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‘Fatherland’, ‘La Bola Negra’
Pawel Pawlikowski’s Fatherland and Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s La Bola Negra lead the nominations for the 2026 European Film Awards (EFAs), announced today at Thessaloniki International Film Festival.
Fatherland, a monochrome drama about the relationship between writer Thomas Mann and his daughter Erika, was nominated in the most categories with 11. Its nominations included European film, and director, screenwriter and editor for Pawlikowski, with Henk Handloegten and Piotr Wojcik also nominated in the latter two categories respectively.
Scroll down for the full list of nominations
The Mubi film premiered in Competition at Cannes in May, where Pawlikowski shared the best director prize with Calvo and Ambrossi.
Their La Bola Negra received 10 EFA nominations, including for European film, director, and screenwriter (with Alberto Conejero). The film is an epic tale of queer love in 20th-century Spain, set across three time periods and inspired by the unfinished last work of the playwright Federico Garcia Lorca.
Cristian Mungiu’s Palme d’Or winner Fjord took five nominations, including European film, director, and screenwriter.
Acting nominations include Sandra Huller, nominated twice in European actress for Fatherlandand Rose; Fjord duo Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan in European actress and actor respectively; and real-life partners Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem, nominated for Bunker and The Beloved respectively.
The European Animation Film category includes Olivier Clert’s Lucy Lost and Sebastien Laudenbach’s Viva Carmen; while Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor’s Venice title NAZA is among the European Documentary nominees.
All five nominees in the animation and documentary categories were also all nominated for European Film, meaning some of the fancied fiction titles including Minotaur, Elsinore, Everytime and Gentle Monster didn’t make the final list of 15 nominees in that category (although all were nominated in other categories).
France-based Palestinian actress Hiam Abbass has already been announced as the recipient of the European Achievement in World Cinema honorary award, while previously announced nominees for the European Young Audience Award include Louis Clichy’s animation Iron Boy.
The nominations are based on the votes of 5,700 members of the European Film Academy. The winners will be unveiled at the awards ceremony in Athens, Greece on January 16.
Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value led the winners for the 2025 awards, with six prizes including best film; just ahead of Oliver Laxe’s Sirat, which took five awards.
European Film Awards 2026 nominations
European Film
Fatherland(Pol-Ger-It-Fr) – fiction film
Dir. Pawel Pawlikowski
Prod. Mario Gianani, Ewa Puszczynska, Jeanne Tremsal, Lorenzo Mieli, Edward Berger, Dimitri Rassam, Lorenzo Gangarossa
Fjord (Rom-Fr-Nor-Den-Swe-Fin) – fiction film
Dir. Cristian Mungiu
Prod. Cristian Mungiu
In Waves (Fr-Bel) – animation film
Dir. Phuong Mai Nguyen
Prods. Priscilla Bertin, Judith Nora, Nick Shumaker
Iron Boy (Fr-Bel) – animation film
Dir. Louis Clichy
Prods. Nicolas de Rosanbo, Celine Vanlint
Jim Queen (Fr-Bel) – animation film
Dirs. Marco Nguyen, Nicolas Athane
Prods. Arthur Delabays, David Alric
La Bola Negra (Sp-Fr) – fiction film
Dirs. Javier Calvo, Javier Ambrossi
Prods. Javier Ambrossi, Javier Calvo
