The European Film Academy has revealed its nominees for the 36th European Film Awards (EFAs), with Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest and Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall being celebrated across most categories.

Justine Triet’s Cannes Palme d’Or-winning thriller, Anatomy of a Fall, is nominated across four categories: European Film, Directing, Lead Actress (Sandra Hüller), Screenwriting. Glazer’s The Zone of Interest has been nominated across the five leading categories: European Film, Directing, Lead Actress (Sandra Hüller), Lead Actor (Christian Friedel), Screenwriting.

British actors Josh O’Connor and Mia McKenna-Bruce were nominated in the acting categories, with the former playing the lead role in Alice Rohrwacher’s drama La Chimera and the latter being the focus of Molly Manning Walker’s acclaimed debut How to Have Sex (itself nominated for 13 British Independent Film Awards).

Aki Kaurismäki’s Finnish drama Fallen Leaves was also nominated across all five eligible categories announced.

The 2023 European Film Awards will take place live from Berlin, Germany on 9th December 2023.

Here is the full list of 2023 European Film Awards nominees:

European Film
Anatomy of a Fall
Fallen Leaves
Green Border
Me Captain
The Zone of Interest

European Young Audience Award
Longing for the World
One in a Million
Scrapper

European Discovery – Prix Fipresci
20,000 Species of Bees
How to Have Sex
La Palisiada
Safe Place
The Quiet Migration
Vincent Must Die

European Documentary
Apolonia, Apolonia
Four Daughters
Motherland
On the Adamant
Smoke Sauna Sisterhood

European Animated Feature Film
A Greyhound of a Girl
Chicken for Linda!
Robot Dreams
The Amazing Maurice
White Plastic Sky

European Short Film
27
Aqueronte
Daydreaming So Vividly About Our Spanish Holidays
Flores Del Otro Patio
Hardly Working

European Director
Justine Triet (Anatomy of a Fall)
Aki Kaurismäki (Fallen Leaves)
Agnieszka Holland (Green Border)
Matteo Garrone (Me Captain)
Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest)

European Actress
Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall)
Eka Chavleishvili (Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry)
Alma Pöysti (Fallen Leaves)
Mia McKenna-Bruce (How to Have Sex)
Leonie Benesch (The Teachers’ Lounge)
Sandra Hüller (The Zone of Interest)

European Actor
Thomas Schubert (Afire)
Jussi Vatanen (Fallen Leaves)
Josh O’Connor (La Chimera)
Mads Mikkelsen (The Promised Land)
Christian Friedel (The Zone of Interest)

European Screenwriter
Justine Triet, Arthur Harari (Anatomy of a Fall)
Aki Kaurismäki (Fallen Leaves)
Gabriela Lazarkiewicz-Sieczko, Maciej Pisuk Agnieszka Holland (Green Border)
Johannes Duncker, Ilker Çatak (The Teachers’ Lounge)
Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest)

Disclaimer: In order to be eligible for this list, a film must have been released to UK audiences in the 2017 calendar year.

10. Wind River

Taylor Sheridan followed up his screenplays for critically acclaimed movies Sicario (2015) and Hell or High Water (2016) with a third tense and beautifully constructed screenplay in as many years, this time also taking the reins as director for Wind River starring Elizabeth Olsen and Jeremy Renner. Kicked on by an intense and moving score constructed by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, this investigative thriller set in the mountains of Wyoming used its premise of an FBI agent attempting to solve a murder as a means of re-emphasising cinematic discussions surrounding the treatment of Native Americans – this time in the modern context, particularly regarding women – and explored themes of masculinity, humanity’s relationship to nature and, in a more subtle sense, America’s relationship with the world. As has been the case in much of the current surge of great Sheridan works, Wind River was grounded by characters who were fundamentally flawed, gifting the picture a fitting sense of darkened, almost poisoned reality, while visually portraying a suffocating blanket not unlike the lack of hope present in the characters’ journeys and personal struggles. Taking kindly from directors Sheridan provided screenplays for in the past – most noticeably Denis Villeneuve (Sicario), whose poise and sense of timing was clearly an inspiration – the director managed to create a story that seemed felt rather than witnessed, a truly immersive thriller with fantastic work in all aspects.

