The Square Sweeps Up Six European Film Awards

Palme d’Or winner The Square, directed by Ruben Östlund, swept the 30th European Film Awards in Berlin on Saturday with wins in all six categories for which it was nominated: Best European Film, Best Comedy, Best Script, Best Director, Best Actor (Claes Bang) and Best Production Design (Josefin Asberg).

Swedish Oscar entry The Square follows the curator of a modern art museum (Claes Bang) who is mugged, and whose hunt for the perpetrator make him question his own moral compass.

This is the third year in a row that Sweden has won Best Comedy at the European Film Awards, with wins for Roy Andersson’s A Pigeon Sat On A Branch in 2015, and Hannes Holms’ A Man Called Ove in 2016. In accepting this year’s award, Ruben Östlund said: “We wanted to say something important, but we also wanted it to be entertaining and exciting.”

Next on the agenda for The Square are the Critics Choice Awards on 11th January, which are often an indicator of Academy Awards success. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will draw up its final shortlist of five films for Best Foreign Language Film on 23rd January.