European Film Award Nominations: ‘Fatherland’ Reigns Over Contest, Followed by ‘La Bola Negra’

European Film Award Nominations: ‘Fatherland’ Reigns Over Contest, Followed by ‘La Bola Negra’ Courtesy of Agata Grzybowska Paweł Pawlikowski’s “Fatherland,” which centers on the relationship between the writer Thomas Mann and his daughter Erika, leads the contest for the 39th European Film Awards, followed close behind by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s “La Bola Negra.” “Fatherland” has 11 EFA nominations, while “La Bola Negra,” a triptych about the history of gay men’s sexuality, took 10 nominations. Both films shared the best director prize at Cannes. The nominations, which were announced by the European Film Academy on Saturday at the Thessaloniki Film Festival in Greece, were based on the votes of the 5,700 members of the academy. The winners will be unveiled on Jan. 16 in Athens. In third place was Cristian Mungiu’s Palme d’Or winner “Fjord” with five nominations, followed by Markus Schleinzer’s “Rose” with four nominations. Pawlikowski, Calvo and Ambrossi, and Mungiu are competing for best director, alongside Sandra Wollner for “Everytime” and Andrey Zvyagintsev for “Minotaur,” winner of Cannes’ Grand Prix. Sandra Hüller is nominated for both “Fatherland” and “Rose” in the best actress category, where she competes with Penélope Cruz for “Bunker,” Léa Seydoux for “Gentle Monster,” Renate Reinsve for “Fjord” and Mathilde Arcel for “Woman Unknown,” the winner for best actress in Venice. Nominations for best actor went to Javier Bardem for “The Beloved,” Andrew Scott for “Elsinore,” Sebastian Stan for “Fjord,” Swann Arlaud for “A Man of His Time” and Hanns Zischler for “Fatherland.” May el-Toukhy’s “Woman Unknown,” the winner of Venice’s Golden Lion, had three nominations. Two nominations each were taken by “Bunker,” “Coward,” “Elsinore,” “Everytime” and “Minotaur.” The nominations for best documentary were for “NAZA,” winner of the Special Jury Prize in Venice, “Letters From the Silenced Country,” “Rehearsals for a Revolution,” which was the winner for best documentary in Cannes, “To Hold a Mountain” and “Whispers in the Woods.” The animated films that were nominated were “Viva Carmen,” “Lucy Lost,” “Jim Queen,” “Iron Boy” and “In Waves.” European FilmThis category comprises five fiction film nominees as well as the nominated films from the best documentary and animation film categories. FATHERLAND, directed by Paweł Pawlikowski, produced by Mario Gianani, Ewa Puszczyńska, Jeanne Tremsal, Lorenzo Mieli, Edward Berger, Dimitri Rassam and Lorenzo Gangarossa (Poland, Germany, Italy, France) – fiction film FJORD, directed by Cristian Mungiu, produced by Cristian Mungiu (Romania, France, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland) – fiction film IN WAVES, directed by Phuong Mai Nguyen, produced by Priscilla Bertin, Judith Nora and Nick Shumaker (France, Belgium) – animation film IRON BOY (LE CORSET), directed by Louis Clichy, produced by Nicolas de Rosanbo and Céline Vanlint (France, Belgium) – animation film JIM QUEEN, directed by Marco Nguyen and Nicolas Athané, produced by Arthur Delabays and David Alric (France, Belgium) – animation film LA BOLA NEGRA, directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, produced by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo (Spain, France) – fiction film LA GRADIVA, directed by Marine Atlan, produced by Inès Daïen Dasi (France, Italy) – fiction film LETTERS FROM THE SILENCED COUNTRY (LISTY), directed by Andrei Kutsila, produced by Miroslaw Dembinski (Poland, Lithuania, Germany) – documentary LUCY LOST, directed by Olivier Clert, produced by Marc Du Pontavice and Lucie Bolze (France) – animation film NAZA, directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, produced by Harry Davies, Lindsay Poulton and James Wilson (United Kingdom) – documentary REHEARSALS FOR A REVOLUTION, directed by Pegah Ahangarani, produced by Kaveh Farnam and Adrià Monés Murlans (Czech Republic, Spain) – documentary TO HOLD A MOUNTAIN (PLANINA), directed by Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazić, produced by Biljana Tutorov (Montenegro, Serbia, France, Slovenia, Croatia) – documentary VIVA CARMEN (CARMEN, L’OISEAU