9. Get Out

Get Out Review

Comedian Jordan Peele made his directorial debut with this 2017 surprise horror hit, and given the flair and originality of his presentation, it’s likely that he’ll become one of the more sought after filmmakers in the industry in the coming years. The director, who worked from his own script, told his tale with a poise not often seen in first time filmmakers, and respectfully used Get Out to offer a commentary on the United States’ treatment of minorities, specifically black people, throughout history and in the current political landscape. Playing out somewhat like a ‘Black Mirror’ episode crossed with 2012 horror The Cabin in the Woods, and starring Daniel Kaluuya and Bradley Whitford who starred in each of them respectively, Get Out was a useful metaphor for the plight of the black man in both liberal and conservative white areas of the US, and worked to highlight the insecurities and injustices of the contemporary political landscape.

Recommended for you: 10 Best Horror Movies of the 2010s

8. 20th Century Women

Mike Mills’ drama about a mother’s relationship to her son in the midst of huge social change at the end of the 1970s and the differing mannerisms of the generations of women she has surrounded her small family with, is a triumph of storytelling and performance that Annette Bening should certainly have been more greatly appreciated for during awards season. The actress, whose career grows more and more unlikely to throw up a bad performance as the years pass by, was a joy to behold as she delved into her character, portraying someone that was greatly appreciated but also the source of much frustration for her loving son, the writer of the film’s original material. 20th Century Women presents the female journey at three key stages of life – sexual awakening, finding one’s self, accepting mortality – in a manner that doesn’t feel contrived or patronising, nor fake or down-trodden, but instead celebratory of ordinariness and reassuring of how little some big things can matter and how much some small things seem to.

7. Toni Erdmann

Toni Erdmann Review

A comedy unlike any other in 2017, Toni Erdmann was celebrated across Europe for its sensational, layered story of a woman coming to terms with herself through interactions with her unwelcome father. The Maren Ade picture, which so wonderfully excelled in its quirkiness, was a character study that grew into a commentary on multi-nationalism and the growing divide between generations as caused by technology and a growing emphasis on individualism, and was wonderfully awkward courtesy of the classy performances of Sandra Hüller and Peter Simonischek. Toni Erdmann may have you rejoicing in ways you may not have done for a long time, and it makes sure to earn every inch of investment you hold towards it, with its near 3 hour run-time never seeming to be overly long.

6. Manchester by the Sea

A harrowing drama surrounding a grief stricken family learning to cope with the realities of their spiralling lives, Manchester by the Sea was first and foremost a writer’s movie, with screenwriter-director Kenneth Lonergan earning a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for his work. The filmmaker, who stood in to direct once Matt Damon had departed to film Downsizing, was ultimately the best choice for the role, placing the camera only at the points of his tightly knit screenplay that worked best to enhance the work of his supremely talented cast. The performances of Michelle Williams, Casey Affleck and Lucas Hedges were some of the most powerful put to screen this calendar year, a point emphasised by Affleck’s winning of the Golden Globe, BAFTA and Oscar awards for Best Actor, and Michelle Williams earning Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Actress in a Supporting Role. Manchester by the Sea was by no means a flashy, auteur movie, but as a drama it will be remembered for its powerful screenplay and fantastic performances.

5. Moonlight

A tale of masculinity and sexuality unlike any other in 2017, Moonlight was perhaps the most poetic movie of the year, with director Barry Jenkins working from real-life experiences and his own stage play to create a film where-in every aspect of the picture from script to setting and the merging of time to the presentation of characters worked cohesively to deliver a sensational portrait of how poverty and hopelessness can take its tole on any one life. Praised largely for its naturalistic presentation, not least in its sensational leading performances from the three actors portraying central character Chiron, Moonlight delivered beauty and power with the utmost grace, landing itself the 2017 Best Picture Oscar in the process.

