The European Film Awards revealed the first portion of their 2026 nominees, and four potential International Film and Best Picture nominees led the field. Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value” scored five nominations, Oliver Saxe’s “Sirat” earned four nominations, while Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just An Accident” and Mascha Schilinski’s “The Sound of Falling” earned three apiece. Three of these films are being released by NEON in the United States, and all four debuted at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
READ MORE: The SAG Awards Are Now The Actor Awards And It’s Sort of Silly
“Sentimental,” which effectively came in “second” with the Grand Prix at Cannes, was recognized in the Best European Film, Best European Director (Trier), European Screenwriter (Trier), European Actress (Renate Reinsve), and European Actor (Stellan Skarsgard).
Saxe, Schilinski, and Panahi, who won the Palme d’Or, also landed European Director nominations. In something of a surprise, only because it’s an American and South Korean-financed production set in the U.S., “Bugonia’s” Yorgos Lanthimos.
15 films earn Best European Film noms. “Sentimental,” “Sirat,” “Accident,” and “Sound” were joined by, refreshingly, five documentaries, “Afternoons of Solidtude,” “Riefenstahl,” “Fiume O Morte!,” “Songs of Slow Burning Earth,” and “With Hsan in Gaza” as well as “four animated titles, “Arco,” “Dog of God,” “Little Amelie,” and “Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake.” The remaining two nominees are “Tales from the Magic Garden” and “The Voice of Hind Rajab.”
European Actor nominees also include Sergi López (“Sirat”), Mads Mikkelsen (“The Last Viking”), Tom Servillo (“La Graza”), and Idan Weiss (“Franz”). The other four European Actress nominees are Leonie Benesch (“Late Shift”), Valeria Bruni Tedeschi (“Duse”), Léa Drucker (“Case 137”), and Vicky Krieps (“Love Me Tender”).
5,400 members of the European Film Academy participated in the nomination voting. These initial categories were revealed today at the Seville European Film Festival. The remaining, obstinately, below the line categories, will be announced next week. The winners will be unveiled during a ceremony in Berlin on January 17.
Here is the complete list of nominees so far:
Best European Film
AFTERNOONS OF SOLITUDE (Spain, France) doc
Directed by Albert Serra
ARCO (France) animation
Directed by Ugo Bienvenu
DOG OF GOD (U.S) animation
Directed by Raitis Ābele & Lauris Ābele
FIUME O MORTE! (Croatia, Slovenia, Italy) doc
Directed by Igor Bezinović
IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT (UN SIMPLE ACCIDENT) (France, Iran, Luxembourg)
Directed by Jafar Panahi
LITTLE AMELIE animation
Directed by Maïlys Vallade & Liane-Cho Han
OLIVIA AND THE INVISIBLE EARTHQUAKE animation
Directed by Irene Iborra Rizo
RIEFENSTAHL (Germany) documentary
Directed by Andres Veiel
SENTIMENTAL VALUE (Norway, France, Denmark, Germany, Sweden)
Directed by Joachim Trier
SIRÂT (Spain, France)
Directed by Oliver Laxe
SONGS OF SLOW BURNING EARTH (Ukraine, France, Denmark, Sweden) documentary
Directed by Olha Zhurba
SOUND OF FALLING (Germany)
Directed by Mascha Schilinski
TALES FROM THE MAGIC GARDEN (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, France) animation
Directed by David Súkup, Patrik Pašš, Leon Vidmar & Jean-Claude Rozec,
THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB (France, Tunisia)
Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania
WITH HASAN IN GAZA (Germany) documentary
Directed by Kamal Aljafari
Best European Documentary
AFTERNOONS OF SOLITUDE (Spain, France)
Directed by Albert Serra
FIUME O MORTE! (Croatia, Slovenia, Italy)
Directed by Igor Bezinović
RIEFENSTAHL (Germany)
Directed by Andres Veiel
SONGS OF SLOW BURNING EARTH (Ukraine, France, Denmark, Sweden)
Directed by Olha Zhurba
WITH HASAN IN GAZA (Germany)
Directed Kamal Aljafari
Best European Animated Feature Film
ARCO (France)
Directed by Ugo Bienvenu
DOG OF GOD (Latvia, United States)
Directed by Raitis Ābele & Lauris Ābele
LITTLE AMELIE (France)
Directed by Maïlys Vallade & Liane-Cho Han
OLIVIA AND THE INVISIBLE EARTHQUAKE (Spain, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Chile)
Directed by Irene Iborra Rizo
TALES FROM THE MAGIC GARDEN (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, France)
Directed by David Súkup, Patrik Pašš, Leon Vidmar & Jean-Claude Rozec
Best European Director
Yorgos Lanthimos for BUGONIA
Oliver Laxe for SIRĀT
Jafar Panahi for IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT
Mascha Schilinski for SOUND OF FALLING
Joachim Trier for SENTIMENTAL VALUE
European Actress
Leonie Benesch in LATE SHIFT
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi in DUSE
Léa Drucker in CASE 137
Vicky Krieps in LOVE ME TENDER
Renate Reinsve in SENTIMENTAL VALUE
European Actor
Sergi López in SIRĀT
Mads Mikkelsen in THE LAST VIKING
Toni Servillo in LA GRAZIA
Stellan Skarsgård in SENTIMENTAL VALUE
Idan Weiss in FRANZ
European Screenwriter
Santiago Fillol & Oliver Laxe for SIRĀT
Jafar Panahi for IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT
Mascha Schilinski & Louise Peter for SOUND OF FALLING
Paolo Sorrentino for LA GRAZIA
Eskil Vogt & Joachim Trier for SENTIMENTAL VALUE
European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI
LITTLE TROUBLE GIRLS (KAJ TI JE DEKLICA) (Slovenia, Italy, Croatia, Serbia)
Directed by Urška Djukić
MY FATHER’S SHADOW (United Kingdom, Nigeria)
Directed by Akinola Davies Jr
ON FALLING (United Kingdom, Portugal)
Directed by Laura Carreira
ONE OF THOSE DAYS WHEN HEMME DİES (Turkey, Germany)
Directed by Murat Fıratoğlu
SAUNA (Denmark)
Directed by Mathias Broe
UNDER THE GREY SKY (Poland)
Directed by Mara Tamkovich
European Young Audience Award
ARCO (France)
Directed by Ugo Bienvenu
I ACCIDENTALLY WROTE A BOOK (Hungary, Netherlands)
Directed by Nóra Lakos
SIBLINGS (Italy)
Directed Greta Scarano
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