REBELLE), directed by Sébastien Laudenbach, by Damien Brunner, Sarah Delmas, Thibaut Ruby and Pierre-Henri Léon (France) – animation film WHISPERS IN THE WOODS (LE CHANT DES FORÊTS), directed by Vincent Munier, produced by Pierre-Emmanuel Fleurantin, Laurent Baujard and Vincent Munier (France) – documentary WOMAN UNKNOWN (KVINDE UKENDT), directed by May el-Toukhy, produced by Mikael Rieks (Denmark, Latvia, Sweden) – fiction film European Animation Film IN WAVES, directed by Phuong Mai Nguyen (France, Belgium) IRON BOY (LE CORSET), directed by Louis Clichy (France, Belgium) JIM QUEEN, directed by Marco Nguyen and Nicolas Athané (France, Belgium) LUCY LOST, directed by Olivier Clert (France) VIVA CARMEN (CARMEN, L’OISEAU REBELLE), directed by Sébastien Laudenbach (France) European Documentary LETTERS FROM THE SILENCED COUNTRY (LISTY), directed by Andrei Kutsila (Poland, Lithuania, Germany) NAZA, directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor (United Kingdom) REHEARSALS FOR A REVOLUTION, directed by Pegah Ahangarani (Czech Republic, Spain) TO HOLD A MOUNTAIN (PLANINA), directed by Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazić (Montenegro, Serbia, France, Slovenia, Croatia) WHISPERS IN THE WOODS (LE CHANT DES FORÊTS), directed by Vincent Munier (France) European Director Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi for LA BOLA NEGRA Cristian Mungiu for FJORD Paweł Pawlikowski for FATHERLAND Sandra Wollner for EVERYTIME Andrey Zvyagintsev for MINOTAUR European Screenwriter Javier Calvo, Javier Ambrossi and Alberto Conejero for LA BOLA NEGRA Cristian Mungiu for FJORD Paweł Pawlikowski and Henk Handloegten for FATHERLAND Sandra Wollner for EVERYTIME Simon Liashenko and Andrey Zvyagintsev for MINOTAUR European Actress Mathilde Arcel in WOMAN UNKNOWN Penélope Cruz in BUNKER Sandra Hüller in FATHERLAND Sandra Hüller in ROSE Renate Reinsve in FJORD Léa Seydoux in GENTLE MONSTER European Actor Swann Arlaud in A MAN OF HIS TIME Javier Bardem in THE BELOVED Andrew Scott in ELSINORE Sebastian Stan in FJORD Hanns Zischler in FATHERLAND European Casting Director Nina Haun, Magdalena Szwarcbart and Karen Lindsay Stewart for FATHERLAND Eva Leira and Yolanda Serrano for LA BOLA NEGRA Jessica Ronane for ELSINORE European Cinematographer Gris Jordana for LA BOLA NEGRA Frank van den Eeden for COWARD Łukasz Żal for FATHERLAND European Composer (Original Score) Volker Bertelmann for BUNKER Tara Nome Doyle for ROSE Alberto Iglesias for BITTER CHRISTMAS European Costume Designer Doris Bartelt for ROSE Ana López Cobos for LA BOLA NEGRA Rebecca Richmond and Jūlija Volkinšteine for WOMAN UNKNOWN European Editor Alberto Gutiérrez for LA BOLA NEGRA Gesa Jäger for YELLOW LETTERS Paweł Pawlikowski and Piotr Wójcik for FATHERLAND European Make-up & Hair Artist Pablo Morillas and Marilo Osuna for LA BOLA NEGRA Evalotte Oosterop and Pierre Olivier Persin for COWARD Waldemar Pokromski for FATHERLAND European Production Designer Roger Bellés for LA BOLA NEGRA Olivier Meidinger for ROSE Katarzyna Sobańska and Marcel Sławiński for FATHERLAND European Sound Robert Farr, Lars Ginzel and Benjamin Hörbe for NAZA Lars Ginzel and Tarn Willers for FATHERLAND Rodrigo Madrigal, Anna Harrington, Alejandro López and Mayte Cazorla for LA BOLA NEGRA European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCIThis award is presented in co-operation with FIPRESCI, the International Federation of Film Critics, to a director for the first full-length fiction film. A committee composed of FIPRESCI members and experts appointed by the European Film Academy board decides on the nominated films. 17, directed by Kosara Mitic (North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia) AT NIGHT, directed by Beatrice Gibson (United Kingdom) CUTE, directed by Marlene Emilie Lyngstad (Denmark, Norway) FLESH & FUEL (DU FIOUL DANS LES ARTÈRES), directed by Pierre Le Gall (France, Poland) THE GUEST (GÆSTEN), directed by Mads Mengel (Denmark) THIRTEEN IN GAZA, directed by Hosam Abu Dan (Palestine, Qatar) The nominations for the European Young Audience Award as well as the European Short Film Award have already been announced. The winner of the European Achievement in World Cinema Award has also already been revealed. More from Variety