18/11/2025 - Joachim Trier’s film is this year’s frontrunner, followed by Óliver Laxe’s Sirāt, Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident and Mascha Schilinski’s Sound of Falling

The European Film Academy has announced the nominees for the main categories of the upcoming 38th European Film Awards, which will take place on 17 January in Berlin. The frontrunners are the most highly acclaimed and rewarded European films from this year’s Cannes competition: Joachim Trier’s Grand Prize winner Sentimental Value [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Joachim Trier
film profile], Óliver Laxe’s Jury Prize recipient Sirāt [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Óliver Laxe
film profile], Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or winner It Was Just an Accident [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jafar Panahi
film profile] and Mascha Schilinski’s Jury Prize laureate Sound of Falling [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mascha Schilinski
film profile]. Coincidentally, all of these films have been submitted for the upcoming Academy Awards, representing Norway, Spain, France and Germany, respectively.

Sentimental Value is vying for prizes in five categories, including European Film, European Director and European Screenwriter, as well as European Actress for Renate Reinsve’s work and European Actor for Stellan Skarsgård’s. Following hot on its heels is Sirāt, competing in four categories (European Film, European Director, European Screenwriter and European Actor for Sergi López’s turn), and close behind it are It Was Just an Accident and Sound of Falling, both present in three categories (European Film, European Director and European Screenwriter).

Other movies managed to get slots in the main categories, such as Paolo Sorrentino’s La Grazia [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], which has been selected in the European Screenwriter category, as well as the European Actor one, thanks to the efforts of Toni Servillo, who has already won this very award twice (for his previous collaborations with Sorrentino The Great Beauty [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Paolo Sorrentino
film profile] and Il Divo [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nicola Giuliano
interview: Paolo Sorrentino
interview: Philippe Desandre
film profile], in a double candidature alongside Gomorrah [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Domenico Procacci
interview: Jean Labadie
interview: Matteo Garrone
film profile]). Kaouther Ben Hania’s Venice Grand Jury Prize winner The Voice of Hind Rajab [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kaouther Ben Hania
film profile] is the other fiction feature nominated for European Film, and Yorgos Lanthimos is the other filmmaker in the running for European Director (an award he’s already won for The Favourite [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), for his work on Bugonia [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile].

A list of well-known and well-loved actors has been assembled in the acting categories, besides the aforementioned ones, including Mads Mikkelsen for The Last Viking [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Anders Thomas Jensen
film profile], Valeria Bruni Tedeschi for Duse [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pietro Marcello
film profile], Vicky Krieps for Love Me Tender [+see also:
film review
interview: Anna Cazenave Cambet
film profile], Léa Drucker for Case 137 [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dominik Moll
film profile], Leonie Benesch for Late Shift [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Petra Volpe
film profile] and Idan Weiss for Franz [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Agnieszka Holland
film profile].

The European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI category once again highlights an array of interesting and acclaimed first features, including Akinola Davies Jr’s My Father’s Shadow [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Akinola Davies Jr
film profile] (Caméra d’Or Special Mention at Cannes), Laura Carreira’s On Falling [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laura Carreira
film profile] (Best Direction winner at San Sebastián), Murat Fıratoğlu’s One of Those Days When Hemme Dies [+see also:
film review
film profile] (Special Jury Prize in Venice’s Orizzonti), Urška Djukić’s Berlinale Perspectives entry Little Trouble Girls [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Urška Djukić
film profile], Mathias Broe’s Sundance title Sauna [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mathias Broe
film profile] and Mara Tamkovich’s Tribeca entry Under the Grey Sky [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mara Tamkovich
film profile].

Lastly, the European Documentary and European Animated Feature Film categories, whose selection of films is also vying for the European Film award for the second year, boast titles such as Albert Serra's San Sebastián Golden Shell winner Afternoons of Solitude [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Albert Serra
film profile] and Ugo Bienvenu's Annecy Crystal winner Arco [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ugo Bienvenu
film profile], among other acclaimed films.

