European Film Academy Announces Nominees for 37th European Film Awards

The European Film Academy has officially revealed the nominees in major categories for the 37th European Film Awards, scheduled to take place in the picturesque Swiss city of Lucerne on 7 December. Leading the nominations are the critically acclaimed Emilia Pérez, a double winner at Cannes directed by Jacques Audiard, and the celebrated The Room Next Door, which garnered the prestigious Golden Lion this year under the direction of Pedro Almodóvar. Both films are in contention for Best European Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay, along with nominations for Best Actress for Karla Sofia Gascón in Emilia Pérez and Tilda Swinton in The Room Next Door.

Other noteworthy contenders include Germany’s Oscar entry, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, directed by the exiled Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, which has secured nominations for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. Additional significant nominations encompass Andrea Arnold’s Bird and Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance.

This year marks a notable change in the eligibility criteria, as films nominated for Best European Documentary and Best Animated Feature Film can now also compete for the coveted Best European Film title. Consequently, the nominations list for 2024 is more extensive than in previous years, featuring distinguished films like Dahomey, the Golden Bear winner directed by Mati Diop, and the animated feature Flow by Latvian filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis.

Looking ahead, the European Film Awards will undergo a significant transformation after this year’s ceremony. Starting in 2026, the awards will transition to January, aligning with the broader awards season discourse. Historically, the European Film Awards have served as a bellwether for which European titles may be recognized during the upcoming American awards season. Last year, Anatomy of a Fall triumphed by winning four of the five major awards, including Best European Film, and subsequently received five Oscar nominations. Notably, director Justine Triet and co-writer Arthur Harari were awarded the Oscar for Best Screenplay.

Here are the 2024 nominations:

Best European Film

• BYE BYE TIBERIAS (BYE BYE TIBERIADE) (France, Belgium, Palestine, Qatar), directed by Lina Soualem, produced by Jean-Marie Nizan, Guillaume Malandrin & Ossama Bawardi
• DAHOMEY (France, Senegal), directed by Mati Diop
• EMILIA PÉREZ (France), directed by Jacques Audiard
• FLOW (STRAUME) (Latvia, France, Belgium), directed by Gints Zilbalodis
• IN LIMBO (W ZAWIESZENIU) (Poland), directed by Alina Maksimenko
• LIVING LARGE (ŽIVOT K SEŽRÁNÍ) (Czech Republic, France, Slovakia), directed by Kristina Dufková
• NO OTHER LAND (Palestine, Norway), directed by Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Basel Adra & Hamdan Ballal
• SAVAGES (SAUVAGES) (Switzerland, France, Belgium), directed by Claude Barras
• SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D’ETAT (France, Belgium, Netherlands), directed by Johan Grimonprez
• SULTANA’S DREAM (EL SUEÑO DE LA SULTANA) (Spain, Germany, India), directed by Isabel Herguera
• THE ROOM NEXT DOOR (Spain), directed by Pedro Almodóvar
• THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG (DANAYE ANJIR-E MOABAD) (Germany, France), directed by Mohammad Rasoulof
• THE SUBSTANCE (UK, United States, France), directed by Coralie Fargeat
• THEY SHOT THE PIANO PLAYER (Spain, France, Netherlands, Portugal, Peru), directed by Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
• VERMIGLIO (Italy, France, Belgium), directed by Maura Delpero

Best European Documentary

• BYE BYE TIBERIAS (BYE BYE TIBERIADE), directed by Lina Soualem
• DAHOMEY (France, Senegal), directed by Mati Diop
• IN LIMBO (W ZAWIESZENIU) (Poland), directed by Alina Maksimenko
• NO OTHER LAND (Palestine, Norway), directed by Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Basel Adra & Hamdan Ballal
• SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D’ETAT (France, Belgium, Netherlands), directed by Johan Grimonprez

Best European Director

• Andrea Arnold for BIRD
• Jacques Audiard for EMILIA PÉREZ
• Pedro Almodóvar for THE ROOM NEXT DOOR
• Mohammad Rasoulof for THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG
• Maura Delpero for VERMIGLIO

Best Actress

• Renate Reinsve in ARMAND
• Karla Sofía Gascón in EMILIA PÉREZ
• Trine Dyrholm in THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE
• Vic Carmen Sonne in THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE
• Tilda Swinton in THE ROOM NEXT DOOR

Best Actor

• Franz Rogowski in BIRD
• Ralph Fiennes in CONCLAVE
• Lars Eidinger in DYING
• Daniel Craig in QUEER
• Abou Sangare in SOULEYMANE’S STORY

Best Screenplay

• Jacques Audiard for EMILIA PÉREZ
• Magnus von Horn & Line Langebek for THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE
• Pedro Almodóvar for THE ROOM NEXT DOOR
• Mohammad Rasoulof for THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG
• Coralie Fargeat for THE SUBSTANCE

European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI

• ARMAND (Norway, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden), directed by Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel
• HOARD (UK), directed by Luna Carmoon
• KNEECAP (Ireland, UK), directed by Rich Peppiatt
• SANTOSH (UK, France, Germany), directed by Sandhya Suri
• THE NEW YEAR THAT NEVER CAME (ANUL NOU CARE N-A FOST) (Romania, Serbia), directed by Bogdan Mureșanu
• TOXIC (AKIPLĖŠA) (Lithuania), directed by Saulė Bliuvaitė

European Young Audience Award

• LARS IS LOL (Norway, Denmark), directed by Eirik Sæter Stordahl
• THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF IBELIN (Norway), directed by Benjamin Ree
• WINNERS (Germany), directed by Soleen Yusef

Previously Announced Nominations

Best European Animated Film (announced on 9 October)

• FLOW directed by Gints Zilbalodis (Latvia, France, Belgium)
• LIVING LARGE directed by Kristina Dufková (Czech Republic, France, Slovakia)
• SAVAGES directed by Claude Barras (Switzerland, France, Belgium)
• SULTANA’S DREAM directed by Isabel Herguera (Spain, Germany, India)
• THEY SHOT THE PIANO PLAYER directed by Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal (Spain, France, Netherlands, Portugal, Peru)

Best European Short Film (announced on 16 Oct)

• 2720 directed by Basil da Cunha (Portugal, Switzerland)
• CLAMOR directed by Salomé Da Souza (France)
• THE EXPLODING GIRL directed by Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel (France)
• THE MAN WHO COULD NOT REMAIN SILENT directed by Nebojša Slijepčević (Croatia, France, Bulgaria, Slovenia)
• WANDER TO WONDER directed by Nina Gantz (The Netherlands, France, Belgium, United Kingdom)

The winners of the 2024 European Film Awards will be unveiled in Lucerne, Switzerland on 7 December. Additionally, Italian actress Isabella Rossellini will be honored with the European Achievement in World Cinema Award during the ceremony.