Seville: Plaza de España

The European Film Academy awards the Plaza de España in Seville the title “Treasure of European Film Culture”.

Originally designed and built as the main symbol for and most ambitious project of the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition world’s fair, Plaza de España is one of Seville’s most iconic locations.

With its mix of 1920s Art Deco, Neo-Renaissance, and Neo-Mudéjar styles, Plaza de España has served as the set for various films from STAR WARS to THE DICTATOR. Actors who have shot here include Vittorio de Sica, Sean Connery and, of course, Peter O’Toole.

Above all, it is forever linked to the history of cinema by its role in David Lean’s unforgettable epic LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, where it served as the English army headquarters and officers’ club in Cairo.  

During a ceremony in November, held in co-operation with the Andalucía Film Commission supported by the Regional Minister for Tourism and Sport, the Mayor of Sevilla and the Public Company of Radio and Television of Andalusia, a special “Treasure of European Film Culture” emblem will be inaugurated at the location. This will be on the occasion of the announcement of the nominations for the European Film Awards (EFAs), which annually takes place in Seville.

With this title the European Film Academy wishes to raise public awareness for places of a symbolic nature for European cinema, places of historical value that need to be maintained and protected not just now but also for generations to come.

Plaza de España is the ninth location to be awarded by the European Film Academy. The first seight institutions that were adopted to be part of the “Treasures of European Film Culture” list are:

The Eisenstein Memorial Centre in Moscow
The House of the brothers Lumière in Lyon
The Bergman Center in Faro
The World of Tonino Guerra in Pennabilli
The Potemkin Stairs in Odessa
The Vienna Giant Ferris Wheel
The Sergei Parajanov Museum in Yerevan
The Collegiate Church of Sant Vicenç in Cardona

The list of Treasures of European Film Culture will continue to be added to over the years to include both film institutions and places that can be visited such as the Plaza de España in Seville.  

Since its successful pan-European launch in November 2022 Europe’s own film and award season, the Month of European Film has been growing continuously: Starting with 35 partners from 35 countries in 2022, the Month of European Film collaborated in 2024 with 108 partners from 42 countries. The number of screenings of European films within the initiative rocketed from 1,553 in 2022 to 9,310 in 2023 to 16,140 screenings in the 2024 edition. Admissions increased from 61,199 in 2022 to 164,206 in 2023 to almost half a million admissions (467,697) in the last year. The participating partners reported that their activities during the Month of European Film increased audience interest in European films and it also makes them want to programme more European films in the future. This is the result of an evaluation with the participating partners of this unique initiative.

“The European Film Academy senses growing interest in Europe for an ‘award season’ celebrating the best European cinema has to offer,” says Mattthijs Wouter Knol, Academy CEO and Director. “With the Month of European Film we build a network and a window for the simultaneous celebration of European cinema and to bring the diversity of European film closer to home for many people: first of all to their local cinema. Only three years into the initiative we are proud and happy that the Month of European Film is becoming more and more visible across Europe and is attracting a significantly growing number of visitors from Norway to Malta, from Portugal to Georgia. In the upcoming years until the European Film Academy’s 40th anniversary in 2028, we will further build a European ‘award season’ with our partners. It is time to deepen the awareness of European film culture. It is time to bring us as Europeans closer together through the culture and values we share: cinema has that power.”

Feedback from the audience regarding the Month of European Film was also very positive: The partners reported that in an audience survey cinema visitors from across Europe saw the Month of European Film as an important celebration of European culture. They said the Month of European Film has raised their interest in European films significantly and that they would like to see more European films. It also made them feel more united with fellow Europeans.

This year, the Month of European Film will start with the nominations announcement on Tuesday 18 November 2025, with cinemas all over Europe offering a tailor-made programme for their local audience. The Month of European Film will have its grand finale on Saturday 17 January 2026 with the celebration of the European Film Awards in Berlin.

The Month of European Film is an initiative of the European Film Academy supported by the Creative Europe MEDIA Programme of the European Union, in co-operation with Europa Cinemas, CICAE, MUBI, DAFilms, Festival Scope, as well as numerous other European and local partners.

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