05/11/2024 - Jacques Audiard's and Pedro Almodóvar's films are the frontrunners, up against other titles such as The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Vermiglio and The Substance

The European Film Academy has revealed the nominees for the main categories of the 36th European Film Awards, which will be handed out at a ceremony taking place on 7 December in Lucerne (Switzerland).

With four nominations apiece, the new films by France’s Jacques Audiard and Spain’s Pedro Almodóvar lead the race for the statuettes. Both Emilia Pérez [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], winner of the Jury Prize and the Best Actress Award for its cast at Cannes, and The Room Next Door [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], which scooped the Golden Lion at Venice, have been nominated in the European Film, European Director, European Screenwriter and European Actress (for the work of Spain’s Karla Sofía Gascón and the UK’s Tilda Swinton, respectively) categories. The two films are also very well placed in view of the US awards season, which will culminate in the Oscars ceremony.

Right behind them, with three nods, is the latest feature by Iran’s Mohammad Rasoulof, The Seed of the Sacred Fig [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Directors Talks @ European …
interview: Mohammad Rasoulof
film profile], a German-French co-production crowned with a Special Award at Cannes. The film, which is also Germany’s submission for the Oscar for Best International Feature, is nominated in the European Film, European Director and European Screenwriter categories. As a matter of fact, Rasoulof fled Iran this year after the film was selected for the French festival, and he was sentenced by the Islamic Republic, following his many conflicts with the country’s government over the years. He is now based in Germany.

Two second features by female filmmakers, Italy’s Maura Delpero and France’s Coralie Fargeat, are vying for two statuettes. Also awarded at the major festivals (with the Silver Lion - Grand Jury Prize at Venice and with the Best Screenplay Award at Cannes, respectively), both Vermiglio [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Maura Delpero
film profile] and The Substance [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Coralie Fargeat
film profile] are vying for the statuette in the European Film category. Besides this, Delpero is nominated for European Director and Fargeat for European Screenwriter. Vermiglio is also competing for an Oscar nomination as Italy’s submission, while The Substance has managed to create quite the buzz after its huge theatrical success and Demi Moore’s surprising comeback role.

This year, thanks to a newly introduced regulation, films from the European Documentary and European Animated Feature Film categories are also eligible for the European Film Award. Amongst them, successful titles such as Mati Diop’s Berlinale Golden Bear winner Dahomey [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Berlinale Documentary Award winner No Other Land [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
film profile] by Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Basel Adra and Hamdan Ballal, and Gints Zilbalodis’ Cannes-selected and Annecy-awarded second feature, Flow [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gints Zilbalodis
interview: Red Carpet @ European Film …
film profile], will be vying for the awards.

Other remarkable achievements come from Magnus von Horn’s The Girl with the Needle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Besir Zeciri
interview: Directors Talks @ European …
interview: Magnus von Horn
film profile] (three nominations, including European Screenwriter and European Actress for both Trine Dyrholm and Vic Carmen Sonne), Andrea Arnold’s Bird [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (nominated for European Director and European Actor for Franz Rogowski) and Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel’s Cannes Caméra d’Or winner Armand [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel
interview: Renate Reinsve
film profile] (nominated for the European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI and European Actress for Renate Reinsve).

Competing against the latter in the European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI category we find Locarno’s Golden Leopard winner, Saulė Bliuvaitė’s Toxic [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Directors Talks @ European …
interview: Saulė Bliuvaitė
film profile], as well as the Venice Orizzonti Best Film winner, Bogdan Mureșanu’s The New Year That Never Came [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bogdan Mureşanu
film profile], among others.

Lastly, more star power is to be found in the European Actor category, with Ralph Fiennes (nominated for Edward Berger’s Conclave [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Red Carpet @ European Film …
film profile]) and Daniel Craig (nominated for Luca Guadagnino’s Queer [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), alongside Lars Eidinger (nominated for Matthias Glasner’s Dying [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Matthias Glasner
interview: Red Carpet @ European Film …
film profile]) and a surprise entry, Abou Sangare (nominated for Boris Lojkine’s Souleymane's Story [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Boris Lojkine
film profile]), who is presently still fighting for his residency in France, for which he recently applied for the fourth time, this time at the invitation of the French government.

