Pedro Almodóvar is this year’s European Film Awards darling…
The European Film Academy has announced the nominees for the 37th European Film Awards, which will take place in the Swiss lakeside city of Lucerne on December 7, with the 75-year-old Spanish Oscar-winning filmmaker earning three nods.
Almodovar earned a nod in the Best European Film category for his first English-language film The Room Next Door, which stars Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore.
He’s also nominated for European Director and Best Screenplay for the film.
Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal are up for two awards.
The 69-year-old Spanish filmmaker and the 74-year-old Spanish Spanish artist and designer are nominated for Best European Film and Best European Animated Film for They Shot the Piano Player.
Isabel Herguera is up for two awards…
The 63-year-old Spanish artist, filmmaker, cultural manager, professor and critic is nominated for Best European Film and Best European Animated Film for Sultana’s Dream.
Karla Sofía Gascón has earned her first European Film Awards nod.
The 52-year-old Spanish actress, who became the first openly trans actor to win a major prize at the Cannes Film Festival when she shared the Best Actress Award with her co-stars from Emilia Pérez, is up for Best Actress for Emilia Perez.
For the first time this year, under new rules announced last summer, films nominated for Best European Documentary and Best Animated Feature Film are also eligible in the Best European Film category.
The awards, which are voted on by the Berlin-based European Film Academy’s some 5,000 members based across Europe, are also seen as a bellwether for which European films are likely to pick up steam in the U.S. awards season.
This year’s ceremony in Lucerne will mark the last time it takes place in December with the dates shifting to mid-January, starting with the 38th edition in 2026, as part of a strategy to position the prizes within the wider awards season conversation on both sides of the Atlantic.
Awards for the craft categories of Best European Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Costume Design, Make-up and Hair, Original Score, Sound and Visual Effects are decided by a specialized a jury and selected from the films in core Academy selection.
Here’s a look at the 2024 nominations:
Best European Film
BYE BYE TIBERIAS (BYE BYE TIBERIADE) (France, Belgium, Palestine, Qatar) – documentary film, directed by Lina Soualem, produced by Jean-Marie Nizan, Guillaume Malandrin & Ossama Bawardi
DAHOMEY (France, Senegal) – documentary film, directed by Mati Diop, produced by Eve Robin, Judith Lou-Lévy & Mati Diop
EMILIA PÉREZ (France) – feature film, directed by Jacques Audiard, produced by Pascal Caucheteux, Jacques Audiard, Valérie Schermann & Anthony Vaccarello
FLOW (STRAUME) (Latvia, France, Belgium) – animated feature film, directed by Gints Zilbalodis, produced by Matīss Kaža, Gints Zilbalodis, Ron Dyens & Gregory Zalcman
IN LIMBO (W ZAWIESZENIU) (Poland) – documentary film, directed by Alina Maksimenko, produced by Filip Marczewski
LIVING LARGE (ŽIVOT K SEŽRÁNÍ) (Czech Republic, France, Slovakia) – animated feature film, directed by Kristina Dufková, produced by Matej Chlupacek, Agata Novinski & Marc Faye
NO OTHER LAND (Palestine, Norway) – documentary film, directed by Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Basel Adra & Hamdan Ballal, produced by Fabien Greenberg, Bård Kjøge Rønning, Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Rachel Szor & Hamdan Ballal
SAVAGES (SAUVAGES) (Switzerland, France, Belgium) – animated feature film, directed by Claude Barras, produced by Nicolas Burlet, Laurence Petit, Barbara Letellier, Carole Scotta, Vincent Tavier, Hugo Deghilage, Annemie Degryse & Olivier Glassey
SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D’ETAT (France, Belgium, Netherlands) – documentary film, directed by Johan Grimonprez, produced by Daan Milius & Rémi Grellety
SULTANA’S DREAM (EL SUEÑO DE LA SULTANA) (Spain, Germany, India) – animated feature film, directed by Isabel Herguera, produced by Chelo Loureiro, Diego Herguera, Fabian Driehorst, Mariano Baratech & Iván Miñambres
THE ROOM NEXT DOOR (Spain) – feature film, directed by Pedro Almodóvar, produced by Agustín Almodóvar & Esther García
THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG (DANAYE ANJIR-E MOABAD) (Germany, France) – feature film, directed by Mohammad Rasoulof, produced by Mohammad Rasoulof, Amin Sadraei, Jean-Christophe Simon, Mani Tilgner & Rozita Hendijanian
THE SUBSTANCE (UK, United States, France) – feature film, directed by Coralie Fargeat, produced by Coralie Fargeat, Tim Bevan & Eric Fellner
THEY SHOT THE PIANO PLAYER (Spain, France, Netherlands, Portugal, Peru) – animated feature film, directed by Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal, produced by Cristina Huete, Serge Lalou, Sophie Cabon, Bruno Felix, Janneke van de Kerkhoff, Femke Wolting & Humberto Santana
VERMIGLIO (Italy, France, Belgium) – feature film, directed by Maura Delpero, produced by Francesca Andreoli, Leonardo Guerra Seràgnoli, Santiago Fondevila Sancet & Maura Delpero
Best European Documentary
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, produced by Eve Robin, Judith Lou-Lévy & Mati Diop
IN LIMBO (W ZAWIESZENIU) (Poland), directed by Alina Maksimenko, produced by Filip Marczewski
NO OTHER LAND (Palestine, Norway), directed by Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Basel Adra & Hamdan Ballal, produced by Fabien Greenberg, Bård Kjøge Rønning, Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Rachel Szor & Hamdan Ballal
SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D’ETAT (France, Belgium, Netherlands), directed by Johan Grimonprez, produced by Daan Milius & Rémi Grellety
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, produced by Andrea Berentsen Ottmar
HOARD (UK), directed by Luna Carmoon, produced by Loran Dunn, Helen Simmons & Andrew Starke
KNEECAP (Ireland, UK), directed by Rich Peppiatt, produced by Patrick O’Neill, Trevor Birney & Jack Tarling
SANTOSH (UK, France, Germany), directed by Sandhya Suri, produced by Mike Goodridge, James Bowsher, Roman Paul, Gerhard Meixner, Carole Scotta & Eliott Khayat
THE NEW YEAR THAT NEVER CAME (ANUL NOU CARE N-A FOST) (Romania, Serbia), directed and produced by Bogdan Mureșanu
TOXIC (AKIPLĖŠA) (Lithuania) directed by Saulė Bliuvaitė, produced by Giedre Burokaite
European Young Audience Award
LARS IS LOL (Norway, Denmark), directed by Eirik Sæter Stordahl, produced by Caroline Hitland & Matilda Appelin
THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF IBELIN (Norway), directed by Benjamin Ree, produced by Ingvil Giske
WINNERS (Germany), directed by Soleen Yusef, produced by Sonja Schmitt, Marc Schmidheiny & Christoph Daniel
Best European Animated Film
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
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)