| Ensor Award | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Awarded for | Excellence in cinematic achievements |
| Country | Belgium |
| Presented by | Ensor Academie |
| First award | 2010 |
| Website | ensors |
The Ensor Award (for the first two years Vlaamse Filmprijzen) is an accolade presented by the Ensor Academy of Belgium to recognize cinematic achievement in the film industry and is the highest film honour in the Flemish speaking part of the country. Named after James Ensor, it is the successor of the Joseph Plateau Award that honoured films from the entire country. Since its discontinuation, the Magritte Awards are given to French speaking movies, while the Ensors honor Flemish productions.
The trophy was created by Ostend artist Yves Velter from Ostend. It is given out at the Ostend Film Festival in September. At the ninth edition, two films tied for the top prize as best film.[1] The tenth Ensor Awards ceremony was held on September 14, 2019 and saw the film Girl dominating by winning eight trophies including best film.[2]
The nominees are decided by a jury panel. While the winners are voted by the entire board of Ensor Academy, which consists of members from the film industry.[3] In 2018 categories for achievement in television were introduced.
Since 2022, the Ensors, have been gender neutral, meaning the awards do not separate male and female performances in acting categories.[4] This has lead to some years where men are the only winners in acting categories.[4][5][6]
- ^ Bradshaw, Lisa (17 March 2020). "Tie leads to two Best Film winners at Ensor awards | Flanders Today". www.flanderstoday.eu.
- ^ Engelen, Aurore (2019-09-16). "Girl dominates the 10th Ensor Awards ceremony - Cineuropa". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 2020-03-28. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
- ^ "Ensor Academie - Industrie - Festival 2019 | Film Festival Oostende". www.filmfestivaloostende.be. Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
- ^ a b Service, Flanders News (2024-08-21). "Ensor film awards to remain gender-neutral but voting process to change". belganewsagency.eu. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
- ^ Service, Flanders News (2024-02-04). "Actors question gender-neutral prize system at Ensor Awards for TV and film". belganewsagency.eu. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
- ^ Kassam, Ashifa; Henley, Jon (2024-02-05). "Flemish film awards under fire after men win most prestigious gender-neutral categories". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-03-07.