4. Dunkirk

With the faith of powerhouse studio Warner Bros behind him, Christopher Nolan was able to mark 2017 down as yet another year that he greatly impacted cinema, this time with an original, beautifully shot, dare I say “art-house” war movie. Dunkirk, which was a box office hit, was as close to a silent film (title cards and all) as exists in the modern landscape of mainstream releases, and its choices visually were about as fascinating as any this calendar year. As was the case with Inception, Interstellar and his breakout hit Memento, Dunkirk was a film through which the presentation of time was distorted, a choice that solidified Nolan’s spot in the cinematic landscape as the Auteur of Time. Seen in its best incarnation via the largest of cinema screens, on traditional film reel, Nolan dictated the reception of the picture in a manner that not only rescued the cinema as an events destination but also solidified that his own technical and artistic prowess regarding the role of film reel in movie making was highlighted. Dunkirk was a visual masterpiece that shan’t be quickly forgotten.

Recommended for you: Christopher Nolan Films Ranked

3. Mother!

Mother! Review

Mother! was a masterpiece of storytelling that worked against the conventions of regular Western cinema to place its audience off balance for the entirety of its run-time, appropriately placing us in the same uncomfortable, unknowing position as its heroine, testing our patience and our appreciation throughout. It’s no secret that Aronofsky is a filmmaker who looks to challenge people, and he did so with Mother! in such a way that the now infamous negative response the film received from audiences almost reaffirmed why the film was made, and what the film was aiming to do. Whether you come to understand the film as an allegory for man’s negative impact upon woman throughout human history, or whether you see it as an allegory for our treatment of Mother Earth under God, the manner in which Aronofsky forcibly placed us in the same messy, uncomfortable and frustrating circumstance as his heroine created a greater deal of sympathy for the character (therefore women, or the Earth itself) than any other technique could possibly achieve. Mother! attacked our senses and brought out parts of us we were uncomfortable with, and for that reason this film may not be so well appreciated now but will certainly be seen as a classic in the decades to come.

Recommended for you: Every Darren Aronofsky Directed Film Ranked

2. The Handmaiden

Park Chan-wook’s erotically charged psychological thriller adapted from Sarah Waters’ “Fingersmith”, was effortlessly presented in context to the South Korean relationship with Japan despite originating as a British period drama, and was presented across three specific point of views played out as three separate acts. The film’s form, which played to great dramatic effect, aided an already fascinating story in such a manner that the picture’s almost obscene levels of visual beauty were exclusively reaffirming of the already existing written material. As has become the norm for director Chan-wook, The Handmaiden was astoundingly beautiful but also thought provoking, and was another entry into the director’s sensational ouevre; the best international film of the year.

Honourable Mentions: A Ghost Story, Lady Macbeth, The Beguiled, Logan, The Big Sick, Blade Runner 2049

1. La La Land

La La Land Review

Damien Chazelle’s La La Land was a modern classic for critics and audiences alike, finding a cynical, modern tone that contemporary audiences embraced and delivering it with the visual beauty and other-worldly feel of Hollywood’s rich history of classic musicals. Starring modern Hollywood’s most beloved on-screen couple, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, the sensational tones of classic musical songs were replaced by the duo’s wispy, seemingly unconfident renditions, illustrating an innocence and relationship-based nervousness that made La La Land the ultimate millennial musical. Borrowing visual cues from the likes of Hitchcock and Sirk, Chazelle’s visual journey was as celebratory of non-musical Hollywood as the concept itself was of classic musicals, and the music – inspired by French musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) – was a collection of instant classics. In terms of emotion and nostalgia, La La Land was sensational, and though criticisms of the film certainly hold credence, this Damien Chazelle film is our number 1 film of 2017.

Recommended for you: Joseph Wade’s 10 Best Films 2016

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Maren Ade’s Toni Erdmann is a multi-lingual character drama with comedic flair that has made so many of the right people laugh that it is officially Europe’s most beloved film having won a host of European Film Awards in late 2016 and having earned Foreign Language attention at the Oscars in 2017. Produced with finance from across Europe and spearheaded by a filmmaker from Germany who shot the picture largely in Romania, this Peter Simonischek and Sandra Hüller starring drama offers critique on big business exploitation, class division, generational division, the oil industry, the European Union and sexism in the workplace, all the while managing to force a smile through its immaculately placed moments of dark humour and situation comedy that work to truly drive home the wonderfully intricate character study at the heart of this most sensationally odd and fantastic film.

