email print share on Facebook share on Twitter share on LinkedIn share on reddit pin on Pinterest

EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS 2016

Five debut films nominated for the European Discovery Award

by 

- Dogs, Liebmann, Sand Storm, The Happiest Day in The Life of Olli Mäki and Thirst will fight for the award, which is presented to young directors for their first full-length features

Five debut films nominated for the European Discovery Award
Thirst by Svetla Tsotsorkova

The Oldenburg International Film Festival in Germany was the place where the European Film Academy decided to announce this year's nominations for the European Discovery - Prix FIPRESCI. This award is presented annually, in co-operation with the International Federation of Film Critics and as part of the European Film Awards, to a young, up-and-coming director for a first full-length feature film.

Amongst the five nominated films is Dogs [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bogdan Mirica
film profile
]
, a mixture of dark cinema and a modern western, directed by Bogdan Mirica, from Romania. There is also Liebmann [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
 by Germany's Jules Herrmann, which tells the story of a man leaving his routine in Germany and exploring a completely new life in France. Sand Storm [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
 by Elite Zexer, from Israel, tells of one Bedouin village's marital traditions. The fourth nominated film was directed by Juho Kuosmanen, from Finland, and is The Happiest Day in The Life of Olli Mäki [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Juho Kuosmanen
film profile
]
. It tells the story of the first Finn to compete for the title of World Champion in featherweight boxing. The last film that will compete for the European Discovery Award is Thirst [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Svetla Tsotsorkova
film profile
]
 by Svetla Tsotsorkova, from Bulgaria, which depicts the shock that a small, rural Bulgarian family feels upon the arrival of new members.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

This year's nominations were decided on by a committee that met in Oldenburg and were invited by the festival. The committee comprised EFA board members Dagmar Jacobsen, from Germany, and Angeles González-Sinde, from Spain; filmmaker and 2015 nominee Tom Sommerlatte, from Germany; expert from Romania Mihai Chirilov; and FIPRESCI representatives Isabelle Danel, from France, Krzysztof Kwiatkowski, from Poland, and Neil Young, from the United Kingdom.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.

Privacy Policy