The long list of movies that will contend for the 2015 European Film Awards has been announced. Founded in 1988, the European Film Academy comprises of upwards o 3,000 professionals within the European film community who gather to salute the finest in European cinema. Like AMPAS (Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences), the EFA vote on honoring achievements in acting, directing, writing and vote for a best film of the year. Past winners of the big prize include Lars von Trier’s Melancholia (2011) and Oscar winning foreign films Amour (2012), The Great Beauty (2013) and Ida (2014).
One of the more noticeable contenders is surely Ex Machina, Alex Garland’s thriller starring Oscar Isaac (A Most Violent Year), Domnhall Gleeson (Frank) and Alicia Vikander (The Man From U.N.C.L.E.). Ex Machina became crossover hit this past spring thanks to strong reviews and robust word of mouth. Other notable entries include the Cannes Film Festival prize winner The Lobster starring Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz, festival hit and potential Oscar contender 45 Years from director Andrew Haigh (Weekend) and Youth, a new drama starring Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel that was acquired by Fox Searchlight and will make an awards run later this year.
While the European Film Awards don’t really make a huge impression on the awards season stateside, there’s typically a number of contenders that may make the grade with the foreign language branch of AMPAS. Included on the list are confirmed Oscar submissions A Pigeon Sat on Branch Reflecting Existence (Sweden), Labyrinth of Lies (Germany) and Rams (Iceland). The full list of contenders below:
- 13 Minutes (Germany) – directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel
- 45 Years (UK) – directed by Andrew Haigh
- Aferim! (Romania/Bulgaria/Czech Republic) – directed by Radu Jude
- Afterthought (Israel/France) – directed by Elad Keidan
- Arabian Nights, Vol. 1-3 (Portugal/Switzerland/Germany/France) – directed by Miguel Gomes
- Babai (Germany/Kosovo/Macedonia/France) – directed by Visar Morina
- Black Souls (Italy/France) – directed by Francesco Munzi
- Body (Poland) – directed by Malgorzata Szumowska
- The Brand New Testament (Belgium/France/Luxembourg) – directed by Jaco van Dormael
- Corn Island (Georgia/Germany/Kazakhstan/Czech Republic) – directed by George Ovashvili
- Corrections Class (Russia/Germany) – directed by Ivan Tverdovsky
- Dora or The Sexual Neuroses of Our Parents (Switzerland/Germany)- directed by Stina Werenfels
- The Duke of Burgundy (UK/Hungary) – directed by Peter Strickland
- Eisenstein in Guanajuato (The Netherlands/Mexico/Belgium/Finland) – directed by Peter Greenaway
- Every Thing Will Be Fine (Germany/Canada/France/Sweden/Norway) – directed by Wim Wenders
- Ex Machina (UK) – directed by Alex Garland
- The Farewell Party (Israel/Germany) – directed by Tal Granit and Sharon Maymon
- Goodnight Mommy (Austria) – directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala
- The Here After (Poland/Sweden/France) – directed by Magnus von Horn
- The High Sun (Croatia/Slovenia/Serbia) – directed by Dalibor Matanic
- In the Shadow of Women (France) – directed by Philippe Garrel
- Koza (Slovakia/Czech Republic) – directed by Ivan Ostrochovsky
- Labyrinth of Lies (Germany) – directed by Giulio Ricciarelli
- The Lesson (Bulgaria/Greece) – directed by Petar Valchanov and Kristina Grozeva
- The Lobster (UK/Ireland/Greece/France/The Netherlands) – directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
- Louder Than Bombs (Norway/Denmark/France) – directed by Joachim Trier
- Magical Girl (Spain) – directed by Carlos Vermut
- Marshland (Spain) – directed by Alberto Rodriguez
- The Measure of a Man (France) – directed by Stephane Brize
- Men & Chicken (Germany) – directed by Anders Thomas Jensen
- Miss Julie (Norway/UK/Ireland/France) – directed by Liv Ullmann
- Mustang (France/Germany/Turkey) – directed by Deniz Gamze Erguven
- My Golden Days (France) – directed by Arnaud Desplechin
- My Mother (Italy/France) – directed by Nanni Moretti
- No One’s Child (Serbia/Croatia) – directed Vuk Rsumovic
- Paddington (UK/France) – directed by Paul King
- Peace to Us in Our Dream (Lithuania/France/Russia) – directed by Sharunas Bartas
- A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (Sweden/France/Germany/Norway) – directed by Roy Andersson
- The Postman’s White Nights (Russia) – directed by Andrei Konchalovsky
- Rams (Iceland/Denmark) – directed by Grimur Hakonarson
- Schneider vs. Bax (The Netherlands/Belgium) – directed by Alex Van Warmerdam
- The Snake Brothers (Czech Republic) – directed by Jan Prusinovksy
- The Summer of Sangaile (Lithuania/France/The Netherlands) – directed Alante Kavaite
- Tale of Tales (Italy/UK/France) – directed by Matteo Garrone
- The Treasure (Romania/France) – directed by Corneliu Porumboiu
- They Have Escaped (Finland/The Netherlands) – directed by Jukka-Pekka Valkapaa
- Three Windows and a Hanging (Kosovo/Germany) – directed by Isa Qosja
- Under Electric Clouds (Russia/Ukraine/Poland) – directed by Aleksey German Jr.
- Victoria (Germany) – directed by Sebastian Schipper
- Virgin Mountain (Iceland/Denmark) – directed by Dagur Kari
- Wednesday 04:45 (Greece/Israel/Germany) – directed by Alexis Alexiou
- Youth (Italy/France/UK/Switzerland) – directed by Paolo Sorrentino
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