Here is the list of nominees:

European Film
Bye Bye Tiberias [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lina Soualem
film profile] - Lina Soualem (France/Belgium/Palestine/Qatar)
Dahomey [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Mati Diop (France/Senegal)
Emilia Pérez [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Jacques Audiard (France)
Flow [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gints Zilbalodis
interview: Red Carpet @ European Film …
film profile] - Gints Zilbalodis (Latvia/France/Belgium)
In Limbo [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Alina Maksimenko (Poland)
Living Large [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kristina Dufková
film profile] - Kristina Dufková (Czech Republic/France/Slovakia)
No Other Land [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
film profile] - Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Basel Adra & Hamdan Ballal (Palestine/Norway)
Savages [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Red Carpet @ European Film …
film profile] - Claude Barras (Switzerland/France/Belgium)
Soundtrack to a Coup D'etat [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Johan Grimonprez
film profile] - Johan Grimonprez (France/Belgium/Netherlands)
Sultana's Dream [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Isabel Herguera
interview: Isabel Herguera
film profile] - Isabel Herguera (Spain/Germany/India)
The Room Next Door [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Pedro Almodóvar (Spain)
The Seed of the Sacred Fig [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Directors Talks @ European …
interview: Mohammad Rasoulof
film profile] - Mohammad Rasoulof (Germany/France)
The Substance [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Coralie Fargeat
film profile] - Coralie Fargeat (UK/USA/France)
They Shot the Piano Player [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal (Spain/France/Netherlands/Portugal/Peru)
Vermiglio [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Maura Delpero
film profile] - Maura Delpero (Italy/France/Belgium)

European Documentary
Bye Bye Tiberias - Lina Soualem
Dahomey - Mati Diop
In Limbo - Alina Maksimenko
No Other Land - Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Basel Adra & Hamdan Ballal
Soundtrack To A Coup D'etat - Johan Grimonprez

European Animated Feature Film (previously announced)
Flow - Gints Zilbalodis
Living Large - Kristina Dufková
Savages - Claude Barras
Sultana's Dream - Isabel Herguera
They Shot the Piano Player - Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal

European Short Film – Prix Vimeo (previously announced)
2720 - Basil da Cunha (Portugal/Switzerland)
Clamor - Salomé Da Souza (France)
The Exploding Girl - Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel (France)
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent - Nebojša Slijepčević (Croatia/France/Bulgaria/Slovenia)
Wander to Wonder - Nina Gantz (Netherlands/France/Belgium/UK)

European Director
Andrea Arnold - Bird [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (UK/France)
Jacques Audiard - Emilia Pérez
Pedro Almodóvar - The Room Next Door
Mohammad Rasoulof - The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Maura Delpero - Vermiglio

European Actress
Renate Reinsve - Armand [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel
interview: Renate Reinsve
film profile] (Norway/Netherlands/Germany/Sweden)
Karla Sofía Gascón - Emilia Pérez
Trine Dyrholm - The Girl with the Needle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Besir Zeciri
interview: Directors Talks @ European …
interview: Magnus von Horn
film profile] (Denmark/Poland/Sweden)
Vic Carmen Sonne - The Girl with the Needle
Tilda Swinton - The Room Next Door

European Actor
Franz Rogowski - Bird
Ralph Fiennes - Conclave [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Red Carpet @ European Film …
film profile] (UK/USA)
Lars Eidinger - Dying [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Matthias Glasner
interview: Red Carpet @ European Film …
film profile] (Germany)
Daniel Craig - Queer [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Italy/USA)
Abou Sangare - Souleymane's Story [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Boris Lojkine
film profile] (France)

European Screenwriter
Jacques Audiard - Emilia Pérez
Magnus Von Horn & Line Langebek - The Girl with the Needle
Pedro Almodóvar - The Room Next Door
Mohammad Rasoulof - The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Coralie Fargeat - The Substance

European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI
Armand - Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel
Hoard [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Luna Carmoon
film profile] - Luna Carmoon (UK)
Kneecap [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Red Carpet @ European Film …
film profile] - Rich Peppiatt (Ireland/UK)
Santosh [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sandhya Suri
film profile] - Sandhya Suri (UK/France/Germany)
The New Year That Never Came [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bogdan Mureşanu
film profile] - Bogdan Mureșanu (Romania/Serbia)
Toxic [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Directors Talks @ European …
interview: Saulė Bliuvaitė
film profile] - Saulė Bliuvaitė (Lithuania)

European Young Audience Award
Lars Is LOL - Eirik Sæter Stordahl (Norway/Denmark)
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Benjamin Ree
film profile] - Benjamin Ree (Norway)
Winners [+see also:
interview: Soleen Yusef
film profile] - Soleen Yusef (Germany)