Toni Erdmann may have you laughing and rejoicing in ways you may not have done for a long time and much of this is owed to the premise of the film and the pace at which it is presented. Likeable oddball Winfried (Simonischek) is an instantly grabbing character with an interesting flair for practical jokes, while his daughter Ines (Hüller) is a straight-laced high ranking professional who is growing apart from her father at a rapid rate. Their continuous drifting apart provokes the father into taking a trip to his daughter’s temporary home in Bucharest, Romania in an attempt to reconnect with her in the only way he knows how: making her laugh. It’s a rather simple idea, and one done to death in the UK especially, but the gravitas of each of its actors and the slow pace at which so many of the more spectacular moments of character discovery and situational hilarity occur, make for a film far more touching than can perhaps be explained by such a summary, as by the time each of the more funny or awkward moments occur, there has been a solid foundation laid by the clever and intricate drama that preceded it, making for heightened investment in such moments and a deep and proud belly laugh to go with them.

The narrative of the piece is as involving as any film you’re likely to see this year, yet the whole movie plays as if one long joke complete with a layered and intellectually stimulating punchline that serves both as entertainment and food for thought – it’s a delicate line to walk, but Maren Ade has achieved it with such sublime quality. Her work behind the camera as organiser and artist is artistic without taking away any sense of connection to the characters, and her intellectual sensibility offers each and every major plot point the sort of depth that simply isn’t occurring in much of North America’s comedy/comedrama genres in the contemporary market. It’s as if Ade and her crew made a comedy movie and a dramatic film side-by-side and then sliced them together in the editing booth to create something truly remarkable, only with a much more distinguished and purposeful sensibility than such a scenario would suggest.

One such a result of this merging of drama and comedy is the resultant character development. Both Winfried and Ines are grown from mere caricatures (the clown and the stern faced business woman respectively) to hugely identifiable characters with reasonable wants and needs that just so happen to oppose one another’s despite their attempts to the contrary. The outlandish and the subtle are each present throughout any given exchange and, as such, deep and well rounded people are born through the eye of the camera. In tune with such excellent composition is the way in which the movie earns each of its characters moments, whether they be of the outlandish or deeply profound kind, and how much more feeling and investment comes as a result of this. Ines particularly grows to shine throughout the picture’s series of events, with the movie passing its central role from father to daughter in much the same way people pass responsibility and indeed life from family member to family member, creating a truly remarkable movie unlike many others.

The most questionable aspect of Toni Erdmann comes in the way it handles the character of Winfried, Ines’ father. Depending on your point of view, the way the character forces his involvement in his daughter’s life and seems destined to interfere in her professional career can seem a little off-kilter if not actually quite creepy. Winfried walks on the edge of being unlikable just as his daughter does, only in what some would consider a more dangerous way. More than a creep or even a possessive father however, Winfried should be valued by viewers of the movie to be much more of the spiritual teacher that the traditional cinematic father figure is and his character evidently becomes, because his enlightening of Ines becomes so entrenched with her journey that Winfried’s character is somewhat of a hero in his extravagant yet true-to-life and largely unremarkable way.

It is clear, then, that Toni Erdmann is more of an exploration of characters that happens to include a funny man than any kind of straight comedy as seems to have been the movie’s promotional materials’ portrayal. And, while this stretches the usual dark comedy formula out for a longer run-time, the movie remains entertaining  and deeply enriching because every minute means something and nothing feels lost or a stretch to keep up with.

Conclusively, Toni Erdmann is a film of the year with a level of storytelling across all major aspects of the movie that is simply unparalleled. So become invested in Ines’ journey and do your most prideful laugh and wide grin at her every twist and turn as you join this simple human’s excellently conveyed journey in a classic of European cinema that is worth every bit of the hype.

22/24