The 26th European Film Awards were presented on 7 December 2013 in Berlin, Germany. The winners were selected by over 2,500 members of the European Film Academy. On 28 October 2013, a special seven-member jury convened in Berlin and, based on the EFA Selection list, decided on the winners in the categories cinematography, editing, production design, costume design, composer and sound design. On 4 November 2013, nominations for documentary were announced. The special documentary jury consist five members: Antonio Saura Despina Mouzaki, Claas Danielsen, Ally Derks and Jacques Laurent.

The 27th European Film Awards were presented on 13 December 2014 in Riga, Latvia. The winners were selected by more than 2,500 members of the European Film Academy. Nominations for the People's Choice Award category were announced on 1 September 2014. On 16 September 2014, the European Film Academy and EFA Productions announced a list of 50 films which qualified for nominations. All nominations were announced on 8 November 2014 at the Seville European Film Festival in Spain. British director Steve McQueen was presented with the European Achievement in World Cinema Award and filmmaker Agnès Varda was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award.