Here is the full list of nominees:

European Film
Dog of God [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Raitis Ābele & Lauris Ābele (Latvia/USA)
With Hasan In Gaza [+see also:
film review
interview: Kamal Aljafari
film profile] - Kamal Aljafari (Germany/France/Palestine/Qatar)
The Voice of Hind Rajab [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kaouther Ben Hania
film profile] - Kaouther Ben Hania (France/Tunisia)
Fiume o morte! [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Igor Bezinović (Croatia/Slovenia/Italy)
Arco [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ugo Bienvenu
film profile] - Ugo Bienvenu (France)
Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake [+see also:
interview: Irene Iborra
film profile] - Irene Iborra Rizo (Spain/France/Belgium/Switzerland/Chile)
Sirāt [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Óliver Laxe
film profile] - Óliver Laxe (Spain/France)
It Was Just an Accident [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jafar Panahi
film profile] - Jafar Panahi (France/Iran/Luxembourg)
Sound of Falling [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mascha Schilinski
film profile] - Mascha Schilinski (Germany)
Afternoons of Solitude [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Albert Serra
film profile] - Albert Serra (Spain/France/Portugal)
Tales from the Magic Garden [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - David Súkup, Patrik Pašš, Leon Vidmar & Jean-Claude Rozec (Czech Republic/Slovakia/Slovenia/France)
Sentimental Value [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Joachim Trier
film profile] - Joachim Trier (Norway/France/Denmark/Germany/Sweden)
Songs of Slow Burning Earth [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Olha Zhurba
film profile] - Olha Zhurba (Ukraine/France/Denmark/Sweden)
Little Amelie [+see also:
trailer
interview: Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han
film profile] - Maïlys Vallade & Liane-Cho Han (France)
Riefenstahl [+see also:
film review
interview: Andres Veiel
film profile] - Andres Veiel (Germany)

European Documentary
With Hasan in Gaza - Kamal Aljafari
Fiume o morte! - Igor Bezinović
Afternoons of Solitude - Albert Serra
Riefenstahl - Andres Veiel
Songs Of Slow Burning Earth - Olha Zhurba

European Animated Feature Film
Dog of God - Raitis Ābele & Lauris Ābele
Arco - Ugo Bienvenu
Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake - Irene Iborra Rizo
Tales from the Magic Garden - David Súkup, Patrik Pašš, Leon Vidmar & Jean-Claude Rozec
Little Amelie - Maïlys Vallade & Liane-Cho Han

European Director
Yorgos Lanthimos - Bugonia [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Ireland/UK/USA/South Korea)
Oliver Laxe - Sirāt
Jafar Panahi - It Was Just An Accident
Mascha Schilinski - Sound of Falling
Joachim Trier - Sentimental Value

European Actress
Leonie Benesch - Late Shift [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Petra Volpe
film profile] (Switzerland/Germany)
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi - Duse [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pietro Marcello
film profile] (Italy/France)
Léa Drucker - Case 137 [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dominik Moll
film profile] (France)
Vicky Krieps - Love Me Tender [+see also:
film review
interview: Anna Cazenave Cambet
film profile] (France)
Renate Reinsve - Sentimental Value

European Actor
Sergi López - Sirāt
Mads Mikkelsen - The Last Viking [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Anders Thomas Jensen
film profile] (Denmark/Sweden)
Toni Servillo - La Grazia [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Italy)
Stellan Skarsgård - Sentimental Value
Idan Weiss - Franz [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Agnieszka Holland
film profile] (Czech Republic/Germany/Poland/France)

European Screenwriter
Santiago Fillol & Oliver Laxe - Sirāt
Jafar Panahi - It Was Just an Accident
Mascha Schilinski & Louise Peter - Sound of Falling
Paolo Sorrentino - La Grazia
Eskil Vogt & Joachim Trier - Sentimental Value

European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI
Sauna [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mathias Broe
film profile] - Mathias Broe (Denmark)
On Falling [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laura Carreira
film profile] (UK/Portugal) - Laura Carreira
My Father’s Shadow [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Akinola Davies Jr
film profile] - Akinola Davies Jr (UK/Nigeria)
Little Trouble Girls [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Urška Djukić
film profile] - Urška Djukić (Slovenia/Italy/Croatia/Serbia)
One of Those Days When Hemme Dies [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Murat Fıratoğlu (Turkey/Germany)
Under the Grey Sky [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mara Tamkovich
film profile] - Mara Tamkovich (Poland)

European Young Audience Award
Arco - Ugo Bienvenu
I Accidentally Wrote a Book [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Nóra Lakos (Hungary/Netherlands)
Siblings [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Greta Scarano (Italy)