La Gradiva (Fr-It) – fiction film
Dir. Marine Atlan
Prod. Ines Daien Dasi
Letters from the Silenced Country (Pol-Lit-Ger) – documentary
Dir. Andrei Kutsila
Prod. Miroslaw Dembinski
Lucy Lost (Fr) – animation film
Dir. Olivier Clert
Prods. Marc Du Pontavice, Lucie Bolze
NAZA (UK) – documentary
Dirs. Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor
Prods. Harry Davies, Lindsay Poulton, James Wilson
Rehearsals for a Revolution (Czech-Sp) – documentary
Dir. Pegah Ahangarani
Prods. Kaveh Farnam, Adrià Mones Murlans
To Hold a Mountain (Mont-Ser-Fr-Slovenia-Cro) – documentary
Dirs. Biljana Tutorov, Petar Glomazic
Prod. Biljana Tutorov
Viva Carmen (Fr) – animation film
Dir. Sebastien Laudenbach
Prods. Damien Brunner, Sarah Delmas, Thibaut Ruby, Pierre-Henri Leon
Whispers in the Woods (Fr) – documentary
Dir. Vincent Munier
Prods. Pierre-Emmanuel Fleurantin, Laurent Baujard, Vincent Munier
Woman Unknown (Den-Lat-Swe) – fiction film
Dir. May el-Toukhy
Prod. Mikael Rieks
European Animation Film
In Waves (Fr-Bel)
Dir. Phuong Mai Nguyen
Iron Boy (Fr-Bel)
Dir. Louis Clichy
Jim Queen (Fr-Bel)
Dirs. Marco Nguyen, Nicolas Athane
Lucy Lost (Fr)
Dir. Olivier Clert
Viva Carmen (Fr)
Dir. Sebastien Laudenbach
European Documentary
Letters from the Silenced Country (Pol-Lit-Ger)
Dir. Andrei Kutsila
NAZA (UK)
Dirs. Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor
Rehearsals for a Revolution (Cz-Sp)
Dir. Pegah Ahangarani
To Hold a Mountain (Mont-Ser-Fr-Slovenia-Cro)
Dir. Biljana Tutorov, Petar Glomazic
Whispers in the Woods (Fr)
Dir. Vincent Munier
European Director
Javier Calvo & 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 & Alberto Conejero for La Bola Negra
Cristian Mungiu for Fjord
Pawel Pawlikowski & Henk Handloegten for Fatherland
Sandra Wollner for Everytime
Simon Liashenko & Andrey Zvyagintsev for Minotaur
European Actress
Mathilde Arcel in Woman Unknown
Penelope Cruz in Bunker
Sandra Huller in Fatherland
Sandra Huller in Rose
Renate Reinsve in Fjord
Lea 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 & Karen Lindsay Stewart for Fatherland
Eva Leira & Yolanda Serrano for La Bola Negra
Jessica Ronane for Elsinore
European Cinematographer
Gris Jordana for La Bola Negra
Frank van den Eeden for Coward
Lukasz Zal 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 Lopez Cobos for La Bola Negra
Rebecca Richmond & Julija Volkinsteine for Woman Unknown
European Editor
Alberto Gutierrez for La Bola Negra
Gesa Jager for Yellow Letters
Pawel Pawlikowski & Piotr Wojcik for Fatherland
European Make-up & Hair Artist
Pablo Morillas & Marilo Osuna for La Bola Negra
Evalotte Oosterop & Pierre Olivier Persin for Coward
Waldemar Pokromski for Fatherland
European Production Designer
Roger Belles for La Bola Negra
Olivier Meidinger for Rose
Katarzyna Sobańska & Marcel Slawinski for Fatherland
European Sound
Robert Farr, Lars Ginzel & Benjamin Horbe for NAZA
Lars Ginzel & Tarn Willers for Fatherland
Rodrigo Madrigal, Anna Harrington, Alejandro Lopez & Mayte Cazorla for La Bola Negra
European Discovery – Prix Fipresci
17 (N Mac-Ser-Slovenia)
Dir. Kosara Mitic
At Night (UK)
Dir. Beatrice Gibson
Cute (Den-Nor)
Dir. Marlene Emilie Lyngstad
Flesh & Fuel (Fr-Pol)
Dir. Pierre Le Gall
The Guest (Den)
Dir. Mads Mengel
Thirteen In Gaza (Pal-Qat)
Dir. Hosam Abu Dan
European Young Audience Award
Hold Onto Me (Cyp-Gr-Den)
Dir. Myrsini Aristidou
I Matter (Rom-Ger-Bel)
Dir. Alina Serban
Iron Boy (Fr-Bel)
Dir. Louis Clichy
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