The European Film Academy has named Beki Probst, Marin Karmitz and Sandra den Hamer as the first recipients of its new Community Award for contributions to European film culture. The award recognises sustained work that has helped develop and expand the culture, and will be presented in Athens on 15 January 2027, the night before the main European Film Awards ceremony.

Probst founded the Berlinale’s European Film Market in its modern form in 1988 and led it until 2014, after earlier work in arthouse cinema and film festivals. Karmitz founded the French independent film company mk2 and built a career as a producer, distributor and exhibitor, while den Hamer led Rotterdam’s film festival and Amsterdam’s film museum, now the Eye Filmmuseum. Their work spans film markets, cinema exhibition, production, distribution, festivals and preservation.