28th European Film Awards - Long List

It is with great pleasure that the European Film Academy and EFA Productions announce the titles of the 52 films on this year’s selection list, the list of films recommended for a nomination for the European Film Awards 2015. With 36 European countries represented, the list once again illustrates the great diversity in European cinema.

In the 20 countries with the most EFA Members, these members have voted one national film directly into the selection list. To complete the list, a Selection Committee consisting of EFA Board Members and invited experts Jonas Holmberg (Göteborg FF, Sweden), Paz Lazaro (Berlinale Panorama, Germany / Spain), Christophe Leparc (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs, France), Alik Shpilyuk (Odessa FF, Ukraine), Elma Tataragic (Sarajevo FF, Bosnia & Herzegovina) has included further films.

Award new site is nicer looking but couldn't find the complete list in a copy and paste format, sigh; so had to do the list. The best part is that definitively pay more attention to list and for the first time they listed all production countries, so we can clearly see how international some productions are. Have seen quite a few, still many pending but there are a few that are new for me.

What I find truly shocking is the omission of two Cannes high profile movies, the winner of the Palme d'Or: Dheepan by Jacques Audiard and the winner of the Grand Prix: Saul Fia (Son of Saul) by László Nemes.  According to what I was able to read, seems that both films declined to submit. I find it rather strange as this list is a "recommendation for nomination" which means that "someone" recommended the film and implies no submission. Obviously the "someone" is explained above, so how can a film decline to be in this list or as a matter of fact, in the European Film Awards? Too bizarre, strange, odd. Will try to go deeper into this issue.

Was able to check release date for both films and both are inside the acceptable range as both premiered in May 2015 Cannes. EFA eligibility for feature films reads: "had their first official screening (be it at a festival or at a regular cinema) after 1 July 2014". So, no, is not release date. Sigh.

These are the 52 films in consideration for a nomination:

45 Years, Andrew Haigh, UK
Aferim!, Radu Jude, Romania, Bulgaria and Czech Republic
Anime Nere (Black Souls), Francesco Munzi, Italy and France
As Mil e Uma Noites, Vol. 1-3 (Arabian Nights, Vol. 1-3), Miguel Gomes, Portugal, Switzerland, Germany and France
Babai (Father), Visar Morina, Germany, Kosovo, Macedonia and France
Belye Nochi Pochtalona Alekseya Tryapitsyna (The Postman's White Nights), Andrei Konchalovsky, Russia

Ciało (Body), Malgorzata Szumowska, Poland
Comoara (The Treasure), Corneliu Proumboiu, Romania and France
Dora oder Die sexuellen Neurosen unserer Eltern (Dora or the Sexual Neuroses of Our Parents), Stina Werenfels, Switzerland and Germany

Einstein in Guanajuato, Peter Greenaway, Netherlands, Mexico, Belgium and Finland
Efterskalv (The Here After), Magnus von Horn, Poland, Sweden and France
Elser (13 Minutes), Oliver Hirschbiegel, Germany
En duva satt på en gren och funderade över tillvaron (A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence), Roy Andersson, Sweden, France, Germany and Norway
Every Thing Will Be Fine, Wes Wenders, Germany, Canada, France, Sweden and Norway
Ex-Machina, Alex Garland, UK

Frøken Julie (Miss Julie), Liv Ullmann, Norway, UK, Ireland and France
Fusi (Virgin Mountain), Dagur Kári, Iceland and Denmark
Hayored Lema'ala (Afterthought), Elad Keidan, Israel and France
He ovat paenneet (They Have Escaped), Jukka-Pekka Valkeapään, Finland and Netherlands
Hrútar (Rams), Grímur Hákonarson, Iceland

Ich Seh, Ich Seh (Goodnight Mommy), Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, Austria
Im Labyrinth des Schweigens (Labyrinth of Lies), Giulio Ricciarelli, Germany
Klass Korrekzii (Corrections Class), Ivan Tverdovsky, Russia and Germany
Kobry A Uzovky (The Snake Brothers), Jan Prušinovský, Czech Republic
Koza, Ivan Ostrochovský, Slovakia and Czech Republic

La Giovinezza (Youth), Paolo Sorrentino, Italy, France, UK and Switzerland.
La Isla Mínima (Marshland), Alberto Rodríguez, Spain
La loi du marché (The Measure of a Man), Stéphane Brizé, France
Le Tout Nouveau Testament (The Brand New Testament), Jaco van Dormael, Belgium, France and Luxembourg
L'Ombre des Femmes (In The Shadow of Women), Philippe Garrel, France and Switzerland
Louder Than Bombs, Joachim Trier, Norway, Denmark and France

Mænd & Høns (Man and Chicken), Andreas Thomas Jensen, Denmark and Germany
Magical Girl, Carlos Vermuth, Spain
Mia Madre (My Mother), Nanni Moretti, Italy and France
מיתה טובה Mita Tova (The Farewell Party), Tal Granit and Sharon Maymon, Israel and Germany
Mustang, Deniz Gamze Ergüven, France Germany and Turkey

Ničije dete (No One's Child), Vuk Ršumović, Serbia and Croatia
Paddinton, Paul King, UK
Peace to Us in Our Dreams, Sharunas Bartas, Lithuania, France and Russia
Под электрическими облаками Pod electricheskimi oblakam (Under Electric Clouds), Aleksey German Jr., Russia, Ukraine and Poland

Sangaïlés Vasara (The Summer of Sangaile), Alanté Kavaïté, Lithuania, France and Netherlands
Schneider vs. Bax, Alex van Warmerdam, Netherland and Belgium
Simindis kundzuli (Corn Island), George Ovshvili, Georgia, Germany, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic, France and Hungary

Tale of Tales, Matteo Garrone, Italy, UK and France
Tetarti 04:45 (Wednesday 04:45), Alexis Alexiou, Greece, Israel and Germany
The Duke of Burgundy, Peter Strickland, UK and Hungary
The Lobster, Yorgos Lanthimos, UK, Ireland, Greece, France and Netherlands
Tri Dritare dhe një Varje (Three Windows and a Hanging), Isa Qosja, Kosovo and Germany
Trois Souvenirs de ma Jeunesse (My Golden Days), Arnaud Desplechin, France

Urok (The Lesson), Petar Valchanov and Kristina Grozeva, Bulgaria and Greece
Victoria, Sebastian Schipper, Germany
Zvizdan (The High Sun), Dalibor Matanić, Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia



To read about each of the films go to the new and improved EFA award site here.

In the coming weeks, the over 3,000 members of the European Film Academy will vote for the nominations in the categories European Film, Director, Actor, Actress and Screenwriter. The nominations will then be announced on 7 November at the Seville European Film Festival in Spain. A 7-member jury will decide on the awards recipients in the categories European Cinematographer, Editor, Production Designer, Costume Designer, Composer and Sound Designer.

The 28th European Film Awards ceremony will take place in Berlin on 12 December.