The European film awards have unveiled their nominations, with Joachim Trier's family drama 'Sentimental Value' emerging as the clear frontrunner with an impressive five nominations across major categories.
Leading Contenders and Notable Nominations
The Norwegian director's critically acclaimed film, which won the Grand Prix at Cannes, has secured nominations for Best European Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. The film's stars, Stellan Skarsgård and Renate Reinsve, have also received individual nominations for Best Actor and Best Actress respectively.
In the film, scheduled for UK cinema release this December, Skarsgård portrays a formerly celebrated film director attempting to mend fractured relationships with his two estranged daughters.
Hot on its heels is Spanish director Oliver Laxe's techno thriller 'Sirāt', set at a rave in the Moroccan desert, which garnered four nominations. German filmmaker Mascha Schilinski's 'Sound of Falling' and Iranian auteur Jafar Panahi's Palme d'Or winner 'It Was Just an Accident' both received three nominations each.
Diverse Shortlist and Ceremony Changes
The shortlist for European Film of the Year features fifteen titles, including five animated features and five documentaries. Notable documentary nominations include Andres Veiel's portrait of Nazi-collaborating filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl and Igor Bezinović's 'Fiume o Morte!', described by Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw as a "protofascist Passport to Pimlico".
Often described as Europe's answer to the Oscars, the awards are overseen by the European Film Academy. In a significant scheduling change, the ceremony will move from its traditional December slot to 17 January next year in Berlin, positioning it closer to the peak of the US awards season to increase visibility among European audiences.
Previous Winners and Full Nomination List
At last year's ceremony in Lucerne, Switzerland, French director Jacques Audiard's musical 'Emilia Pérez' dominated proceedings, winning four out of five top prizes.
The complete nomination list showcases the diversity of European cinema:
- Best European Film: Afternoons of Solitude, Arco, Dog of God (Dieva Suns), Fiume o Morte!, It Was Just an Accident, Little Amelie, Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake, Riefenstahl, Sentimental Value, Sirāt, Songs of Slow Burning Earth, Sound of Falling, Tales from the Magic Garden, The Voice of Hind Rajab, With Hasan in Gaza
- Best European Director: Yorgos Lanthimos (Bugonia), Oliver Laxe (Sirāt), Jafar Panahi (It Was Just an Accident), Mascha Schilinski (Sound of Falling), Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value)
- Best European Actress: Leonie Benesch (Late Shift), Valeria Bruni Tedeschi (Duse), Léa Drucker (Case 137), Vicky Krieps (Love Me Tender), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value)
- Best European Actor: Sergi López (Sirāt), Mads Mikkelsen (The Last Viking), Toni Servillo (La Grazia), Stellan Skarsgård (Sentimental Value), Idan Weiss (Franz)
