony in Warsaw.

Danis Tanovic, Director/Screenwriter, Bosnia & Herzegovina
His film No Man's Land won the screenwriter award at EFA 2001, as well as 42 other awards worldwide, and brought the absurd reality of war to the conscience of people across the globe. He went on to make L'Enfer (2005), based on the script by Krzysztof Kies'lowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz, and, most recently, Triage (2009), starring Colin Farrell, Paz Vega and Christopher Lee.

EFA Ambassadors Moritz Bleibtreu, Stephen Daldry, Johanna ter Steege and Maciej Stuhr will be among the guests at this year's European Film Awards Ceremony on 12 December in Bochum.